Hayden Simpson Earns Eagle Scout Award

 — by Margie Doyle —

Hayden Simpson, Eagle Scout

Hayden Simpson, Orcas Middle School 8th-grader, earned the highest award in Boy Scouts of America, the Eagle Scout badge, through hard work, perseverance, flexibility and community building. On December 23, 2013 he passed the all-important personal interview with the Board of Review that determines his qualifications to be an Eagle Scout.

The award comes after years of effort. In Hayden’s case, it involved completion of his service project an ocean away from his troop, in Japan. That’s where Hayden and his family lived for four years while his Dad, Tony Simpson, was stationed with the US Air Force. The Simpson family has also lived in Korea, Florida, California, and Virginia. But every summer they spent on Orcas Island with grandparents, Stu and Patsy Stephens, and their aunt and uncle and cousins.

Hayden always knew he wanted to achieve the Eagle award, like his dad and uncle and great-grandfathers. He was motivated by what he could learn in attaining his merit badges and the challenge of attaining the highest honor in scouting. He joined his troop at the Webelos level (after Cubs but before Boy Scouts) and advanced through the ranks, earning 30 merit badges.

Hayden and much of his team, working on the Kokanee Display in Moran State Park.

In 2013, he undertook the service project that is the single biggest requirement  in earning the Eagle Scout award: creating a poster and brochure about the Kokanee salmon hatchery at Moran State Park. His research into the life cycle of the Kokanee (land-locked) involved interviews and internet research and Moran Park history research. He collaborated with Kaylani Siplin for the poster artwork depicting the life cycle of the Kokanee. Also with the help of his team, he re-shingled the roof at the display board at Moran State Park.

Hayden was drawn to scouting initially because of his love of the outdoors and nature — hiking, camping and fishing, “Boy Scouts was an organization I could do that with,” he says. His learning went beyond that, as the poised 14-year old will tell you. He learned citizenship through food drives, litter clean-ups and baseball clinics; he acquired leadership skills through different positions in his troop, learning to organize various events and designate tasks to others on his team. He describes the challenge of being an 11-year old Patrol Leader in a new troop. “Usually a patrol leader is 13 , and is taught by an older scout.. So I was worried and it was a little crazy but I learned a lot and enjoyed it and became a better leader.”

LIke others in leadership positions, “Sometimes I just wanted to do it myself and get the job done, but it’s more important to step back and let others do it. And a lot of things kept changing, so I just had to keep changing too.”

Hayden speaks in a simple, straight-forward manner about achieving this award, and he admits it wasn’t easy. Sometimes he “just didn’t want to have to do more work, and had to just get through it. It took a lot of encouragement and help,” he says, and it was a challenge just to do the project, without his troop in Japan to help him. And so he developed his own team of helpers on Orcas Island.

He especially wants to acknowledge the assistance of Michel Vekved and the Friends of Moran State Park, Dave Castor, Mike O’Connell, Dave Douglass, Jay Longfellow, Andrew Stephens, Stu Stephens, Patsy Stephens, and Kaylani Siplin, a Friends of Moran Park intern who drew the artwork for the poster.

His mother, Blythe Simpson says, “It would not have been possibility without this community; things don’t just happen, people came through. It’s nice to live in a place where we have that support.”

His Board of Review conducted his final presentation by telephone between Orcas Island and Japan. It involved fulfilling all the requirements and establishing that he follows the 12 points of scout law.  He also presented what he had learned in his service project and his further plans to give back to scouting and to the community.

There is no boy scout troop on Orcas Island, but Hayden will look into participating in meetings and camp-out with nearby troops. He looks forward to working as a camp counselor near Mt. Baker, and future services as an Assistant Scout Master and then Scoutmaster.

Hayden and his family plan a dinner to thank all those who helped him get his badge. Orcas’ newest Eagle Scout says the best thing about being on Orcas Island is “living near my grandparents and aunt and uncle and cousins — and nature and fishing.”  When his mom mentions that coming to Orcas in summers has been one constant in his life, Hayden brings up that he enjoys the feeling of safety as he walks around Eastsound.

His long-term goals are to attend the Air Force Academy and become a fighter pilot — “Like my Dad” — and to become a scoutmaster. For the short term, he’s working to keep his “A” in algebra and to play basketball with Orcas’ SWISH basketball team.

” I learned a ton from it and it will make me a better person — and it is neat to say I’ve done the same thing as my dad and presidents and pro football players and famous people,” says Hayden Simpson.

—  more about Eagle Scouts —

Other Eagle Scouts include Presidents Gerald Ford, NY City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, social critic Michael Moore, former US Secretary of Education Bill Bennett, Scientology Founder L. Ron Hubbard, businessman H. Ross Perot, film director Steven Spielberg, astronauts Neil Armstrong, James Lovell and Roger Chaffee, former US Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, and musician/actor John Tesh.

A recent Baylor University study, Merit Beyond the Badge, found that Eagle Scouts are more likely than men who have never been in Scouting to:

• Have higher levels of planning and preparation skills, be goal-oriented, and network with others
• Be in a leadership position at their place of employment or local community
• Report having closer relationships with family and friends
• Volunteer for religious and nonreligious organizations
• Donate money to charitable groups
• Work with others to improve their neighborhoods

“Eagle Scouts have made their marks throughout history—from walking on the moon and working behind the desk in the Oval Office to running the bases in the major leagues. And while we’re proud to claim some truly great men in American history among our ranks, we’re even more proud that everyday Eagle Scouts become wonderful husbands, fathers, and citizens,” said Bob Mazzuca, Chief Scout Executive of the Boy Scouts of America.

“This research validates for the world something we’ve known about Eagle Scouts for years. They lead. They vote. They donate. They volunteer. They work hard and achieve their goals. In short, Eagle Scouts are exceptional men.”