FLORENCE, S.C. (AP) - A 39-year-old Florence Eagle Scout was selected to be one of 10 members of the Boy Scouts to deliver the organization’s annual report to the nation’s leaders in Washington, D.C.
David Taylor and his father, Jim, traveled to the nation’s capital in early March as the Boy Scouts presented their 2019 annual report to the nation’s leaders.
David said the trip was very good.
“When I first got the call about (going), I was surprised to know that I was even selected,” David said. “It was quite an honor just to know that I was selected. When the Scout executive called me … I was speechless.”
During the trip, David got to meet President Donald Trump, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Mitch McConnell, the Senate majority leader.
David said Trump was very nice. David added that he was supposed to present a copy of the report to the president but that the report hadn’t cleared security. Trump said he would look into the matter and get a copy of the report.
David described Pelosi as a “really nice Congresswoman.”
The group also toured the Department of the Interior – the location of a really good view of the nation’s capital – plus the Department of Mines, the Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, the Pentagon, Arlington National Cemetery, the Boyd House and Mount Vernon.
Mount Vernon is the home of the first president, George Washington. David said he enjoyed being able to learn about Washington’s life and his role in the founding of the country.
David said his favorite part of the trip was visiting the Pentagon.
“I really enjoyed that,” he said. “It had a lot of interesting stuff. You got to see what it looks like today and what it looked like back then.” He was referring to the terrorist attack on Sept. 11, 2001.
David described Washington as very different from Florence.
“It was very busy,” he said. “You had a lot of interesting places to see.”
Both David and his father were impressed by the other scouts invited on the trip. Both displayed a hand-written thank you card from a female scout.
They also mentioned how no one on the trip discussed politics.
David also maintains a collection of patches from the various troops represented on the trip.
Jim said he and David did not realize they needed to bring additional patches to trade with the others.
David, currently an assistant scout master with Troop 475, received his Eagle Scout badge at a ceremony held on Saturday, Sept. 21, 2019.
Normally, Scouts have until they turn 18 to meet the requirements to obtain the rank of Eagle Scout. However, sometimes, the Boys Scouts of America will provide special accommodations, including modification of badge requirements and time extensions for Scouts with physical disabilities provided the Scout’s disability affects him so that mentally the Scout remains under the age of 18.
David suffers from an abnormality in his 12th chromosome. The abnormality can cause failure related to growth and has also caused him to have difficultly learning and with hand-eye coordination. One unofficial estimate places his mental age at around 14.
David joined the Cut Scouts when he was 6 and joined the Boy Scouts in 1991.
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