Boy Scouts honor Zach Zajec

• Presentation

State Sen. Sheila Harsdorf (R-River Falls) presents Zach Zajec’s mother, Melissa, with a flag and plaque in Zach’s honor.
• Spirit of the Eagle

A member of Boy Scout Troop 460 lights a gold candle, representing Zach Zajec’s “spirit of the eagle.”

Talk about it

Members of Boy Scout Troop 460 held a special Spirit of the Eagle ceremony to honor their fellow scout, Zach Zajec, who died on Aug. 6 from injuries received in a car accident.

Many of Zajec’s family and friends gathered for the special ceremony, which took place at 6 p.m. on Monday, Aug. 27, at Mary Park.

“I think it was important for the boys, they’re a pretty tight knit group, to honor what Zach did in Scouts and kind of reflect on what being a Boy Scout means,” said Jeff Kuhlman, scoutmaster for Troop 460. “We found this Spirit of the Eagle ceremony and modified it to fit Zach’s scouting experience.”

The ceremony included the lighting of four candles in Zajec’s memory. A red candle represented “the lifeblood of brave men,” a white candle represented purity and a blue candle represented faith and loyalty.

The final candle was a gold candle, which represented Zajec’s “spirit of the eagle.”

“Our purpose tonight is not to mourn Zach’s passing, though we all miss him very much, but rather we have gathered to celebrate the golden scouting spirit Zach embodied,” Kuhlman said to the crowd.

Many of the speakers mentioned Zajec’s love of the outdoors, soccer and life in general.

“He had really a broad span of interests and I think Scouting really helped him with that,” said Mick Bradish, a Troop 460 committee member.

Zajec was very active in the Boy Scouts since 2002 and the ceremony highlighted many of his achievements. Zajec was only a few badges away from earning the rank of eagle scout.

In honor of Zajec, the troop presented his mother, Melissa Zajec, with a certificate commemorating the spirit of the eagle that Zajec possessed.

Representatives from the City of New Richmond, Kiwanis Club and the state were also in attendance and presented his family with certificates and plaques.

The ceremony ended with the reading of the Eagle prayer and a prayer by Rev. Jim Brinkman of the Church of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin.

“He was a good kid,” Bradish said. “I’m going to miss him a great deal.”

Tags: new richmond, communities, wisconsin