Darrell Christopher Forest, grandson of Shirley M. Anderson and late Louis Anderson Jr. of Reserve and Ethel F. Forest and late Thomas A. Forest of LaPlace, recently earned the rank of Eagle Scout from the Boy Scouts of America.

Eagle Scout is the highest rank a Boy Scout can earn. It requires earning at least 21 merit badges and demonstrating scout spirit through the Boy Scout Oath and Law, service and leadership. This includes spearheading an extensive service project that the scout plans, organizes, leads and manages. Eagle Scouts are presented with a medal and a badge that visibly recognizes their accomplishments. Only about 4 percent of Boy Scouts ever earn the rank. The title of Eagle Scout is held for life, thus giving rise to the phrase “Once an Eagle, always an Eagle.”

On Nov. 6, Forest and 11 other Scouts from Troop 914 in Dallas received their Eagle Scout awards in a Court of Honor ceremony at St. Luke Community United Methodist Church in Dallas. The number of Scouts receiving the award at one time was extremely high for any troop and came close to setting a record for African-American Scouts.

For his service project. Forest, 15, enlisted his troop’s help to plant an herb garden and paint playground equipment at Dallas Montessori Academy, his former elementary and middle school. Forest, who resides in Rowlett, Texas, is a 10th-grade honor student at Bishop Lynch Catholic High School in Dallas. He is the son of Darrell Forest and Stephanie Anderson Forest, both 1982 graduates of East St. John High School in Reserve.