Whiz Kid - Meet Joe Moore

Joe Moore became a Cub Scout in first-grade, but was ready to throw in the towel upon transitioning to Boy Scouts in fifth-grade.

“He said, ‘I don’t think I want to do this,’ ” Joe’s mom, Janice Moore, recalled. She urged the then 10-year-old to at least stick it out through summer camp.

He did. Afterward Mrs. Moore said Joe announced that he was not only going to continue in Boy Scouts, but he was going to advance to the highest rank, of Eagle Scout.

Five years later, Joe, now 15 and a sophomore, is finishing the last badge needed to become an Eagle Scout.

“It’s a great way to teach you skills throughout life,” Joe said of scouting.

To progress to the highest rank, Joe, a scout with Hatboro Troop No. 3 - which meets at - had to complete 21 badges. Some of his most challenging badges involved him keeping a journal detailing over the course of 90 days, how he worked out, managed his finances and stayed involved with family life.

But, the main roll-up-his-sleeves task involved the alto sax player for Hatboro-Horsham’s marching band redesigning the music room at . To get started, Joe went to Ikea to price furniture. He then solicited friends and family and came up with half of the $1,010 expense. From there, he organized a Mother’s Day flower sale and succeeded in not only raising the money but beating his goal by $65.

Once the furniture was purchased, Joe supervised a team of volunteers who removed the old furniture, assembled the new and organized the room in the process. In all, the day’s labor took 7.5 hours to complete, Joe said, adding that the team “finished earlier than planned.”

St. Catherine’s Music Director, Mimi Drummond, said Joe’s hard work surpassed her expectations and brought order to the room she described as previously being in a state of “disarray.”

“It’s so much better. More than I was hoping for,” Drummond said, adding that the room was not initially set up as a music room. “We can have rehearsals in there. We can work with musicians. It’s just so much more useful.”

And Joe’s service in the Boy Scouts has been useful throughout his formative years, teaching him how to serve his community, bond with fellow Scouts and learn life skills the math-lover will likely put to use in the years following high school.

“I think it’s both,” Joe said of the mutual benefit and contribution he’s made and received through scouting. “You’re basically able to knock two birds with one stone.”