Matthew Scott Ziegler, 13, of Virginia Run in Centreville was awarded the rank of Eagle Scout at a Boy Scout Eagle Court of Honor ceremony on June 10 at the Virginia Run Community Center.
Matthew's older brother, Mark Ziegler, also an Eagle Scout, was home on summer break from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and served as Master of Ceremonies. Matthew's other older brother, Michael Ziegler, also an Eagle Scout, served as the Eagle Escort for the ceremony.
Matthew's Eagle Scout project entitled "Mission Movie Matinee" was dedicated to the establishment of two DVD movie libraries at Walter Reed Army Medical Center and National Naval Hospital. On Saturday, March 17, Matthew was proud to present to Elaine Rogers, president of the USO of Metropolitan Washington, 1,429 DVD and 9,175 packages of microwave popcorn as well as an abundance of sodas and snacks. Now soldiers at both locations can enjoy Movie Night with family and friends while they recuperate from their injuries.
Matthew says, this really changed his outlook on the war and made it closer to home for him.
Matthew started in Scouting as a Tiger Cub with Cub Scout Pack 1682 at Virginia Run Elementary School. He crossed over to Boy Scout Troop 1137 where he earned the ranks leading up to the Eagle award and earned 58 merit badges, and the World Conservation and United States Heritage Awards. He was elected to the Order of the Arrow, the Boy Scouts National Honor Society. Matthew has held a number of leadership positions in the troop and is now serving as Assistant Senior Patrol Leader and helps with the planning and organizing of activities for 50 Boy Scouts. This past May, Matthew satisfied an Eagle Board of Review that he has lived up to the Scout Oath and Law and was awarded the Eagle Rank.
Matthew is the fifth oldest of the eight children of Barbara and Mark Ziegler and has just completed eighth grade at Ormond Stone Middle School where he was a percussionist in the band program and a member of the Science Olympiad Team. This summer he will be swimming for the Virginia Run Riptides swim team.
To celebrate his rank of Eagle Scout, Matthew will join nine of his fellow Boy Scouts from Troop 1137 on June 28 for a one-week high adventure trip to the Florida National High Adventure Sea Base, an aquatic program operated by the National Council of the Boy Scouts of America.