HILLSBOROUGH: Boy Scout Troop 89 Gains Its 89th Eagle Scout

By Liam Angello

Boy Scout Troop 89 was Hillsborough’s first troop and is sponsored by Hillsborough Volunteer Fire Company #2. The Troop was established in 1958 and has a long history of success. It reached a notable milestone on April 6, 2015 when Kevin Bizzoco achieved the rank of Eagle Scout, Scouting’s highest, making him the Troop’s 89th Eagle scout.

Mr. Bizzoco has been in the troop for 7 years. During his tenure, he held several troop leadership positions. His favorite position was Instructor, where he was responsible for working with younger scouts. He became a certified Boy Scout of America lifeguard and helped many troop members achieve water-related requirements. He enjoyed many trips such as Gettysburg and Cape Cod, where he frequently served as the campfire Master of Ceremonies. Outside of scouts, Kevin is very involved with theatre and has performed in various dramas and musicals. For his Eagle project, he built a shed for the Somerset Valley Playhouse in Hillsborough after learning that storage for sets and props was scarce. Kevin plans to double major in English and Education at The College of New Jersey with a goal to become a high school english teacher.

Mr. Bizzoco celebrated his achievement with a Court of Honor ceremony on May 31, 2015. The ceremony was attended by Congressman Leonard Lance and also honored Kevin’s friend and fellow scout, William Freeman, who was the troop’s 90th Eagle Scout. William is an avid history buff and loves the outdoors. He has enjoyed many camping trips to places such as Gettysburg, Valley Forge and Washington D.C., even when the temperatures were as high as 102 degrees and as low as 12 degrees. He plans to go to Montclair State University to study film. So far this year, Troop 89 scouts Austin O’Neill, Henry Toke, and Andrew Pereira have also reached the rank of Eagle.

Troop 89 has further distinguished itself recently as five of its Eagle Scouts have gone on to earn Eagle Palms. An Eagle Palm is an award a scout may work for after he has made Eagle and is not yet 18 years old. To earn a palm, a scout must remain active in their troop for at least three additional months per palm while continuing to exercise scout spirit and demonstrate leadership. He also must earn additional merit badges beyond those required for eagle. The order of the ranking of palms is bronze, gold, and silver. Silver is the highest level palm since silver had a higher monetary value than gold when palms were first established in 1910. John Couch, P.J. Gagliardi, Carter Post, Austin O’Neill and Andrew Cronce earned Bronze Palms. Mr. Cronce went on to earn both a Gold and Silver Palm.

Troop 89 itself was also recently commended by the Patriot’s Path Council of the Boys Scouts of America, which gave the troop a Gold Level ranking, its highest, in its Journey to Excellence Troop Performance Recognition Program. The program evaluates a troop’s performance in various areas including planning and budget, membership, adult volunteers, service projects, scout advancement and camping trips. For more information go to www.troop89nj.org/.

The picture above shows Henry Toke, William Freeman, Kevin Bizzoco, and Austin O’Neil at the Court of Honor on May 31, 2015