Colton Pearson, back left, and his crew work on the floating dock at Camp Hulaco for his service project to earn the Eagle Scout rank. (CONTRIBUTED)

MADISON – Colton Pearson knew he would face a challenge but he wanted to follow his father’s path to be an Eagle Scout.

Pearson was among six young men in Troop 7676 receiving their Eagle Scout award at a Court of Honor on May 18. The ceremony was held at the Madison 3rd Ward congregation of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Currently, Troop 7676 has 36 scouts ranging in age from 11 to 18.

Until 2011, Pearson’s family lived in Huntsville. “We moved to Madison because of the school system and a bigger church setting,” he said.

After attending Challenger Middle School, Pearson transferred to Liberty Middle School and then attended Bob Jones High School. He now is an 18-year-old senior at James Clemens High School.

For his Eagle project, Pearson replaced an old floating dock at Camp Hulaco (hulacocamp.org). “The old one was really falling apart. We had about 15 guys go out and build a new one with new materials,” he said.

His crew tackled the work with drills, saws, decking lumber, water-treated lumber for the inside frame and an air compressor. His fellow Scouts worked for a total of 138 hours, and Pearson invested 20 hours individually.

“The new material is supposed to be really great,” Pearson said. “The dock is built to last.”

All feedback that he has received about his project has been positive. “People have said the floating dock looks nicer and is much steadier,” Pearson said.

His parents are Boise and Bridgette Pearson. He works as a nuclear engineer, and she tutors at Weatherly Heights Elementary School. Colton’s sister Haden, 14, is an eighth-grader. His brother Tucker, a 16-year-old sophomore, also has earned the Eagle Scout award.

Individuals who helped Colton include John Fellows, Dave Larsen, Noah Regan, Spencer Shafer, Bridgette Pearson, Mike Thorum and Scouts in Troop 7676.

At James Clemens, Colton participates in theatre productions and the Wildlife Club.