Boling Eagle Scout gets congressional recognition
By BARRY HALVORSON bhalvorson@journal-spectator.com

Congressman Ron Paul (R) presents special congressional awards to Boling Eagle Scout Vinson Valdez, son of David and Debra Valdez.

Expecting something more than ordinary from himself, Boling resident Vinson Valdez decided at age 14 to try for the extraordinary by chasing after an award few receive.

Now 19 and a student at Wharton County Junior College, Valdez was presented with both his Eagle Scout recognition and a Congressional Award Gold Medal during a ceremony held Dec. 5 at Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Catholic Church. The Congressional Award, which represents accomplishments in four areas - public service, physical fitness, expedition/exploration and personal development - was presented by U.S. Representative Ron Paul.

In a recent interview, Valdez said his pursuit of the medal developed out of his participation in scouting.

"About the third year I was in scouting, I decided I wanted even more of a challenge," Valdez said. "My father (David Valdez) and I started looking for something. Part of the idea was just to find something that would let me stay out of trouble. Too many people my age get into problems and I think the effort to earn the medal helped make me act more mature."

He admitted his early work was more of a "team effort" pushed by his parents, aunts and uncles.

"They were very supportive and I'm real grateful for it," he said. "And without them, I probably wouldn't have achieved as much. But after a while it was more self-motivated. After I reached 30 merit badges, I told myself, 'You can do this.'"

Eagle Scout requires a minimum of 21 merit badges, 11 that are mandatory with 10 optional. Valdez has earned 102 of the possible 120 badges as well as doing an Eagle Scout project.

Valdez selected his scouting badges to represent his personal development and his Eagle project, building some training room equipment for Boling High School, as his community service for the congressional award. For physical fitness, he recorded his time playing JV basketball and JV and varsity baseball at Boling High. For exploration, he chose a camping trip to northern Minnesota.

The Congressional program has six levels of participation - bronze, silver and gold certificates and bronze, silver and gold medals - based on the number of hours contributed. To reach the highest level like Valdez, it requires 400 verified volunteer hours in each area. Valdez had a number of individuals willing to sign off on his work, including Boling Coach Neil Majewski.

"I knew him from being involved in school athletics," Valdez said. "I told him about what I was doing and he said he was impressed and that I should go for it."

Valdez admitted that early on, some of his peers looked down on scouting, but that just let him know who was in his corner.

"A lot of teens don't think it's cool to be in scouts, but my close friends supported me," he said. "And when it is all said and done, the self confidence and goal setting skills this taught me will help me later in life. And the help I received also showed me the importance of helping other people. I now try to serve as a role model for Cub Scouts trying to teach them the importance of self motivation."

Valdez is currently in the general studies program at WCJC. He plans to transfer after two years to transfer to the University of Houston and pursue a major in media production.

"I'd like to get involved in films and documentaries," he said. "I want to be the guy behind the camera working on the computer to edit the copy and make it work."