CARRSVILE—It can take years for a Boy Scout to earn his Eagle Scout designation. Yet Carrsville Troop 37 seems to be doing that effortlessly.

Cody Holland, Cody Creech, Zach Gaskins, and Bryce Lawrence have all earned their Eagle Scout award recently. Cody Bradshaw has just submitted paperwork and is waiting for final review and approval, and Carson Daughtrey is completing application paperwork.

Troop 37 has 16 member Boy Scouts, ranging in ages 11 through 17. Philip Bradshaw of Carrsville is a Scoutmaster for the troop.

Lawrence, who earned his Eagle Scout award at age 14, did so the most quickly. It took him three years.

“On the average, five years,” said Bradshaw. “By the time they turn 16, if they haven’t received the Eagle, it becomes very difficult.” He cited girls and a driver’s license as being distractions that might make the achievement more difficult. At that age, said Bradshaw, there’s a lot of planning, writing and paperwork in the application process that might slow down boys in their mid-teens.

Writing aside, the tasks can run the gamut and include physical activities such as swimming and camping, to writing to their local representative, attending local government meetings and learning how to develop a budget. Eagle Scouts must also earn CPR certification.

Zach Gaskins, who will get his Eagle Scout award on March 15, has been with the program since the first grade. “To finally have it means a lot,” said Gaskins, whose final Eagle Scout project entailed over 120 hours building a playground at Colosse Baptist Church in Windsor.

Gaskins’ mother, Lorrie, expressed pride at her son’s achievement and said that he recently wrote a paper for school that discussed how much scouting had helped him in his everyday life. “That’s not something you hear a 17-year-old boy say …he never gave up. We’re just so proud,” she said.

Bradshaw has been involved with the Carrsville troop for over 20 years. Bradshaw served as scoutmaster in the 80s and then stayed involved as a committee chairman, before recently reassuming the position.

During the first 20 years of Troop 37’s run, which was founded by his father Joel C. Bradshaw Jr., there were only four Eagle Scouts — Bradshaw and his three older brothers.

Since the 1980s, the troop has been steadily turning out at least one Eagle Scout per year. Even that is a rarity. Nationally, less than 3 percent of all scouts earn their Eagle Scout designation; Troop 37’s higher numbers over the last year are attributed to parental involvement and community support, said Bradshaw.

The troop is planning a trip to Washington, D.C., this spring, which will include a tour of the White House. In addition to upcoming Eagle ceremonies, they will also continue their monthly service events, including an upcoming project with the Ruritan Club.