Joe Flynn, Maple Valley resident and son of Jim and Marcia Flynn, was recently awarded the rank of Eagle Scout from the Boy Scouts of America.

The Eagle award is the highest rank attainable in scouting and is achieved by only a small percentage of scouts. Flynn completed the requirements for his Eagle rank in 2009 and his achievements were celebrated at an Eagle Court of Honor held at Shepherd of the Valley Lutheran Church March 13. Flynn has been a member of Maple Valley’s Boy Scout Troop 711 since 2003 and prior to that was a member of Cub Scout Pack 711, also located in Maple Valley.

To become an Eagle Scout, Flynn fulfilled a long list of requirements that included earning 23 Merit Badges, serving as a troop leader and completing an Eagle Scout service project, which was constructing of a set of stairs connecting the Lake Wilderness Trail to Lake Wilderness Drive at the south end of the lake. Flynn coordinated the work of more than 30 volunteers during this project, which improved an important pedestrian link in the community trail system.

Flynn’s participation in Troop 711’s hiking and outdoor programs, including a 90-mile hike at the Philmont Scout Ranch in New Mexico, led to a greater appreciation for the outdoors, which prompted him to climb Mount Rainier for his senior project. Flynn will graduate from Tahoma Senior High School in June and will attend Washington State University in the fall.