First published in the July 7 print issue of the Outlook Valley Sun.
Matthew Kruse, Hayden Owen and Charlie Smith achieved the rank of Eagle Scout and were recognized at a Court of Honor ceremony at the La Cañada Flintridge home of Tom and Sue Sheedy.
All three Scouts are members of Troop 507 of St. Bede and attended St. Bede School together. Matthew, Hayden and Charlie all earned the Chi Rho Award for earning all four religious Scouting emblems: Light of Christ, Parvulli Dei, Ad Altare Dei and Pope Pius XII.
Matthew Kruse
Matthew is the son of John and Mindy Kruse of Montrose. John Kruse and his oldest son, Andrew, are also Eagle Scouts of Troop 507. Matthew is an incoming senior at St. Francis High School. He is the Golden Knight mascot, is involved with the School’s LIFE (Living in Faith Experience) team and mountain biking team. He is also president of the 3D Printing Club and vice president of the Aviation Club. He is also an avid numismatist.
Matthew traveled to Assisi and Rome over Easter break to take part in the school’s annual pilgrimage. He will also participate in the early summer service immersion trip to Colorado as well as California Boy State in Sacramento.
In recognition of his community service, Matthew was awarded the Les Tupper Award and Carson scholarship. Matthew earned 30 merit badges, including the 13 merit badges required to become an Eagle Scout.
For his Eagle project, Matthew and his team covered an outdoor patio space with corrugated roofing at La Cañada Community Center Preschool. This gives children and teachers more usable space for learning regardless of weather conditions. Matthew is researching different colleges and would like to study business and entrepreneurship.
Hayden Owen
Hayden is the son of Simon and Erin Owen of La Cañada Flintridge. He will be a senior at St. Francis High School. He is the captain of the varsity cross-country team that raced in the CIF state meet last November, a feat not accomplished for the last 26 years. Hayden is also a stand-out distance runner on the school’s track team. Hayden earned 27 merit badges during his Scouting career. His favorite Scouting experiences were adventure trips, such as rock climbing in Joshua Tree and white-water rafting on the American River.
For his Eagle project, Hayden also returned to La Cañada Community Center Preschool, where he was a student 13 years ago. His project turned an unused grass area into a dedicated parent waiting area with stone pavers and a bench hewn from a tree that used to shade the preschool play yard in addition to transforming an overgrown planter into a learning garden for the preschool students.
His grandfather, Tom Sheedy, was his project coach. Having the Court of Honor at his grandparent’s home was the perfect way to celebrate his Eagle award. Looking ahead to college, Hayden is hoping to study bioengineering or computer science.
Charlie Smith
Charlie is the son of Peter and Christine Smith of La Cañada Flintridge. In August, he will begin his senior year at Loyola High School in Los Angeles. Charlie played football and ran track his freshman year. He has been involved with several student clubs including the Car Club, Cub Roar Club and Sports Statistics Club.
Charlie is involved with campus ministry through the Big Brother program and Liturgy Choir. He participated in the UNESCO Laudato Si Immersion trip in April and traveled to Spain for Loyola’s inaugural trip to Camino de Santiago this month. He is also an assistant coach with the Rising Starts basketball club program.
Charlie earned 31 merit badges, and his Eagle project was at St. Edward’s Retreat Center in Wrightwood. He coordinated a trail-refurbishing project, which included cleaning and defining a trail by laying decomposed granite and creating a rock border the length of the trail, which connects a newly designed archery range with the main camp trail. Charlie is looking at colleges in the Pacific Northwest and Midwest and plans to study business or cybersecurity.
