Riverview Marine Corps detachment salutes young Eagle Scout as family tradition grows

By LINDA CHION KENNEY
linda@observernews.net

As a newly minted Eagle Scout at age 15, Zachary Harris has a strong sense of what he wants to study and why his accomplishment is a compelling piece of generational lore.
So, too, does his 12-year-old brother, Maxwell, who is determined to earn the highest rank in Scouting America at a younger age than his brother.

The tradition began with their father, Steven Harris, who earned the rank of Eagle Scout at age 18 through the Boy Scouts of America, which rebranded as Scouting America in 2024.

“My father and brother [earned Eagle Scout] really good and pretty fast, but I want to do it faster and better,” Maxwell Harris said, as he discussed his own Eagle Scout project plans. “I kind of wanted to do something at the farm my brother did his project at, but that was before I got obsessed with chickens, so now I think I want to do something with chickens.”

For now, the spotlight is on Zachary Harris, who at his Eagle Scout Court of Honor on May 18 received the Marine Corps Challenge Coin and a certificate for “Good Citizenship” from the Sgt. Walter P. Ryan Detachment of the Marine Corps League in Riverview.

“The challenge coin is for camaraderie and shows that the Scouts and Marines are adjoined and aligned in our missions,” said Veteran Ron Essick, a member of the Riverview detachment, which runs a Young Marines Program, similar in mission to scouting. “It’s a way, too, of congratulating the families and all the support they give to troop members.”
The message for the Eagle Scout honoree is clear as well. “As you go forward, lead by example because the younger troop members look up to you whether you know it or not,” Essick said. “Keep on doing what you’re doing in leadership qualities and take forward everything you’ve learned and in everything you do.”
Looking forward, Zachary Harris said he is “100 percent certain” he will attend college and major in the agricultural field, whether its agribusiness, sales, politics or something else.

“I wanted to earn Eagle Scout because my dad did it,” Zachary Harris said. “I’m happy I completed my goal, and I can move on, applying even more of my dedication elsewhere.”

For the incoming junior at Durant High in Plant City, where he is golf team captain, that involves his third year as board member for the Junior Florida Cattleman’s Association (JFCA). The JFCA is open to members up to age 21, who are producers and non-producers and want to serve as an essential part of Florida’s cattle industry. Members hold ranch tours, meetings and discuss current issues facing the cattle industry, including with legislators in Tallahassee.
Predominant as well is his passion for cattle showmanship through 4-H, FFA and Youth Leaders of Production Agriculture (YLPA), which takes him to cattle shows multiple weeks monthly. At the Heartland Brahman Breeds Association in

Bartow this past weekend, Zachary Harris won Grand Champion.
His Eagle Scout project stands at Mini Friends Farm in Valrico, where Harris built a large tortoise habitat, furthering the nonprofit’s mission to give children, including those with special needs, the opportunity to experience the joy of caring for rescued mini animals.

“With so many challenges for kids today, I’m proud that Zachary as a 15-year-old boy stuck through something for so long,” Annie Harris said, about her son’s achieving Eagle Scout designation.
Meanwhile, Steven Harris in 2001 worked with the Old Seminole Heights Neighborhood Association to add a sign, monument and landscaping to the Hampton Terrace neighborhood entrance. In 2023, at the median entrance restoration ceremony, Steven Harris received a certification of appreciation for his 2001 Eagle Project.

As for building an Eagle Scout legacy, “It was good to see that Zachary was willing, interested and able to complete his Eagle Scout,” Steven Harris said. “Now, his brother is even more enthusiastic to complete his Eagle Scout project, earlier and with even more merit badges.”

For more, visit www.scouting.org/. For more on the Young Marines Program, call Ron Essick at 813-503-0390. For the Sgt. Walter P. Ryan Detachment in Riverview, call 813-672-1778.