Eagles gather as Ulm achieves top Scout rank

Gary Exelby photo Keeping it in the family, Eagle Scout Steve Ulm adorns his brother Greg with the scarf denoting Eagle Scout rank during a Court of Honor last Saturday at First United Methodist Church. Greg Ulm is among the youngest ever to earn this highest-possible Scouting rank.

In the case of 13-year-old Greg Ulm of Dexter, it was being able to do some his big brother could never be able to match. Steve Ulm, 16, is an Eagle Scout, the top rank of Scouting

So how does one top that?

According to troop 200 scoutmaster Robert Martin, it was to earn the top Scouting rank more rapidly than Big Brother. "Steve earned it at 15 to 16," Martin said at the Boy Scout Court of Honor last Saturday in First United Methodist Church, in the course of which Greg Ulm received his award.

"And I told him: Greg, if you can earn it at a younger age, that's something he can never go back and top."

So that's what Greg did. A Tiger Scout in September 1989, Ulm passed through the ranks of Cub Scouts to earn the "Arrow of Light" badge, signifying the transition to Boy Scouts, in February 2002. He completed the requirements, including meeting a board, for the Eagle Scout award in November 2005, and Saturday represented his formal installation as an Eagle Scout

En route to the installation, Ulm attained 28 merit badges, in areas as diverse as aviation, citizenship, dentistry, music and woodcarving. The merit badge requirement is 21 badges, 12 of specified types.

As noted in the Daily Statesman on Nov. 6, one of the major requirements for earning the rank was to complete a community service project. Ulm chose to refurbish the concession stand at the ball field at the corner of Grant and Park Streets.

Among those on hand were state Sen. Rob Mayer and state Rep. Billy Pat Wright, both representing Dexter in the legislature. And each presented Ulm a resolution passed by their respective Houses, honoring his achievement. Mayer noted Ulm was joining good company in achieving the rare rank. "There are several senators and representatives in Washington who are Eagle Scouts," said Mayer. "And I think of a man a lot closer to home, that I have worked, with [state Director of Administration] Mike Keathley."

Other Eagle Scouts of note include:

* Gerald Ford, 38th President of the United States

* Steven Spielberg, motion picture director

* Neil Armstrong, first man to walk on the moon

* Sam Walton, founder of Wal-mart

"You're going to make a great citizen," added Wright.

But not all the credit for Ulm's award attaches directly to the new Eagle Scout. "It [the achievement of the Eagle Scout honor] did not begin with this project," said First Baptist Church pastor Dr. Ron Wilcoxson before giving the event's invocation, "and it didn't begin with searching after other merit badges.

"It began in your home."

Wilcoxson saluted Ulm's parents for their values instilled in both Greg Ulm and of elder brother Steve, both of whom are now at the top scout rank. "It began with two of the very closest people [to you] that instilled in your the correct values," Wilcoxson said, "and it was carried on through scouting -- they shaped those values and aimed you in the right direction."

Pastor Louie Lowe of the hosting First United Methodist Church added it was commonplace to hear stories of badly behaved young people, getting into all kinds of trouble. "You know in America today we hear a lot of negative comments about the younger generation," Lowe said. "You all can actually respond to that with: 'But I know a young man named Greg Ulm.'"

Despite mild and good-natured ribbing about having been excelled by his younger brother, fellow Eagle Scout Steve Ulm administered the Scouting Oath to Greg with good grace and obvious pride. "It is my privilege to pronounce you an Eagle Scout," the elder Ulm said, "and it is with distinct honor and pleasure that I present you with the Eagle Scout award and pin."

Although there are no complete records of the ages of all Eagle Scouts, according to the Boy Scouts of America, Ulm is believed to be among the youngest ever to attain the top Scouting rank. Less than 2 percent of all Scouts achieve this top rank.

gexelby@dailystatesman.com