Livingston Boy Scout Troop 16 recently held a Court of Honor for its latest Eagle Scouts, Elias Nehemiah Porter and Gabriel Michael Kovach.
The Eagle Scout rank is the highest rank attainable in Boy Scouting; it is equivalent to Girl Scouting’s Gold Award.
Elias Porter
Porter got involved in Scouting shortly after moving to Livingston in 2012. After attending his first Cub Scout meeting, he “immediately fell in love with Scouting.”
Throughout the years, Porter learned many survival and leadership skills, including how to perform the Heimlich maneuver as well as “the importance of brotherhood.” He also participated in and won some of the PinewoodDerby C ompetitions, took part in such weekend and summer camp activities as hiking, rifle shooting, and canoeing.
In the summer of 2018, Porter applied for the Counselor in Training (CIT) position at Turrell Camp in upstate New York, which, he said, “resulted in an ATV commercial too.” As a CIT, he acquired skills as a trainee while obtaining several merit badges, which led to a threeplus year stint as summer camp youth counselor in Livingston.
For his Eagle Scout project, he built a small split rail fence around the trail at the deer enclosure/native plant enclosure at the Environmental Center in Roseland. The work restored the deer fence surrounding the half-acre site, protecting native plants.
During the Court of Honor, Porter noted, “The values and skills I have obtained over the past ten years have opened several doors of opportunity for me.” He plays the drums for the marching and jazz bands at Livingston High School, and also competes on the Lancer football, basketball, and track teams.
Several months ago, he volunteered as a junior coach for the township girls’ basketball team, serving children ages ten to 12. He also volunteers twice a month at Full Gospel Church in Livingston as a drummer, as well as at his childhood church, Greater Liberty Temple in Newark. Additionally, he participates in a bi-weekly Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity mentoring program, which, he stated, “has been a major influence in my life.” He is an active participant in the Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Essex, Hudson and Union Counties as well.
Porter’s short-term goal, he explains, “is to graduate from high school and attend a four-year college of my choice, majoring in international business/marketing, and minoring in music with a minimal amount of school loans.” His longterm goal, he added, “is to graduate with my master’s degree, travel the world, maybe get married, and develop an international food drive and housing program that helps Third World countries, like where my parents grew up.”
Porter also wants to own several properties, such as apartment buildings, and establish various partnerships with international companies around the world “to create wealth opportunities to helpAfrican-American families succeed and achieve their fullest potential.”
During his speech at the Court of Honor, Porter noted, “Coming from a Christian household, I believe we all have a purpose for living. I believe that my purpose is to give back and help African-American young people like myself believe that they can accomplish anything in life as long as they believe, pray and have faith in themselves.”
Gabriel Kovach
Kovach became a Scout in 2011 when he joined Pack 16 as a Tiger Cub Scout. His most memorable trips from his Cub Scouting years were his overnight stay at Taconic, New York, and his trip to the Northern New Jersey Council Weboree. His favorite events included the annual Pinewood Derby, for which he won the award of “Most Creative” in 2013. He also earned the Light of Christ pin and the Parvuli Dei emblem with the help of the clergy of St. Philomena Church, sponsor of Troop 16. In his final year of Cub Scouting, he earned the Arrow of Light award, the highest achievement in Cub Scouts. That year, during his “Blue and Gold” ceremony, he “crossed over” into Boy Scout Troop 16.
As a Boy Scout, Kovach spent multiple summers at Camp Turrell developing his Scouting skills and earning many merit badges. In his first year at Turrell, he joined the Polar Bear Club and committed himself to wake up every morning at 6 a.m. to dive into the ice-cold lake at camp. He also worked on many of his Eagle Scout requirements at Camp Somers, in its Eagle’s Nest program. His favorite Scout trips were the annual Resica Falls trip, racing sleds at the snowy Klondike Derby, hiking through historic Livingston, and sailing the Florida Keys at Sea Base.
Kovach served Troop 16 through various leadership positions, including asAssistant Patrol Leader, Patrol Leader, Quartermaster, Order of the Arrow representative, and Senior Patrol Leader.
He completed his Eagle Scout project at the historical Colonialera Force Home in Livingston. His project included the organization of the Force home’s “buttery,” used as an “ice box” in the time before refrigeration. The buttery has been converted to showcase over 40 artifacts used by the residents of the Force Home and the surrounding areas. However, these items were disorganized and without labels. For his project, Kovach researched and designated labels for the artifacts. These labels included the artifact’s name, a brief description of how it was used, what the modern-day technological equivalent is, and the time period in which it was used.
Kovach is involved in many aspects of the community as well. He routinely donates blood to the Red Cross; serves as a catechist; teaches Sunday religious education classes at his parish, St. Philomena Roman Catholic Church; serves as a Eucharistic minister at Seton Hall Prep School; and leads many ongoing service projects as the leader of the Seton Hall Prep Service Club. Every Wednesday after school, Kovach goes to Canterbury Village, a local nursing home, visiting and entertaining the residents.
He spent a week of the summers of 2021 and 2022 at Camp New Day, a camp for developmentally disabled adults. In addition, in the summer of 2022, he joined a summer swim league and helped coach the LivingstonAquaJets by marshaling.
Kovach was the only student selected out of his entire class at Seton Hall Prep to receive the Vincent D. Purpora Award for his commitment to serving others. Gabe is also a shot putter on the Seton Hall Prep varsity track and field team. He is a member of the Livingston Historical Society and volunteers as a docent at events hosted by the Society. As an Eagle Scout, he continues to volunteer his time and talents to help others after achieving this rank as an Assistant Scoutmaster.
