Eagle Scout

Tom Padfield, a member of Boy Scout Troop 317 in Bethlehem Township, received his Eagle Scout rank at a Court of Honor held May 12 at Little Pond Arts Retreat in Moore Township. The rank is the highest award in Scouting. Padfield's older brother, Dirk, also an Eagle Scout, administered the Eagle Charge and Challenge to Tom.

Little Pond Arts Retreat was the site of Padfield's Eagle Scout service project, where he and his fellow Boy Scouts tore down an old mobile home, planted trees and set pipes to redirect a natural spring. Located on a 32-acre farm, Little Pond offers retreats and workshops, involving a variety of artistic disciplines, for students of all ages.

Born in Stavanger, Norway, Padfield and his family returned to the Lehigh Valley in 1989. He is a student at Freedom High School, where he is a member of the track team.

Padfield is active in the Lehigh Valley Baha'i Youth Workshop and has worked as a summer camp counselor at BSA Camp Minsi in the Poconos and Baha'i Camp Louhelen in Michigan. For several years, he has done service work at the Rose Garden Children's Festival and the Victory House in Bethlehem.

Padfield plans to attend college and become a guidance counselor.