Local scouts soaring as 'Eagles'

Two Sandpoint residents recently earned their Eagle Scout ranking after years of hard work.

Ryan Doko and Elliot Lowman have been part of the Boy Scouts program since first grade. Doko, a senior at Sandpoint High School, and Lowman, a freshman at Wake Forest, have been working toward achieving Eagle Scout rank since he was 12. Both recently saw that dream become a reality, receiving Eagle Scout honors.

Doko began in the Boys Scout program when he was 6 years old and decided he wanted to be an Eagle Scout in sixth grade. 

“The hardest part is determining if you want to go get your Eagle Scout,” Doko said. “There’s different ranks and Eagle Scout is the last rank and so you have to get all these ranks before you get Eagle Scout. You have to make a decision [around sixth grade] of whether or not you’re going to go after it and get it because there’s a lot of merit badges you have to do on top of the Eagle project.”

Few people get the rank but those who do “are people that decided they wanted to go get it,” Doko said.

In his case, Doko said he decided to aim for Eagle Scout because he was active in Scouting and he enjoyed being a part of the troop’s activities.

“I just have been involved with scouting for a long time and I was already in the troop and doing these camping events which count towards requirements so I decided just to go get it.” Doko said. 

Lowman joined the Boy Scouts because it was a tradition, dating back generations in his family. He said, “I joined scouts originally because it’s just a family thing, my Grandpa’s an Eagle Scout and my dad’s an Eagle Scout and my dad just wanted me and my younger brother to get involved so we both got involved as young as we could. We’ve just been in scouts ever since.”

Lowman, being a Scout for so many years, has learned a multitude of things. Through scouting and through the pursuit of his Eagle Scout ranking, Lowman said he has also learned leadership skills.

“Something really emphasized in scouting is leadership so I’ve learned a lot about leadership,” he said. “I led my own eagle project. A lot of people think it’s about the effort you put in, it’s more about the leadership you put in and how you lead others to help you. In addition, I also went to national youth leadership training which is just something put on by scouts and then there’s just tons of other leadership skills you learn throughout. I’ve taken up a lot of leadership positions in the troop and elsewhere now.”

To become an Eagle Scout, Scouts must complete a range of tasks, the biggest one being the Eagle Scout project. 

Doko decided to create a community bulletin board at an old schoolhouse near his home as a way to help keep his friends and neighbors connected. The schoolhouse is used for community dinners and the creation of the bulletin board allows community members to stay up-to-date with what is going on — and with each other. A second part of his project involved repairing and cleaning up an old American flag in the schoolhouse. For the project, Doko cleaned the flag and had it framed to hang at the building.

Doko’s favorite part of his project was that he got to talk to a lot of different people — all of whom agreed to help with it. When the project was complete, everyone involved was really happy with how it turned out. 

Lowman decided to take on the task of repainting the exterior of the food hall building at Bonner County Fairgrounds for his project. The food hall is used for many events by the community, especially during the fair week in August.

“We had to treat the outside which meant we had to take off the paint that was ready to flake off,” he said. “So we spent an entire day pressure washing it, grinding off some of the sides and scraping off some of the paint. After we did that, we spent two more days actually painting it.” 

Lowman chose this project because, during the COVID-19 pandemic, instead of meeting at Sandpoint Community Hall, his scout troop began meeting at the fairgrounds, holding their weekly meetings there for about three years. 

Lowman said he chose the project for two reasons: It was a project that needed to be done at some point but also because he wanted to express his gratitude toward the fairgrounds for letting the troop meet there for three years.

Both Doko and Lowman have been in the Boy Scout program for many years, creating many memories with friends — something they treasure. Both have some favorite memories surrounding the 50-mile backpacking trip each summer. 

Lowman added, “I enjoy hanging out with everyone just because it’s interesting. I did the 50 mile hike this summer and you hike for 5-10 miles every day and then set up camp and you get to hang out with everyone. I’m a social person, I really enjoy hanging out with people. You learn a lot from scouting as well.” 

Doko plans to pursue a computer science degree, possibly at the University of Idaho, in hopes of working in the cybersecurity field. Lowman, a current freshman at Wake Forest, is studying math and computer science. 

    Elliot Lowman, a freshman at Wake Forest, recently achieved his Eagle Scout rank.