CR student Chris Acocella soars to Eagle status

When he joined the Boy Scouts, Raymond “Chris” Acocella Jr. had no intention of trying to reach the pinnacle of Scouting, the rank of Eagle Scout.

Somewhere along the line, however, he changed his mind.

Perhaps it was because the 18-year-old Caesar Rodney student was older than the other four boys making up Troop 109, Magnolia. Perhaps it was just something his father, Scoutmaster Ray Acocella saw in him. Perhaps it was both and something more.

But Chris did succeed, and in a ceremony held Jan. 24 he formally was elevated to Scouting’s top tier, the first in his troop since 1991 to reach that distinction.

“It feels amazing,” Chris said. “I’ve accomplished something only one out of 10 scouts do. I do feel proud of myself.”

State Rep. E. Bradford Bennett, D-Dover, was on hand to present Chris with a tribute on behalf of the state House of Representatives.

“I wanted to congratulate him again because very few Scouts reach the achievement of Eagle Scout,” Bennett said. “It just shows how all his hard work and determination paid off.”

Becoming a leader

By having not moved into Scouting by first being a Cub Scout, Chris was a bit of an anomaly when he joined at the ripe age of 14. He was about three years older than rest of the boys making up the newly reconstituted Troop 109.

Chris’ inspiration was his younger brother, Steven, who had started in Scouting while Acocella was stationed with the U.S. Navy in Washington state. When the family returned to his native Delaware in 2004, Acocella, who had been a Cub Scout den leader, was drawn back into the fold, eventually becoming Troop 109’s scoutmaster.

“Stephen wanted to continue, so we went to a pack open house,” Acocella said. “I told not to say I’d been a leader, but he sold me out. I got hooked.”

For his Eagle Scout project, Chris settled on installing a sidewalk leading from a parking lot to a side door of the Magnolia United Methodist Church, which sponsors the troop. He consulted with a troop leader, who also is a contractor, to figure out the best way to tackle the project. They settled on installing pavers instead of using concrete as the fastest and most economical way of finishing up.

Chris raised money for supplies partially from cutting and selling firewood with the troop and also got some cash from the church. Not expected to do all work by himself, he directed others, including his dad, in completing the project in approximately 10 hours, despite a driving rainstorm.

Acocella credits his son not only with getting his Eagle Scout project successfully completed, but also with helping Troop 109 prosper. Its last Eagle Scout was created in 1991, nine years before the troop disbanded. When rechartered in 2004, it numbered only five, including Chris and Steven. Now its membership rolls have grown to 14 boys, with up to eight more expected to cross over from Cub Scouting in April.

“They thought of me as a leader because I was already older,” Chris said of those early days. “I really wanted to be a leader. I thought it would be fun, to be honest.”
“Chris looked at this as a leadership role, plus he didn’t want to be told what to do by someone younger,” Acocella echoed. “For him, it was like learning under fire.

He had to learn leadership while we were forming Troop 109.”

Chris has some definite plans for his future that build on his Scouting experiences. When he graduates from Caesar Rodney High School in May, he plans to enter the military, most probably the U.S. Air Force. That will allow him to test his leadership skills even more, he said.

Acocella thinks his son will go far, no matter what occupation he chooses.

“I found it really rewarding to see him blossom from a shy kid to a real leader,” he said.

Famous Eagle Scouts
Neil A. Armstrong, first man to walk on the moon
Clive Cussler, author
Gerald R. Ford, president of the United States
Robert Gates, current Secretary of Defense
Steven Spielberg, movie director