Riczi P. Kovacs, son of Richard Kovacs and Angela Oliver of Wanakena, has earned the highest advancement award the Boy Scouts of America offers to Scouts, the Eagle Scout Award.

Kovacs will be recognized in ceremonies on Saturday, April 16th at 1:00 PM in Gannett Lodge at Massawepie Scout Camps, Tupper Lake, NY.

A member of Troop 28 in Star Lake, NY, Kovacs is one of approximately 2 percent of all Boy Scouts who attain the Eagle rank nationally and the first for this local troop, according to Scoutmaster Timothy Dowling, Sr.

Each candidate must earn 21 merit badges and successfully complete a community, church, or synagogue-related service project to earn Eagle. Kovacs chose to renovate a dilapidated municipal camping site in the town of Fine, NY near a trailhead into the Five Ponds Wilderness Area.

Kovacs served as Senior Patrol leader within Troop 28 which was started by his father in 2003, worked at Massawepie Scout Camps for the past 4 years, and currently is an adult volunteer with Troop 18 in Hammondsport, NY. Kovacs joins the ranks of Eagle Scouts including notables such as former President Gerald R. Ford, Jr., astronaut Neil A. Armstrong, Dirty Jobs host Mike Rowe, and former head of F.B.I., William Sessions.

Kovacs attended Clifton-Fine Central School, Star Lake, NY, where he participated in soccer, track, band, chorus, pep band and numerous school musicals. He is currently a senior at Hammondsport Central School, Hammondsport, NY, where he is a member of the track team, the ski club, band, and jazz band. Next fall, Kovacs will be enrolled in the Engineering Science program at Monroe Community College in Rochester.