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Jeremy Scott Hanna

Jeremy Scott Hanna, 16, of Newbury Park, received his Eagle Scout Award in a Court of Honor ceremony Oct. 20 at the Conejo Players Theatre in Thousand Oaks.

Hanna is a member of Boy Scout Troop 753, sponsored by the Knights of Columbus. Troop leader is Marty Simmons.

Eagle Court of Honor participants included Kim Bond, Eagle adviser; Derek Foster, Scoutmaster emeritus; Councilman Tom Glancy; Emalyn Lovitt; Carson Pratt; Andy Horan; Peter Flack; Neil and Anders Reimer; Christopher Jew; Cameron Embree; and Josh Welter.

Hanna has earned 34 merit badges; 21 are required for Eagle. He is a BSA lifeguard and served as librarian, chaplain's aide, quartermaster, assistant senior patrol leader and patrol leader in his five years with Troop 753.

For his Eagle project, he refinished the landmark "Reaching for the Stars" statue in front of the Conejo Players Theatre, ran 85 feet of electrical line to get the lights working again on the statue, refinished the benches in the sitting area and removed overgrown landscaping. He had 25 helpers, and the project took 350 hours to complete. He chose Conejo Players Theatre because he has found a supportive and loving family environment to learn and work on his passion — live stage performance.

Hanna is a junior at Newbury Park High School. He is involved with Chamber Singers, varsity wrestling, varsity Improvisational Comedy Team, Key Club, Drama Club, Publicity and Movie Makers Club. He is an AP honors student.

He is very active in community theater.

He is the son of Karen Graham-Hanna and Scott Hanna.

Aaron L. Friedman

Aaron L. Friedman, 14, of Simi Valley received his Eagle Scout Award in a Court of Honor ceremony Oct. 13 at St. Francis of Assisi Church in Simi Valley.

Aaron is a member of the Ventura County Council Ronald Reagan District Boy Scout Troop 687, sponsored by St. Francis of Assisi.

The Eagle Court of Honor was called to order by Ronald Reagan District Executive Carolyn Dosick. The master of ceremonies was Troop 687 Assistant Scoutmaster John Johnson. The new Eagle Scout was presented by Troop 687 Scoutmaster Dan Preece.

Eagle Court of Honor participants included Ventura County Council Executive Board Vice President Bill Allison, as well as Troop 687 Eagle Scouts James Preece, Daniel Preece, Michael Johnson and Chris Rea.

Aaron began the trail to Eagle at the age of 6 as a Tiger Cub. He continued through Cub Scouts with Den 3 Pack 3609 at Wood Ranch Elementary School. He earned Cub Scouting's highest honor, the Arrow of Light, on Feb. 20, 2004. Aaron bridged over into Simi Valley Boy Scout Troop 687 in February 2004. He has earned 34 merit badges as a Boy Scout.

For his Eagle Scout project, he built a small rest area about two miles down the trail at the east end of Lake Casitas. He raised funds to purchase a commercial park bench and solicited donations of the other materials needed from several local Do It Center stores. The park bench was installed June 3 in an area cleared under an existing oak tree with the help of a crew of 12. The spot was selected for shade and a scenic view of the lake. This rest area will benefit both hikers and bikers that use the trail at Lake Casitas. He received a Resolution of Thanks from the Casitas Municipal Water District on July 25. One hundred and fifty hours were invested in this Eagle Scout project.

Aaron is in ninth grade at Santa Susana High School. He is enrolled in the Academy of Technology.

He is the son of Neil and Linda Friedman.

— From staff reports