By Carlotta Mohamed
A Flushing resident was recognized by local elected officials after receiving the honor of Eagle Scout in his Boy Scout Troop.
Fotis Antonatos, 17, a senior at Francis Lewis High School, was honored Oct. 13 by U.S. Rep. Grace Meng (D-Flushing), state Sen. Tony Avella (D-Bayside), and state Assemblyman Edward Braunstein (D-Bayside) for his contributions to the community.
Antonatos, a member of The Boy Scout Troop 268, was acknowledged at his Eagle Court of Honor ceremony at Mythos Restaurant — located at 196-26 Northern Blvd. in Flushing — where Meng presented him with a flag that had been flown over the U.S. Capitol. Avella presented Antonatos with a New York State Senate Resolution and he also received a Certificate of Recognition from Braunstein.
Antonatos has been a member of the Boy Scout Troop 268 for 12 years. The troop is based at St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church — located at 196-10 Northern Blvd. in Flushing — and has been continuously active since 1970.
Antonatos earned the distinguished award of Eagle Scout by taking on a service project to clean up and beautify areas within Alley Pond Park in Douglaston.
“It’s a place that I visited often with my family growing up, and still do,” said Antonatos. “I have many great experiences in Alley Pond Park including my Boy Scout district’s own overnight camporee.”
Antonatos began the project in mid-November 2017 with volunteers who contributed more than 120 hours of work at the park.
The Eagle Scout Service Project is an opportunity for a Boy Scout to demonstrate leadership of others while performing a project for the benefit of his community, according to the Flushing Troop 268 website.
Additionally, Antonatos has been involved with various Eagle Scout projects including clothes, food, medical supply and book drives.
“I’ve made a lot of friendships in my time at the Troop, and having those people around me was great for support” said Antonatos. “I think my parents are proud of me and definitely helped me along the process. They’ve definitely put their own work into it. It’s not just my achievement, but also their achievement as well to see their son complete something like this.”
The high school senior is now focused on receiving admission into a good college.
“I want to be able to study a major that interests me, so I’m looking into computer science. But ultimately I want to be able to qualify for a career in that field and be a successful person in life,” said Antonatos.
Reach reporter Carlotta Mohamed by e-mail at cmoha
