Thomas Byrne earns Eagle rank

Thomas Byrne became the newest Troop 320 Eagle, the 258th for the troop. Thomas is the son of Russell and Stephanie Byrne. 

Thomas’s Eagle project was to build a bridge over a tributary near the Jemison Trail along with the help of 13 scouts from Troop 320. He will also be presenting a donation to Red Mountain Park in excess of $1,000 from fundraising efforts for his project. 

Thomas comes from a family with a rich history in Troop 320. His father, Russell, is Troop 320 scout master emeritus. His uncle Kelly Byrne is a current adult leader at Troop 320 and also the adult leader for Troop 2010 Venture Crew. His uncle Matt Byrne, who passed away shortly after a major winter hike to Mount Mitchell, was very active as an adult leader at Troop 320 and organized many trips. He was buried in his Scout uniform. Thomas also has three cousins who received their Eagles from Troop 320: Paul (son of Matt Byrne) and Robert and Will Byrne (sons of Kelly Byrne). 

Thomas has been active in Troop 320 since crossing over and receiving his Arrow of Light from Cub Scouts. He has shown leadership as a patrol leader, chaplain and most recently troop representative to Pack 320, where he assisted as a den assistant and helped with New Scout backpacking, the Pine Wood Derby, the Blue and Gold banquet and weekly pack meetings. Thomas plans to stay active in scouting with the Venture Crew and is hopeful that his sister will be joining him. 

Thomas is a senior at Mountain Brook High School. He is on the varsity lacrosse team, where he has been the starting goalie for the past two years; varsity football team, where he was a starter for special teams and also played defensive end; and the varsity wrestling team, where he made it to state last year in the 170 lb. class. After high school he plans to attend Millsaps College and major in business or science and play lacrosse.