With family, friends, and troop members gathered at the Cullen’s Memorial waterfront amphitheater on Taunton Lake Road, Sunday, June 1, Dana Van Buskirk, the son of Peter and Tracy Van Buskirk of Newtown, was honored at a special ceremony with the Eagle Scout Award. Eagle Scout is the highest rank attainable in the Boy Scouts of America.

Dana is a member of Troop 70, sponsored by Cullens Youth Association, joining the troop in 2001. He was awarded the honor by Rick Camejo, Troop 70 Scoutmaster. Also in attendance as the master of ceremonies was Ed Breitling, who was Dana’s first scoutmaster. It is tradition for the new Eagle Scout to award an Eagle Mentor’s Award, and Ethan Breitling, a friend and contemporary in the troop who helped inspire Dana toward his objective, received that honor from Dana. Dana also recognized Kevin Cragin, an adult leader in Troop 70, who was a guiding influence as he progressed through scouting.

The invocation was given by Hillary Raining, a recent Yale Divinity School graduate and close personal friend of the family

Dana’s career with Troop 70 included numerous service projects and community service, outdoor adventures, and fellowship. He attended the Philmont Ranch High Adventure Camp in New Mexico twice in recent years.

Following strict guidelines to attain the Eagle Scout Award, Dana chose to refurbish a garage at Cullens Memorial as his project. With the assistance of other troop members, Dana organized and scheduled the entire project that included cleaning, painting, replacing trim, constructing a privacy fence, and landscaping.

Dana will be attending University of New Hampshire in the fall.