Thomas Henry Tharp will be awarded Boy Scouting’s highest rank of Eagle Scout at a special ceremony at 2 p.m. Saturday, March 24 at the United Methodist Church in Weston.
Thomas Henry Tharp
Tharp’s uncle Steve Weaver, captain at the Douglas County (Kan.) Fire Department, will be his guest speaker. The community is invited to attend.
Tharp has been involved in scouting since the age of six as a Tiger Cub Scout. He worked his way through all the Cub Scouting advancements including earning the Arrow of Light award. He attended two sessions at Camp Naish as a Webelo Scout.
Tharp crossed over to Boy Scouts in 2012 and immediately began to advance through the ranks of Scout, Tenderfoot, Second Class, First Class, Star and Life earning a total of 32 merit badges.
He attended H. Roe Bartle Scout Reservation in Osceola, Mo. for three years. He served in several leadership roles including assistant patrol leader, den chief, quartermaster, patrol leader, assistant senior patrol leader, troop guide and junior assistant scoutmaster. He also attended the National Youth Leadership Training at Camp Geiger in St. Joseph in 2014. Thomas attended the High Adventure Florida Sea Base in the Florida Keys in 2015.
Tharp planned, organized and oversaw his Eagle Scout project in the summer of 2016. He led a group of scouts and some family members through the construction of a performance/awards stage for the Farmer’s House.
The Farmer’s House is a not-for-profit that embraces, enhances and supports the lives of youth and adults with developmental disabilities. Their community based programs include vocational, recreational, transitional, community integration and job preparation. Thomas’ focus was to complete the project with primarily recycled materials. Once the project was complete, he had to prepare a final report to present and defend to the Eagle Board of Review.
Tharp is currently a junior at West Platte High School. He enjoys participating in many activities, such as, Future Business Leaders of America, Science Club and Fellowship of Christian Athletes. He enjoys being a part of the football and track teams and has wrestled in previous years. He has given many volunteer hours to his community.
He is the son of Carter and Vicki Tharp of Farley; grandson of Bud and Barbara Toebbe of Black Forest, Colo.; Judith Tharp of Farley; and the late Donald Tharp of Platte City.