State College senior receives scouting’s highest honor

STATE COLLEGE — Boy Scout Troop 31 held its Court of Honor on Sept. 29 for Zac Brezovec — the group’s 200th Eagle Scout.

Troop 31 is charted by St. Paul United Methodist Church and is one of only three troops in the nation that has been supported by the same organization for more than 105 years.

Zac has always aspired to become an Eagle Scout like his older brothers, Luke (2007) and John (2014). He joined Troop 31 on March 11, 2014, crossing over from Pack 82 and earned the highest Cub Scout honor, the Arrow of Light award.

Zac has earned 44 badges, more than twice the number needed for an Eagle Scout. Thirteen of the badges are required and the others are the scout’s choice. His sash is arrayed with badges for space exploration, photography, hiking, sailing, personal management, Native American lore and many more.

Hiking appears to be a favorite as he said, “I had to do a 20-mile hike.”

Although he has attended many camps and participated in hiking, his dad explained that they walked a particular route one day from ice cream spot to ice cream spot — covering Myers Dairy, The Creamery, Sweet Frog, etc., around State College.

Zac is a member of the Order of the Arrow, a BSA honored camping organization. He went to Sea Base High Adventure in the Florida Keys this past summer, where he sailed on a 40-foot sailboat with a crew of seven, the National BSA summit, a week-long camp in 2017 and Camp Sabbatis in the Adirondacks in 2014. During a camp at Gettysburg, the scouts hiked five different trails.

For his Eagle Service Project, Zac worked with Centre County Recycling and Refuse Authority. He developed a tri-fold brochure that provides public information on responsible electronic recycling. Centre County Recycling & Refuse Authority is located at 253 Transfer Road, Bellefonte.

Zac was able to create recycling signs to replace worn and outdated ones within the CCRRA to aid its efficiency. As part of his project, Zac traveled to an old Corning factory where he saw a football field sized mountain of cathode ray tubes which are a problem for recyclers.

Zac is a senior at State College Area High School and participates in Special Olympics track and field and bowling competitions in both regional and state-wide events. If you ask Zac about his school, he tells you, “I like PE (physical education) the best.”

When asked about his next endeavor with scouting, he replied, “I’m retired,” with a big smile.