Scout’s honour

Left to right: Jack, Ben, Sam and Lorin Lytras.

A Pakenham scout has achieved one of the highest possible honours, thanks to years of hard work and dedication to his crafts.

On Saturday 10 August at Gilwell Scout Park, Gembrook, 18-year-old Jack Lytras received the Queen’s Scout Award – the highest award in Venturer Scouts (14–17-year-olds).

Only a small fraction of Venturers in Australia earn this exceptional honour.

The other part of the award is the ‘Royal Certificate’ which Jack will receive from Victorian Governor Linda Dessau AC at Government House in October.

Having previously attained the Grey Wolf Award (the peak award in Cubs) and the Australian Scout Medallion (the peak award in Scouts), Jack explained that to achieve the Queen’s Scout Award he had to be disciplined and know what he wanted to do, but that this taught him accountability.

“For each of the 18 badges I had to earn, I had to present my plan to my unit council, often finding and nominating my own suitably qualified examiner and explaining their expertise in each field.

“When I’d completed my goals, I had to get the right things signed and make a written report back to my unit council for approval. A couple of times I was sent back to provide more evidence or include more in the report,” he said.

Jack’s activities included: a week’s preparation of a Bundaberg beach for turtle egg laying season during which he saw loggerhead turtles lay their eggs; completion of an advanced 4WD course; compilation of a photo book about a family road trip across the USA; first aid qualifications; work on a ’40s tractor to return it to running order; a leadership course; and assistance to Gembrook Cubs weekly for 6 months, under the auspices of leader, Louise Ciddor.

The highlight of Jack’s time in Venturers was the 2015 world scout jamboree, for which he raised $7000 to attend a massive temporary camp in Japan, along with 45,000 other scouts from across the globe.Jack acknowledged his leaders’ and parents’ involvement in his success. His dad, Lorin Lytras, affirmed his key contribution was: “Taxi-driving across Victoria every weekend!”

“We’re very proud of Jack. This is a real honour for him and represents hundreds of hours of work, skill development and service,” said Jack’s mum, Anika Lytras.

Jack said the experience had helped him grow as a person.

“I hadn’t tried a bunch of things before, so it’s made me more confident and organised for later in life.

“It was hard. Sometimes I asked myself, ‘Why am I even doing this?’ I prayed to get motivation and strength to finish what I had to do to achieve my goal.”

Currently Jack is completing VCE and is a VET student at the Academy of Interactive Entertainment, Melbourne. He’s also preparing to serve a 2-year mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints around the end of 2019. He attends the Pakenham Ward of the Church in the Melbourne Australia Gippsland Stake.