Collin Kemp, of Glen Ellen, has earned the highest advancement award the Boy Scouts of America offers to scouts, the Eagle Scout Award. He was recognized in a ceremony on April 18, at the Sonoma Valley High School Pavilion.
A member of parent-run Troop 63 in Glen Ellen, Kemp is one of approximately 4 percent of all Boy Scouts who attain the Eagle rank. Each candidate must earn 21 merit badges, as well as serve in a leadership role within the troop. Kemp has served as patrol leader, senior patrol leader, and junior assistant scoutmaster.
Additionally, candidates must complete a community service project to earn an Eagle. Kemp worked with Sonoma Valley Regional Parks in a restoration project. He, along with volunteer scouts, friends, and family, spent an afternoon planting native plants at Sonoma Valley Regional Park in Glen Ellen. As it was in the fall and unseasonably warm, cartons of Driwater were buried with the plants to keep them hydrated. Cages were then constructed around the plants to prevent them from being eaten by wildlife. All the plants were donated by Dr. John Shribbs, of Casa Grande High School.
Kemp started out as a Cub Scout and Webelo scout, and bridged into Boy Scouts in 2008.
As a scout, he twice participated in a high adventure-hiking trip to the mountains of New Mexico, hiking 56, and then 83, miles to approximately 12,000 feet in elevation over an 11-day period. In addition to scouting, Kemp has taken piano lessons from local teacher Christa Teitelbaum since 2005, and is a member of the forensics and mock trial teams at Sonoma Valley High School, both coached by teacher Janet Hansen. Kemp is a senior this year and will be studying computer science at Sacramento State University in the fall.
He is the son of Brian and Dawn Kemp of Glen Ellen, and the brother of SVHS graduates Drake and Rachel Kemp.
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