Three Eagles Scouts in Salvo Family

Boy Scout Troop 41 recently honored their 54th Eagle Scout. What makes this extra special for one family is that three of them are brothers. The Salvo family's youngest son Christopher, 18, became the third Eagle Scout following his brothers Charles (Chuckie), 28, and Eric, 23.

Christopher, a senior at Shawsheen Tech, said he was proud of his accomplishment. "It has taught me leadership and confidence," he said.

According to their only sister Jodi, 27, Chuckie was a role model for both his younger brothers, and the whole family played a part.

Their dad, Joseph, became an assistant cub master who drove the boys to meetings, helped them with merit badges and went on hikes and camp-outs with them. She said her dad still remains active in cub scouts and in the troop.

"My mom and I were kind of the silent helpers, we both went to every fundraiser and Mom sewed on every merit badge they earned," she explained.

As Eric and Christopher worked toward Eagle, they seemed to "one-up" their older brothers. Jodi explained that each brother worked toward something extra that the other before him had not.

Eric not only became an Eagle Scout, but also attained the Order of the Arrow, Scoutings National Honor Society. Christopher also became a Brown Sea Island Scout, a camp based on the first Boy Scout camp, which is only attainable by a select number of scouts.

Chuckie said he is honored to be the trailblazer that set the goals for both brothers' accomplishments. "I'd like to think that they looked up to me and wanted to follow in my footsteps and achieve the rank for themselves."

Explaining that the boys were a lot younger when he achieved Eagle Scout in 1999, he wasn't sure that it hit them how big it actually was.  

"As they got older and progressed, I encouraged them to push themselves to go above and beyond what I was able to accomplish," he said.

Christopher credits his brothers for motivating him and his dad for being part of the troop. But he explained it was Mark Fansel, the assistant scoutmaster who passed away last year who gave him the confidence to strive toward achieving his goals. He looked up to Fansel, and in his memory, he wanted to surpass what others expected of him.

"I wanted him to be proud of me," he said.

All of their Eagle Scout projects have benefited the in Tewksbury where troop meetings are held. Jodi described each brother's project as a way of giving back to the church.

Christopher organized a car wash fundraiser to pour cement on the church basement floor, while Eric's project was cleaning up brush and cutting down trees in the church field, and Chuckie built a porch on a house that belonged to the church.

"Being an Eagle Scout has strengthened their life skills. As the only sister, I watched my brothers work hard throughout the years and am so proud of all that they have achieved," she said.

As they were reading the Scout Oath at the ceremony, Jodi said she couldn't help but smile. "If you ask me, that makes it pretty easy to be proud of them."

Chuckie also expressd his pride. "It was quite an honor to have been able to share the stage with both my brothers as we celebrated Christopher's achievement."