We are proud to announce our 2022 Eagle Commencement Class Honoree, Jerry Coiley, Scoutmaster with Troop 897.
Jerry’s time in Scouting is a master’s course in service leadership. His dedication and mentoring has made a lasting difference in Midlothian. Troop 897 was one of the smallest Troops in Midlothian for much of its history. Small but very active. The Troop was founded in 1988 and one of our eagle commencement committee members, Jeff Urban, is one of the first eagles from this Troop. Jerry took over the Scoutmaster role in 2008 and has grown the Troop since that time from 25 Scouts to over 65 in 2023.
Jerry has implemented a very strict boy run program and has helped foster a unique mentorship culture in the Troop that mirrors his own approach to serving others.
He is also super dedicated to providing a stellar outdoor program for his Scouts. Not only does his Troop have monthly outings, but he has also helped plan and lead high adventure Crews every summer since becoming Scoutmaster. He personally has completed the Grand Slam, which means that he has led a Crew to every high adventure base (Philmont, Northern Tier, Seabase and Summit). This is a unique achievement with few Scouts in the country having completed it. This also show’s Jerry’s unique dedication to his Scouts as he has sacrificed many summers and vacation time to provide these experiences.
Jerry has dedicated hundreds of nights to camping and completed almost every training course available (Wood Badge in 2009). He has earned the Scoutmaster’s Key twice and helped start a female Troop in 2019. While all of these things are worthy of honor, Jerry would tell you his biggest achievement is his work in helping youth reach Eagle. Jerry has been Scoutmaster for 15 years and has helped 52 Scouts reach Eagle. He has received over 20 Eagle Mentor pins from these Eagle Scouts for his service in helping them achieve the rank. We think this makes him uniquely qualified to be our 2022 honoree.
Congratulations, Scoutmaster Coiley!