In the eyes of longtime Scoutmaster Tom Klipfel, a moment during a Troop 161 meeting captured Liam Bennett’s character.
A younger Scout was having a hard time at the meeting, the kind of moment that usually calls for an adult to step in. Before Klipfel could react, Bennett — about six years older than the youngster — was already sitting with him, helping him calm down and talk through it.
“It just warmed my heart that it was Liam,” Klipfel said. “Before I even realized what was happening, Liam was already taking care of it. I’ve been fortunate to have a couple other scouts that might have done that, but it’s maybe one in 10. Liam was one of those.”
That instinct to look out for others is part of why Klipfel calls Bennett, the son of Tim and Sunny Bennett, an outstanding young man and a role model to newer and younger Scouts. This past Monday, Bennett’s years in Scouting culminated in Eagle Scout recognition during a Court of Honor ceremony at First Baptist Church.
Bennett joined the Scouts in October 2019 after his father found a troop in the area.
“My dad had been looking for a troop and so he found one and we showed up to one of the events and loved the people,” Bennett said. “It was a fun time and so I kept coming back.”
The path to Eagle wasn’t a straight line. The pandemic disrupted much of his early progress, pushing key requirements later than planned.
“COVID kind of threw a wrench into a lot of that stuff and so I didn’t get a lot of it done until later on,” Bennett said. “I think from Life to Eagle — because there’s a six-month time requirement — I think I got Life with seven months left in scouts.”
That left Bennett scrambling to finish during his senior year of high school, while also juggling commitments like state wrestling and theater.
Klipfel said that kind of late push is common among Scouts nearing Eagle rank — and Bennett’s case was no different.
“When it was time to really step up and start making progress, he knew what the runway was going to require, and he stepped up and did that,” Klipfel said. “He knew what it took to get there, and he got there.”
For his Eagle Scout project, Bennett installed sensory sand bins at Clemens Primary School, an idea that had been sitting unfunded for years before he took it on. His mother, Sunny Bennett, teaches kindergarten at the school.
“The principal at the primary school had these tubs for years and never had the funding to actually put it together,” Bennett said. “So when I reached out, she said that she had this project that she needed to get done but couldn’t do. And so I planned it out and provided the labor and the remaining materials to get it done.”
The bins give students a hands-on outlet that Bennett said reinforces classroom learning.
“When the kids are inside learning in the classroom, they’re building neurological pathways in their brains,” he said. “And when they go out and have that motor sensory input, it strengthens all that learning in the classroom. I’ve heard from some of the students that it’s very fun and very relaxing.”
The project took an estimated 100 to 150 volunteer hours to plan and complete, including about six hours of hands-on labor to level the ground, clean and place the tubs, and add rock, a liner, sand and bark chips.
One obstacle came from underestimating how much dirt would need to be cleared to level the site.
“All of a sudden, we had like a yard and a half of dirt that was sitting there,” Bennett said. “It wasn’t enough that you could just kind of kick it to the side and ignore it. We had to figure out where to put it.”
The solution: Bennett’s own backyard, which had a hole that needed filling.
Klipfel, who has served as scoutmaster since 2010 and estimates he has helped 20 Scouts reach Eagle rank, said Bennett stood out for his character as much as his achievements.
“He’s just an all-around outstanding young man, very bright, and just great with the younger scouts, very welcoming,” Klipfel said.
Bennett said the Scout motto is the lesson he expects to carry with him longest.
“‘Be prepared.’ To me, ‘be prepared’ means to do everything I can in planning so that I can be as prepared as possible, or be prepared to go without the things I didn’t anticipate,” he said.
Scouting runs in the family — Bennett’s father was also a Boy Scout, and his younger brother, Evan Bennett, is currently a member of the troop.
Bennett, 18, plans to attend Southwestern Oregon Community College in Coos Bay, where he intends to wrestle and pursue the school’s diesel mechanics program.
Troop 161 is sponsored by the Philomath Youth Activities Club. Klipfel and Assistant Scoutmaster Tim Bennett, Liam’s dad, presented the Eagle Award during the July 13 ceremony, which included a slideshow tracing Bennett’s journey from Scouting’s entry-level Trail rank to Eagle.
Bennett also received seven merit badges at the ceremony — Citizenship in the Nation, Citizenship in the Community, Citizenship in Society, Cooking, Family Life, Personal Fitness and Personal Management.
To reach Eagle, Scouts must earn 21 merit badges, 14 of which are required and the rest chosen from more than 150 elective options. Scouts must also complete all requirements before turning 18, leaving a narrow window to close out any remaining work.
“I think I’ve had maybe one scout finish a month before that,” Klipfel said. “Everyone else is within that last month, my own son included.”
The Court of Honor also recognized several other Troop 161 members for rank advancements and special awards. Zack Rogers advanced to Scout, Evan O’Rourke to Second Class, Eli Cook and Perrin Sizemore to First Class, and Derick Kohn to Star.
Lincoln Stieger received the Recruiter award, and Evan Bennett and Eli Cook completed Introduction to Leadership Skills for Troops.
