Big Sandy High School senior Severin Heimbigner was awarded the rank of Eagle Scout on Saturday, February 22nd in a ceremony held at the Big Sandy Museum. Eagle Scout is the highest rank achievable in the Boy Scouts of America. The ceremony was attended by the local scout troop (Troop 1450), area representatives of the Boy Scouts, friends, and family.
Bill Lanier, a fellow Eagle Scout and the District Advancement Chair for the Boy Scouts, has known Severin throughout his scouting career and spoke glowingly of the young man. "He's one of those kids who, right from the very beginning, everything about the Scout Law was not hard for Severin to follow, because that's the way he led his life, even as a young person." Bill explained that right from his days in Cub Scouts and as a Boy Scout, "Severin was one of those youth that when he said he was going to do something, he did. He was one of those kids that always wanted to be a part of everything, because he was a hard worker. And everything that scouting enables embodies is Severin."
Bill's description of Severin's character was echoed by others that know him. Tucker Taylor, who teaches history at Big Sandy High School and was Severin's football coach, described the newly-minted Eagle Scout: "From a teaching and coaching standpoint, he's always somebody that you can rely on to follow directions and give you his best work. He's a hard working kid. He's normally the one that teachers know they can count on. He's just well brought up. He's got a good work ethic, well spoken, and coaching him... he went through quite a few injuries and, sure, he was frustrated, but he always kind of saw the good in things and worked hard and battled for us when he could. He's always somebody that is friendly with others, and he doesn't talk down to people. He's normally an encouraging personality in the room, whether in the classroom or on the football field."
Kristi Rutledge, who works with Severin as a youth pastor, mirrored the sentiments. She especially emphasized the young man's seriousness about his faith and taking a leadership role in relation to other young people in the group.
Lianna Heimbigner described her son as very humble. She also spoke of his leadership skills, gained early on in scouting and honed through years of participation in scouts. She also described his hard work and dedication in completing his Eagle Scout project within his allotted time.
Leading up to Severin's achieving Eagle Scout, there was some question as to whether or not he would have enough time to finish up the requirements needed to be able to finish earning the rank. Up until recently, there was no troop in Big Sandy. Local Boy Scouts met in Havre. With the creation of the troop in Big Sandy, Severin stepped into a larger leadership role to help others continue their advancement, paying less attention to his own Eagle Scout efforts. Between that and additional responsibilities he took on at FFA, the completion of his Eagle Scout journey came very much in doubt. His father, Conrad Heimbigner, explained: "He was fast progressing through the ranks. After he reached the Life Scout, the troop required more leadership, so he took a back seat on his own personal growth and made sure that everybody else in the troop got through their ranks. Then he got to the point where he didn't think there was enough time for him to finish. He accepted that responsibility. Then something changed, and he persevered and found the time and got it done." Severin's willingness to put his own needs aside to take care of everyone else.
Bill describes his encouragement to Severin as he looked to the finish line with the clock running out: "I told him, you live the life of an Eagle Scout. You embody what an Eagle Scout is. The only thing that you don't have is the title. You've learned all the things that you can in scouting, but to get that title is something that you will cherish your whole life."
Severin explained his own focus on leading/serving others within his troop, potentially sacrificing achieving the rank of Eagle Scout: "I don't know. I felt it was more important to, you know, lead and help other people out, than to focus on myself." I quickly pointed out to the impressive young man that this, in fact, was an example of him doing what Bill described: Living out the values of an Eagle Scout as a matter of day to day life.
Severin's journey to earn the award began in 2018, when he transferring from the Cub Scouts to join the Boy Scouts. In the process of earning his Eagle Scout ranking, Severin earned 50 merit badges in a wide variety of skills. He also achieved over a dozen recognition awards and held many offices within the organization. His Eagle Scout project was the refurbishing of the Fallen Soldier Memorial at the Big Sandy Cemetery.
Earnest Gotlieb, the leader of troop 1450 who worked with Severin over the last few years, described the portion of the journey he witnessed: "He's a dedicated individual. He works hard. It's fun to watch him chase around the younger scouts and make sure they're learning. He's got a lot of patience with them. It's a hard skill to teach, and he came by it naturally. It's been a lot of fun to watch him grow from his life scouting into mentoring the younger youth, and to get him across the finish line."
Severin joins an exclusive club of locals to achieve the honor. In fact, only four other residents have been awarded the Eagle Scout rank. The last time a Big Sandy local earned it was in 1981, when Kevin Barsotti accomplished the feat through Troop 488. Previous to that, 3 Eagle Scouts associated with Troop 88 were named in March of 1941: Glen Panchot, Ellsworth Skeie, and Wills A. Welty. I asked Severin about the variations in the Big Sandy troop numbering and he explained that as the organization grew, the classifications changed to reflect the more complex organizational designations.
Throughout his acceptance speech and our interview, he thanked everyone who supported him in his journey and purchased popcorn in fundraisers. His father summed up his feelings on his son's achievement, simply stating: "I'm very proud of Severin."
