Joshua Kearns was presented with his Eagle Scout Award in a ceremony conducted at the Community Presbyterian Church in Pinehurst Sunday, April 19.

U.S. 6th District Congressman Howard Coble was on hand to make the presentation along with leadership from Pinehurst Troop No. 7.

Pinehurst Troop 7, sponsored by Community Presbyterian Church, is one of the nation's oldest Boy Scout troops and has produced a substantial number of outstanding young men through the years. Of the hundreds of thousands of Boy Scouts, less than four percent nationally achieve the rank of Eagle Scout.

Kearns' Eagle Scout community project was the restoration of a small cemetery near the Moore County Airport, which included the remains of a Revolutionary War soldier. Along the trail to Eagle, he held numerous leadership positions in the troop and earned 35 merit badges.

Kearns is a member of the senior class at Pinecrest High School. At Pinecrest, he was president of the FCCLA, attended the Presidential Youth Inaugural Conference this past January, in Washington, D.C., represented the Pinehurst Rotary at the Rotary Youth Leadership Program at Guilford College last summer, was a member of the band for the past four years and the football team for three years. He holds a black belt in Tae Kwon Do and is currently pursuing a black belt in Shotokan karate.

Kearns will attend the University of North Carolina at Asheville in the fall of 2009, and will major in history and international studies. He is the son of Randy and Deana Kearns, of Seven Lakes.