Sameer Panesar was recently recognized at his Eagle Court of Honor, held at the United Church of Christ, in North Hampton, N.H. Troop 162 Committee Chair, Dr. Neil Hiltunen emceed the Jan. 18 ceremony for over 70 friends, family members and guests came to celebrate as the former Caribou Boy Scout received his highest honor yet.
Sameer was a former Troop 184 Boy Scout in Caribou, from 2007-09 before moving to New Hampshire, where he found a new home in the Scouts.
“Sameer’s ceremony was well-attended. The most impressive part was that Vaughn and two others from Caribou drove all the way to North Hampton, NH to attend in spite of the inclement weather. We were happy to have them participate,” said Dr. Hiltunen.
Sameer’s Scoutmaster, Vaugh Keaton from Troop 184 here in Caribou, was honored to be invited to the ceremony to witness the Eagle Scout. Keaton claims to have seen the potential for this achievement from very early on in Sameer’s Boy Scout career.
“He excelled quite rapidly from Day One,” said Keaton. “The first day he told me he wanted to begin working to become an Eagle Scout I gave him our book and told him what he needed to learn, and if he needed any help to let me know. He was very polite and well spoken, but at that point it was hard for me to really tell what kind of Scout he would become.”
Keaton then began to reflect back on the very first meeting Sameer came to attend, which was only a day after receiving his Scout handbook from Scoutmaster, Keaton.
“He came back the next day and sat very patiently while waiting for me to finish the meeting. After the meeting he came to me and began asking questions. He asked one question. I answered. He asked a second question. I answered the best I could,” said Keaton. “After a third and fourth question he looked at me and asked if he could ask another question. I told him that is what I’m here for, but I began to notice he had all these questions marked with colored tabs in the book, so he knew right where to go for each question.”
However, it wasn’t simply Sameer’s organizational skills, or the color coordination he used to mark his questions. Instead, it was his work ethic and determination to progress in the Boy Scouts that would soon be clear to Keaton.
“So I stopped him after the fourth question and I said, ‘Sameer did you read the whole book last night?’ and he looked at me and said ‘well, yeah, but I wasn’t really clear on some of the stuff, so I went through and read it again.’ I said, ‘Holy smokes, Sameer! We have Scouts who go their whole lives without ever reading the entire handbook.’ He just looked at me and smiled, but that’s when I knew this kid was going to be an Eagle Scout someday.”
There are 11 core Scout Merit Badges that must be achieved to be a Boy Scout. After that, Scouts must gain 10 more badges and a special Eagle project that must be completed before becoming an Eagle Scout. Keaton mentioned that Sameer completed his first badges like it was nothing.
“I was quite impressed at how intelligent he was, as well as an excellent speaker. I knew he would be able to complete the necessary steps to become an Eagle Scout, however, we would eventually have our first summer camp. This is where I think Sameer met his first real challenge, as a Scout.”
Keaton explained how Sameer had a lot of difficulty tying knots, which is a task that has become synonymous with Boy Scouts. It is an art that Keaton admits can be quite tricky, but Sameer really struggled with it, he said.
“I began working with him on the knots and he slowly got better, but that was really the only thing that ever slowed him down while he was here with our troop,” said Keaton. “One day, I had him helping a younger Scout and told him to teach him about something. I had an adult looking over his shoulder, in case he needed help. When he was done the adult came to me and I asked if Sameer was able to help teach the young Scout. The response I received was ‘he’s better at that than we are.’”
From that point on Keaton was fully aware of Sameer’s potential and hoped he would eventually be able to watch Sameer grow into a full-fledged Eagle Scout.
Unfortunately, for Troop 184, Sameer, who was now one of their star Scouts would move to N.H. in 2009. Sameer would, however, continue his career in the Scouts by joining Troop 162 in New Hampton. It was here that Sameer would continue striving to achieve the prestigious honor.
“I think he was really busy when he first moved down to New Hampton. He was enrolled in school at the University of New Hampshire and the progression in his badges really suffered, until the summer when he was able to really get back into it,” said Keaton. “When summer vacation rolled around he went gung-ho.”
After earning his 21 merit badges there was only one thing left for Sameer to do. He would need to come up with an original idea for his Eagle Project. Keaton explained that the Eagle project could be anything that benefits the community, a religious organization, a non-profit group, or anything else of that nature.
Sameer chose to do his project with a very unique idea in mind. He met with North Hampton Library’s Youth Librarian, Ms. Lorreen Keating. Keating says she and Sameer met a number of times to discuss project ideas that would benefit the Library.
“I mentioned to him the idea of a ‘story walk.’ Story walks are a series of display posts that show a story or pages from a book printed for outdoor display. These can also be used for exercise, a fitness course, nature trails, history walks and various other uses,” said Keating.
Sameer decided to work with the library and liked the story walk idea. Keating describes the story walk displays as moveable posts made from wood with staked bottoms and clear Lucite display area tops. Sameer built and designed the display posts and constructed his story on library grounds for the community to enjoy.
After the long journey through the Boy Scouts in both Caribou and New Hampton, Sameer was ready to graduate to the rank of Eagle Scout. Vaugh Keaton led the Eagle Pledge and presented Sameer with several certificates, while his parents, Ravinder and Palwinder, and all those involved with his current Troop 162 watched and celebrated all the hard work Sameer had done to reach the top of the Scout’s ranks.
“When a boy reaches the ranks of Eagle Scout you know he earned it,” said Keaton.
Assistant Scoutmaster, Tom Wilson presented Sameer with congratulatory letters, while representatives of local organizations presented certificates of achievement. Current Troop 162 Scouts, including Sameer’s brother Ajay, provided Color Guard, and were led in the Scout Law and candle lighting by Assistant Scoutmaster, Mike Higgins. Sameer’s father presented him with his Eagle Badge, and his current troop presented Sameer with a flag that had been flown over the U.S. Capitol.
At the end of the ceremony, Sameer presented his parents with the Eagle parent pin and an Eagle tie back. He spoke of his time with Troops 184 and 162, his cousin who had inspired him to reach for the Eagle Award, and thanked all those who helped him along the way. Keaton mentioned that at the ceremony he jokingly asked Sameer if he had mastered knot-tying yet. Keaton remembers Sameer simply replying with a smile and, “yes, Mr. Keaton, I have.”
Sameer is currently a freshman at UNH and continues to be involved with Troop 162.
