Harrison Adams, a senior at Morgan Academy, is known by many as the starting quarterback on the football team, a small forward on the basketball team, president of the Student Government Association and the list goes on. But now people can call him an Eagle Scout, an honor many Boy Scouts never get to wear on their shirt because of the time and dedication it takes to become one.

“It is something that I knew no one could ever take away from me, and I knew that it was going to take a lot of hard work and dedication to get to the point of an Eagle Scout,” Adams said. “It is just something I always strived to achieve.”

Adams, who is in Boy Scout Troop 46 from Cornerstone Presbyterian Church, was awarded his badge last Sunday.

“It was really special because when you work for something for so long and you’re committed to an organization like Boy Scouts, it’s just kind of the culmination and celebration of what you’ve achieved,” Adams said.

Adams said while the badge may be his, he wouldn’t have earned it without the people that kept him focused and motivated along the way.

“It’s not a complete me thing. I guess it is my badge, but there are countless people that have kept me motivated and dedicated to getting to Eagle Scout,” Adams said.

“Scouting is a journey that no teenage boy can do by his self. There are so many other people that are involved in the process like your parents, your scoutmasters and your mentors that keep you motivated.”

Adams is the 103rd scout in Troop 46 to earn the Eagle Scout badge.

“Harold Wells, Robert Staple and I run the troop, and we’ve been working together as the leaders for 35 years,” said Scoutmaster Fred McCormick. “We’ve had 80 Eagles since we took over the troop.”

Adams said having so many others come before him in his troop to earn that same honor says a lot about Troop 46.

“It’s a testament to the type of leadership we have within our scout troop,” Adams said. “From scoutmasters, to parents, to fellow scouts, it is just a lot of camaraderie.”

Adams is also on the scholars bowl, math and computer teams at school.

“I’m a busy guy, but I love being busy,” Adams said. “It makes it fun. It’s something I’m not going to get to do again when I get out of high school.”

To earn his Eagle Scout badge, Adams had to earn 21 merit badges, serve as a troop leader and complete his Eagle Scout project, which was designing and building an outdoor classroom at Morgan Academy.

“They refer to it as my outdoor classroom, but it’s really not. It’s the school’s,” Adams laughed. “It is just cool to see that I can make a lasting impression on my school that students will continue to be able to use for years to come, and when I come back after I’ve graduated, I can go down there and look at it and see how it is continuing to help students excel.”

Stacey, Adams mother, said it was a proud moment to watch her son join the long lineage of Eagle Scouts from Troop 46.

“Me and his dad (Bart) are just so proud of him, and we’re thankful that he had such a good group of leaders to encourage him,” Stacey said. “It took him a lot of years, but he never gave up, and he kept working to complete it.”