Eight Sequim Cub Scouts were presented with the top honor of Cub Scouting — The Arrow of Light — at the “Blue and Gold” ceremony of Sequim Pack 4490 on Friday, Feb. 25.

More than 190 family members and friends attended the dinner and celebration at Cub Scouting’s annual event, held at Sequim Community Church.

Earning the Scout honor were Addie Berg, Liam Stevenson, Mathew Craig, Hunter Davidson, Dylan Washburn, Weston Mason, John Edson and Jack Van Sant.

The Arrow of Light is the highest award available to Cub Scouts. Each Scout received a hand-made wooden arrow trophy in recognition of his accomplishment.

The ceremony marks their last official event as Cub Scouts: As part of the ceremony they officially became Boy Scouts. The new Boy Scouts crossed a wooden bridge on stage, symbolizing their graduation from the younger Cub Scouts into the older Boy Scouts.

Boy Scouts from local troops were waiting at the other side of the bridge to welcome them into their troops after the Arrow of Light ceremony. New Scouts will be able to wear their Arrow of Light pins on their Boy Scout uniforms; if, as adults, they become Scout leaders, they also will be able to wear a symbol of that accomplishment on their adult leader uniforms.

The Arrow of Light award requires the Scout to have earned the Webelos Scout badge, eight activity badges and numerous skill and activity requirements. The Arrow of Light award is the only Cub Scout award that can be worn on a Boy Scout uniform.
 
Astronaut surprises scouts
The Scouts were surpris-ed when astronaut Col. John Fabian, U.S Air Force (retired), stepped onstage to speak. His attendance at the event had been kept secret from the Scouts in case the former shuttle astronaut wasn’t able to return in time from his recent trip to Kennedy Space Center. Fabian had returned only days before from seeing off the final voyage of the space shuttle Discovery. After regaling the audience with anecdotes of traveling at Mach 25 and in space, he presented the graduating Cub Scouts with the official mission patch from space shuttle Discovery’s final mission — the STS-133 patch.

A resident of Pullman and graduate of both Washington State University and the University of Washington, Fabian had acquired the patches for the Scouts while at Kennedy Space Center.

For more information about Scouting or Pack 4490, call Craig Stevenson, assistant Scoutmaster, at 461-4455.