Ballard High School graduate, Thomas Ryan, has been awarded the rank of Eagle Scout.

Tom is a member of Boy Scout Troop 100 in Ballard. Troop 100 holds an annual Christmas Tree Sale, at St. Alphonsus Catholic Church on NW 15th Avenue, and has been doing so for the past 30 years.

Tom has been part of the Boy Scouts of American for six years and is currently president of Venture Crew 100 and an Assistant Scout Master for Troop 100.

To be eligible for the Eagle rank, Tom advanced through the ranks of Tenderfoot, 2nd Class, 1st Class, Star, and Life Scout. He completed 31 merit badges, some of which included; Citizenship, Wilderness Survival, Lifeguarding, Emergency Preparedness, Environmental Science, and First Aid. In addition, Tom earned the Ad Altare Dei Award from the Catholic Religious Emblems Program through Our Lady of Fatima Catholic Church, with the assistance of Father James Johnson.

Tom completed an Eagle Service Project by working with Seattle Public Utilities. He organized a group of scouts to stencil over 400 storm drains in the Seattle area to help reduce hazardous chemicals, pesticides, and used motor oil going down storm drains and ending up in Puget Sound. Tom hopes his actions will improve the ecosystem and habitat for the marine creatures in the Sound. Several of the stenciled drains are located around NE 31st Avenue and Government Way. He exceeded his original goal of 75 stenciled drains by more than 300.

Tom is a recent graduate of the 2011 class of Ballard High School. Though the Running Start Program, he attended Seattle Central Community College this past year with an interest in computer technology.

Currently, Tom is working for the Port of Seattle as a High School Intern for the Aviation Operations Group.

Tom would like to thank his Scout Master Paul Hendricks, Crew Advisor Mark Gedosch, Bill and Dianna Dunnell, Ken Dunkleburg, Ken Tarleton, Rod Gowdy, Father James Johnson, his parents, family, and friends for they support and the time they spent volunteering to help him learn the skills and knowledge need to reach scouting highest rank.

Troop 100 has produced over 130 Eagle Scouts since the troop began. This year the troop is celebrating its 100th anniversary. Troop 100 had five other Eagle Scouts this year: Brendan Tarleton, Sebastian Voorhees, Spencer Miller, Alex Cress, and Sean Hendrick our Scoutmaster's son.