As many of you know, this week we lost Ms. Ellie Pekala. A longtime member of Troop 1396's Committee, Ms. Ellie, as she was known to so many, was a fixture at Eagle Scout projects. Because she was so pleased with the impact of Scouts and Troop 1396 on her son Aaron, Ms. Ellie committed to bringing several dozen doughnuts to any Troop 1396 Eagle Project so the project would start off on the right foot. Now these were not any old doughnuts, these were the colossal Shoppers doughnuts. There is not even a Shoppers in Lake Ridge; the closest Shoppers is in Montclair. She would not only get up early in the morning to drive and pick these up, but she would deliver regardless of where the project was, which sometimes meant Fredericksburg or Mount Vernon, and have them there before the project was to start. As long as she was aware of the project, she was going to be there – you could count on it. She did not do this for recognition or fanfare; she did this out of love and devotion to a program that she found so instrumental in making a positive impact in the community and individual lives of Scouts who would go on to do great things. She remains an inspiration. We mourn the loss of Ms. Ellie, but we celebrate the lady and volunteer she was in life. At the end of the day, all we leave is our reputation and Ms. Ellie commanded a stellar one. May God grant solace to both her family and us as we reconcile her passing.
A Scout is Loyal.