Courtesy Town of Grand Lake
Given the chance to support an out-of-state Boy Scout with a rather impressive resume and ties to the community, Grand Lake Mayor Jim Peterson was happy to offer the youth a formal pat on the back from the town.
Nicholas Rice comes from a family that is longtime, proud summer and Christmas residents of Grand Lake. The family reached out to the mayor in a letter requesting the town acknowledge Nicholas after he attained the rank of Eagle Scout, the highest designation awarded to a Boy Scout.
In a nod to Grand County, the family wrote in their letter that they “look forward to ditching the heat of Atlanta, Georgia, for the majestic mountains and lakes of Grand Lake in just a few months.”
According to the family, Nicholas started his journey with the Scouts about 10 years ago. He worked his way through the ranks, earning every Cub Scout pin there is before crossing over to the Boy Scouts.
Throughout the years with the Boy Scouts, Nicholas built up his merit badges, tackled new challenges, took on leadership roles and won numerous recognitions and awards for his efforts.
“Scouting became a tremendous opportunity for him to grow into an impressive leader and wonderful young man,” the letter reads.
For his Eagle project, Nicholas worked with his school principal on a project focused on beautification and education. The project included building two information kiosks, 10 foliage markers to identify trees and offer factoids, and a global capitals tree consisting of eight signs pointing to locations around the world and making the pathway to a new elementary school more colorful and inviting. Nicolas led a team of 24 volunteers on his Eagle project.
Asked to offer Nicolas a letter of congratulations on the town’s behalf, as has been done with other Eagle Scouts, Mayor Peterson called the move a no-brainer and the Grand Lake Board of Trustees’ support was unanimous.