SOMERSET COUNTY

Bridgewater Boy Scouts receive prestigious Eagle award

Jill Carter
  • Bridgewater Troop 88 Boy Scouts received their Eagle Scout Awards at a Court of Honor ceremony
  • Court of Honor ceremony was attended by Mayor Daniel J. Hayes Jr. and U.S. Rep. Leonard J. Lance
  • Lance commended the young men on their contribution to the community and praised their qualities of determination and leadership
  • Upon receiving their Eagle Awards, the three scouts official members of the prestigious Troop 88 Eagles Nest

BRIDGEWATER – Three Bridgewater Troop 88 Boy Scouts, Frank L. DiMatteo, Nicholas F. Ollo and Ryan B. Carter, recently received their Eagle Scout Awards, the highest advancement rank that can be achieved in the Boy Scouts of America organization. The young men were recognized at a Court of Honor ceremony held at the Bridgewater United Methodist Church on March 21. In addition to fellow scouts, troop leaders, family and friends, the ceremony was attended by Mayor Daniel J. Hayes Jr. and U.S. Rep. Leonard J. Lance, R-N.J. 7th District. Hayes extended his continued support and congratulations to the scouts and presented each with a Proclamation of Achievement. Lance commended the young men on their contributions to the community and praised their qualities of determination and leadership.

DiMatteo is a senior and an honor-roll student at Bridgewater-Raritan High School. He is a member of the Nok-Hockey Club and has achieved a black belt in karate. DiMatteo enjoys playing video games, karate, skiing, music, computers, golf, camping and visiting the Shore. He currently works for Centerplate at Patriots Stadium doing various concession-stand jobs. DiMatteo will be attending High Point University in the fall where he will pursue a degree in game programming.

DiMatteo has been in scouting for 12 years, during which he earned his Arrow of Light, the religious Parvuli Dei award, and a total of 43 merit badges. DiMatteo worked as a counselor in training for two summers at the New Jersey Mt. Allamuchy scout camp. He embarked on a high-adventure trip to Florida Sea Base where he helped man a 75-foot sail boat for 10 days. He has also earned the Silver, Gold and Bronze Palms, as well as the Order of the Arrow award.

DiMatteo’s Eagle service project was the creation of two bocce courts in Bridgewater’s Rolling Knolls Park. He collected over $3,500 dollars in donations for this project. Planning took over seven months and the Bocce courts were built in four days.

Ollo graduated from Bridgewater-Raritan High School in 2014 and now attends Rider University as a biochemistry major. He plans to attend medical school to pursue a career as a doctor. His interests include sailing, rock climbing, off-roading, playing guitar and piano, fitness, snowboarding, medical and exercise science and Italian.

Ollo joined scouting as a Tiger Cub in Pack 96. In Troop 88 he reached the rank of Eagle and earned the Order of the Arrow award. He has participated in many scouting activities and camping trips. His most notable trip was the 90-plus mile hike at Philmont Scout Ranch near Cimarron, New Mexico, where he acted as the crew’s assistant cook and reporter. As the reporter, he logged daily activities in his journal that later were used to publish the trip in multiple local newspapers.

His Eagle service project was to plan and organize the mapping of utility poles over a vast area within Bridgewater and parts of Raritan. Over 500 poles were observed for all characteristics and equipment and then marked with GPS coordinates. All data was organized by location into spreadsheet format and presented to the township, who will utilize the information to locate poles for maintenance and construction.

Carter is currently a senior at Bridgewater-Raritan High School and would like to pursue environmental science in college, with a minor in business. He is also a member of the high school varsity soccer team, the National Honor Society, the BRHS Ski and Snowboard Club, Astronomy Club, and Environmental Sustainability Club.

Carter began his scouting career in first grade as a Tiger Cub in Pack 96, Bridgewater. He earned the Arrow of Light award and joined Troop 88 in February of 2008. He has participated in and enjoyed many scouting activities, including community service opportunities, camping trips, and four Troop High-Adventure trips. His greatest memories from scouting include climbing to the peak of Mt. Katahdin in Maine, completing a 50-mile canoe trek in the Adirondacks, white-water rafting on the New River in West Virginia, and spending a week on a 75-foot schooner in the Florida Keys at the Florida National Sea Base. He has earned a total of 40 merit badges.

Carter’s Eagle service project was to plan, design, and construct an outdoor learning center at Bridgewater’s Hamilton Elementary School, which included building benches from scratch to seat up to 25 students, installing the benches, and landscaping the project site.

Upon receiving their Eagle Awards, the three scouts became official members of the prestigious Troop 88 Eagles Nest, which consists of over 140 Scouts who have earned their Eagle Awards from 1943 to the present.