Badge of Honor

Cabot teen named Arkansas Eagle Scout of the Year

David Evans of Cabot is dedicated to community service and good character, so it’s easy to see why he will be named Arkansas Eagle Scout of the Year 2017.

Evans, 18, graduated from Cabot High School this year with a 4.02 grade-point average. He was a member of the Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps and the German Club at Cabot High School.

He is a member of Sons of the American Legion and has attended Arkansas Boys State. He is also a member of Order of the Arrow, the Boy Scouts National Honor Society.

Evans said it is an honor to be named Arkansas Eagle Scout of the Year 2017.

Only 2 to 4 percent of Boy Scouts achieve the Eagle Scout rank, he said.

The award will be presented to Evans at the Wyndham Hotel in North Little Rock on Saturday at the annual Department of Arkansas American Legion Convention.

Laura Leger, adjutant at American Legion Post 71 in Cabot, described Evans as patriotic, humble and respectful.

“He’s an outstanding young man who is always there to help people. He wants to be involved in the community and stay busy,” Leger said.

“I’ve learned a lot about citizenship and putting service before myself by being an Eagle Scout,” Evans said.

He said a Scout must earn certain Boy Scout merit badges, spend six months in a leadership position and complete a service project, among other things, to become an Eagle Scout.

Some of the required merit badges to become an Eagle Scout include First Aid, Emergency Preparedness, Citizenship in the Nation and Personal Fitness, he said.

“My service project was installing park benches at Heritage Park on the Little Rock Air Force Base,” he said.

“You can’t just do part of the service project; you have to know the ins and outs of it,” Evans said. “I had to figure out how much concrete I needed, how much the benches would cost me and how I’d raise the money for them. I had to find people to help me and figure out when and how we were going to do it.”

Evans said his personal hobbies include biking, hiking, camping and other things he has done while being a Boy Scout.

“In Boy Scouts, I’ve done some shooting, rafting and zip-lining. I like the high-adventure stuff,” he said.

He joined the Cub Scouts in third grade when his father took him to a Pinewood Derby.

The activities were very service-oriented, Evans said, and Boy Scouts reinforced the values his parents taught him at home.

Being in the military is something he has always wanted.

Evans said his father is a master sergeant in the United States Air Force, and Evans’ mother works for Allied Therapy.

“They’ve always been very supportive of me,” Evans said. “They support me wherever I go.”

His parents taught him to be humble, trust God and pray often, he said.

David’s father, Paul Evans, said he has been in the United States Air Force for 21 years and is a security forces logistics superintendent assigned to the 19th Security Forces Squadron at the Little Rock Air Force Base.

“David is an excellent student,” Paul said. “All but four classes in the past three years have been Advanced Placement, and he has earned quite a few honors.”

Paul said David stands out for many reasons.

“The most common compliment his mother and I get is that David is very well-mannered. His teachers are all amazed at how intelligent he is and at his ability to understand complex concepts,” Paul said.

Hillary Evans, David’s mother, said David is tenacious, respectful and easy-going.

“David has always stood out with his charisma and buoyant personality,” she said. “In a world full of ‘poor me’ attitudes, he acknowledges problems but strives to work around them to make things better.”

David has served at community banquets, volunteered at CabotFest and visited residents in nursing homes in his free time, she said.

“David leaves for the USAF Academy on June 28. My hope for him is that his dreams become reality and that regardless of whatever trials or triumphs he has, he follows and honors God,” Paul said.

Hillary said she is proud of David’s appointment to the Air Force Academy because it has been his dream since he was in the fifth grade.

“During his planning process, he picked benches [for the base] that had 50-year warranties. He hoped one day to serve in the Air Force, and that he would be able to come back to the base and show the benches to his kids,” she said.

David said his goal is to become an Air Force pilot. He also hopes to get the opportunity to travel overseas and tour the world.

“I’m just going to go with the flow and see where God takes me,” he said.

Staff writer Kayla Baugh can be reached at (501) 244-4307 or kbaugh@arkansasonline.com.

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