Brother and sister Grant and Marina Mitchell received their Eagle Scout rank at their Court of Honor on Wednesday, June 9, at Our Lady Star of the Sea Catholic Church. The Eagle rank is the highest award in the Scouts BSA program. Grant and Marina were joined by family, friends, teachers, fellow scouts and leaders. They were honored with a certificate from the Military Order of the World Wars and state Rep. Cyndi Stevenson joined as a guest speaker. The Order of Arrow members within their Troops presented the Four Winds ceremony, along with the Trail to Eagle and the Voice of the Eagle.
Marina Mitchell is with Troop 291, chartered by PVUMC. She was one of the original founding members when this all-girl Scouts BSA troop was started in February 2019. The group started off with 13 girls and now has 24 girls in the troop with three patrols. Marina was a Girl Scout prior to Scouts BSA and earned the Bronze Award in GSA. She wanted to move to Scouts BSA because of the ability to learn leadership, life skills, their outdoor programs and be listed as a female Eagle Scout. Some of her leadership roles in scouting include senior patrol leader, assistant senior patrol leader, troop guide and scribe. Her Eagle project was two picnic tables and five benches for the Duval Audubon Society in Orange Park.
Grant Mitchell is with troop 288, also chartered by PVUMC. Grant started scouts as a Tiger in Cub Scouts with Pack 291 (also at PVUMC). He earned his Arrow of Light and crossed over into troop 288 in February 2018. He is a recruiter for his troop, getting many boys to join troop 288. Some of his leadership roles in scouting include senior patrol leader, assistant senior patrol leader, patrol leader, assistant patrol leader, historian and chaplain aide. His Eagle project was four picnic tables for Alice B. Landrum Middle School in Ponte Vedra Beach.
Both Grant and Marina attended National Youth Leadership Training and are both in BSA's Order of the Arrow. They both attended Sea Base high adventure camp this past spring break, where they sailed on sailboat for the week. Marina was with a contingent for the World Scout Jamboree in 2019. They would have been with a contingent for the National Jamboree this year, but it was postponed due to COVID-19. They have performed many hours of service with the scouts and their church and have earned the Roman Catholic Emblem of Faith — Ad Altare Dei for Troops. Grant has also earned the Cub Scout religious medal, Parvuli Dei.
Marina is one of 1,000 young women across the nation that have made the list of inaugural female Eagle Scouts 2020.
Chartered in 1989, in 28 years Troop 288 has been home for more than 100 scouts to earn the Eagle ranking. Ponte Vedra United Methodist Church is home to Troop 288. For more information on Troop 288 and Troop 291, go to www.troop288PVB.org or www.troop291pvb.org.
