Scout carries on family tradition

Sam Mayne smiles with his parents, Jeff and Kath, after his Eagle Scout Ceremony Tuesday. Mayne became the fifth member of his family to earn the prestigious Eagle Scout marks, and also recently earned Vigil Honors in the Order of the Arrow.
Sam Mayne smiles with his parents, Jeff and Kath, after his Eagle Scout Ceremony Tuesday. Mayne became the fifth member of his family to earn the prestigious Eagle Scout marks, and also recently earned Vigil Honors in the Order of the Arrow.

In a ceremony Tuesday evening, Fulton High School senior Sam Mayne became recognized as the fifth Eagle in his family.

Mayne joined older brother, Ben, father, Jeff, and uncles Doug and Rod in the Boy Scouts of America's highest rank. Earlier this year, Sam also joined his brother in the prestigious and secretive Vigil Honor - the highest rank of the Order of the Arrow, a venerable honor society within America's long-standing youth organization.

Sam and Ben Mayne have both been involved with scouts since Cub Scouts in their native Birmingham, Ala. After moving to Fulton, they continued with Cub Scouts, where their mother, Kath, was Den Leader and Cubmaster, before moving on to Troop 53 of the Boy Scouts.

"I couldn't be happier with my two young men," said Kath Mayne. "We're very proud of (Sam,) he's certainly grown and I had no doubt that he would. It's a great honor for him."

The formal Eagle Scout ceremony came after Sam Mayne officially earned the honors in December. More recently, however, he earned his Vigil Honors with Order of the Arrow. Mayne couldn't elaborate on the Vigil ceremony, which he said is meant to be kept secret, but the honor society is built around carrying out ceremonies and serving fellow scouts and their community. As a member of the Order, he helped conduct Eagle Scout ceremonies for many of his friends in his regular Boy Scout troop.

To help the tornado-stricken people of Dumas and surroundings, donations can be made to the Delta Area Disaster Relief Fund, care of the Delta Area Community Foundation, P.O. Box 894, Dumas, AR, 71639, or through the Arkansas Community Foundation, 700 S. Rock St., Little Rock, AR, 72202.