A Regis High Eagle Scout has been honored by the American Legion as its Scout of the Year for Oregon.
Luke West, a 2024 Regis graduate, received the honor Aug. 20 at an American Legion Post 58 meeting. West represents Troop 50 in Stayton.
“Scouting has been a great part of my life,” West said in an essay he submitted to the American Legion. “I got a lot out of it and I learned a lot. I also got to see and do things I most likely would not have gotten to do.”
The list of awards and honors West has won in his Scouting career is as long as your arm, going back to his Tiger Award during his Cub Scout Days. He has completed numerous leadership training sessions and served in nine different leadership posts with the Scouts, starting as an instructor in 2018 and moving up to junior assistant scoutmaster (2023).
West has received several outdoors and camping awards and successfully completed six National Rifle Association training programs. He hopes to pursue a career in firearms technology/gunsmithing, noting in his essay that “I got my interest in firearms in Scouting.”
West received the rifle merit badge and won two NRA shooting medals at his first Boy Scout summer camp. Over the next seven years he continued to work on his firearms skills, eventually winning the distinguished expert medal from the NRA, a journey that required six years. West also has shot competitively in small bore competitions for the 4-H.
West said he is looking at seeking a two-year associate degree, perhaps from the Sonoran Desert Institute, an online college based in Tempe, Arizona.
“Once completing my degree, I am looking at a few options,” West wrote. “One is working for another gunsmith and learning more of the trade or opening up my own business. I am also looking at the option of joining the armed forces and putting my skills to use serving my country. I am also considering the option of working for a law enforcement agency to maintain the firearms for the officers.
“No matter what option I choose I feel it will be a rewarding career. I will use my skills I learned and have a career with passion.”
