FROM ALISON ROUSE
Wetumpka High School senior Richie Bailey, a member of Boy Scout Troop 13 chartered by First Presbyterian Church of Wetumpka, has recently achieved Eagle rank. Bailey is 18-years-old and got his start in Scouting as a founding member of Cub Scout Pack 429 in 2010, chartered at that time by Mulder Church in Wetumpka. While at Pack 429, he earned the God and Me and God and Family religious awards, as well as the Arrow of Light, the highest level of achievement in Cub Scouts.
In 2015, Bailey joined Troop 13, where he held a variety of leadership positions through the years, including senior patrol leader, assistant senior patrol leader, patrol leader and quartermaster. He has also served as a den chief for Cub Scout Pack 50 in Wetumpka.
In 2017, Bailey completed his Order of the Arrow (National Scouting Honor Society) Ordeal with Alibamu Lodge 179 and became a Brotherhood member in 2021. In 2018 he completed National Youth Leadership Training and this past summer served as a camp staff member at Tukabatchee. At the end of 2021, Bailey received the prestigious Bryan Valliere Scout of the Year award from Troop 13.
As an active member of Trinity Episcopal Church in Wetumpka, Bailey chose a landscaping project that he hoped would help the church attract a new priest, since Trinity’s former priest had retired and the church was actively recruiting new clergy.
Bailey recalls his favorite Scout memory as attending the 2017 National Jamboree held in Summit Bechtel Reserve in West Virginia. In addition to being a member of the Wetumpka High School varsity wrestling team, he was a three-year member of the WHS Pride of the Tribe marching band and is active in his church youth group. He is also pursuing an advanced diploma with several Advanced Placement classes. Following graduation, Bailey plans to attend Auburn University and major in environmental sciences.
