January 8, 2015

Nicholas Spak earns rank of Eagle Scout

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Nicholas’s mother, Barbara Spak, pins his Eagle rank on his uniform during the Eagle Scout Court of Honor, while his father, the Rev. Deacon Myron Spak (right) and Scoutmaster Dr. Richard Daffner (left) observe.

Nicholas’s mother, Barbara Spak, pins his Eagle rank on his uniform during the Eagle Scout Court of Honor, while his father, the Rev. Deacon Myron Spak (right) and Scoutmaster Dr. Richard Daffner (left) observe.

SCOTT TOWNSHIP, Pa. – Boy Scout Troop 28 of Bower Hill Community Church in Mount Lebanon and the local South Hills Pittsburgh community honored Nicholas Spak at an Eagle Scout Court of Honor on Saturday, November 8, 2014. Approximately only two out of every 100 boys who join Scouting actually earn the rank of Eagle Scout.
Nicholas is the son of Father Deacon Myron and Barbara Spak of Scott Township, Pa. He has an older sister Larissa and an older brother Michael, who is also an Eagle Scout.
In attendance at this event were family, friends, members of the local Scouting community, as well as representatives from U.S. Rep. Tim Murphy’s office, as well as state and local officials and Scout representatives.
Special remarks were made by Michael Switala, a teacher at Chartiers Valley High School, where Nicholas is a student, and Natalie Kapeluck Nixon, director of Youth and Young Adult Ministry, Ukrainian Orthodox Church in the U.S.A. Many congratulatory letters were received by the new Eagle Scout from various civic, religious and industry leaders, including Bishop John Bura and Metropolitan Stefan Soroka of the Ukrainian Catholic Church. The invocation was led by the Very Rev. Michael Kochis of St. Vladimir Ukrainian Orthodox Church, Ambridge, Pa.; the benediction and closing was led by Father Deacon Spak of Holy Trinity Ukrainian Catholic Church, Carnegie, Pa., who is also an assistant scoutmaster with Nick’s troop.
Nicholas (Nick) has successfully lived up to the Scout Oath and Law and has demonstrated those principles by his actions. That’s what makes the Eagle Scout Award such an extraordinary recognition. An Eagle Scout must have completed at least 21 merit badges and organized a service project that benefits his church, community or school.
Nick and his family have been aware of the needs of the homeless, orphans and less fortunate in Ukraine. Therefore, for his project, Nick led an international humanitarian project that entailed collecting and shipping over 900 pounds of first-aid and personal hygiene items to 12 different centers for needy children and orphanages throughout Ukraine. The recipient centers included the cities and towns of Znamianka, Buchach, Zhytomyr, Zaluchia, Zaporizhia, Lviv, Ivano-Frankivsk, Sambir and Puhachiv. Many of these centers were visited by Nick’s sister, Larissa, in 2012 and 2013, while she was on mission trips to Ukraine.
Additional funds raised beyond the needs of shipping the first-aid supplies covered the cost of shipping 54 containers of adult diapers to an orphanage of severely disabled children, plus the costs for building a playground. In total, over a ton of supplies was shipped to Ukraine through Nick’s efforts.
Nick’s project sponsor was Protodeacon Ihor Mahlay, director of Consistory Office of Christian Charity for the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the U.S.A. and clergy member at St. Vladimir Ukrainian Orthodox Cathedral in Parma, Ohio.
Nicholas managed all aspects of his project, which included planning and executing the entire project, soliciting funds to offset shipping costs, organizing his scout troop and members of the local Ukrainian community, who collected items from area churches, schools, businesses and non-profit organizations, as well as packaging and shipping, confirming addresses in Ukraine and investigating all aspects of the logistics with parcel shipping companies.
Nick joined Cub Scout Pack 861 of Holy Child Catholic Church in Bridgeville in the first grade and later earned a cub scout’s highest award, the Arrow of Light. A member of Troop 28 since 2009, he regularly attended troop summer camp programs, which included a trip to the National Boy Scout Jamboree in 2010. In 2012, Nicholas earned the Light is Life Religious Emblem for Eastern Catholic Scouts.
He is a senior at Chartiers Valley High School, where he has been active in the show band and concert band. He is also a member of the Robotics Team, National Honor Society and Math Honor Society. He is a member of Holy Trinity Ukrainian Catholic Church in Carnegie, where he is an altar server and is active in the parish Youth Group. He is also an active participant in St. Josaphat Eparchy’s youth and young adult events, in addition to being a long-time participant in the camping program at the All Saints Ukrainian Orthodox Church Camp in Emlenton, Pa.
Nick attended the local School of Ukrainian Studies, is a member of the Poltava Dance Company and the Kyiv Dance Ensemble. He also volunteers at the Light of Life Rescue Mission on the North Side of Pittsburgh, where he regularly serves meals to the homeless. He plans to study engineering in college.

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