Local Teen Earns Eagle Scout Award

Jamie Borghesani, 17, of Santa Barbara and a member of Montecito Troop 33 has earned the highest advancement award the Boy Scouts of America offers to Scouts: the Eagle Scout Award. Jamie and members of his troop, along with family and friends, celebrated the achievement at a Court of Honor ceremony on February 22 at El Montecito Presbyterian Church. Troop 33 Scoutmaster and Montecito resident Telford Work officiated.

Jamie is a senior at Midland School in Los Olivos where he is also a head prefect, the highest leadership role at the school and a member of the cross country team. For his Eagle project he restored a memorial to fallen soldiers from World War II and the Korean War on the Midland campus. The memorial to Midland alumni, situated on a hill overlooking the school, had fallen into disrepair and disuse.

Starting as a Cub Scout in Providence, Rhode Island in 2008, Jamie joined Montecito Pack 108 when he moved to Montecito with his family in 2011. He has spent the past four summers working at Boy Scout Camp Emerald Bay on Catalina Island, initially as a CIT and for the past three summers as a ranger.

During the February 22nd ceremony Jamie awarded a mentor pin to Scoutmaster Telford Work and a second, posthumously, to Dave Cantin, who led the troop before he died along with his son and fellow Eagle Scout Jack in the devastating debris flow on 1/9/18. Kim Cantin accepted the pin on Dave’s behalf.

Ten Cub Scouts in Pack 108 bridged to Boy Scout Troop 33 May of 2013. Of those scouts eight have now joined the ranks of Eagle, with two additional scouts expected to earn the honor this spring.Nationally, only four percent of boys who start out in Scouting achieve the Eagle rank.