Old Eagle reaches heights

Few people realize that the Greater New York Council of the Boy Scouts of America has an Eagle Scout Hall of Fame. Annually, the group inducts a new member to the hall, to join other remarkable and influential men who have earned their organization’s highest rank, like Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Congressmember Gary Ackerman.
The latest member is billionaire hotelier J.W. Marriott, shown here with Queens’ own Eagle Scout Jefferson Kurtz of Troop 158, which meets at Redeemer Lutheran Church in Queens Village. Kurtz was a member of the color guard at the event.
The young eagle may be looking to fly high in business himself - even if it isn’t in the hospitality industry. He intends to study business and recently learned that he has been accepted to his school of first choice, City University’s Baruch Honors College on a full-scholarship.
Jefferson’s proud papa, “sports dentist” Mike Kurtz expressed his belief that his son’s extra-curricular activities in scouting played an important part in the selection.