Brock Moyer, a recent graduate of Palmerton Area High School and of Boy Scout Troop 209, earned his Eagle Scout badge on Saturday.

Moyer is the son of Rick and Billie Jo Moyer. There was a ceremony followed by a meal for family, friends, and other Scouts and leaders.Moyer was the valedictorian of the 2016 class. He has been in Boy Scouts for six years, except for taking one year off during sixth grade."He was a good leader, an all-around great kid. I'll miss him," said Scoutmaster Ron "Rocky" Borger. Borger was assisted by Rick Anderson, who was Moyer's scoutmaster for several years in the beginning of Scouts.When asked his favorite part about being in Boy Scouts for the past six years, Moyer replied, "all the outings, hanging out and making friends."For his Eagle Scout project, Moyer built two small cages, and one large cage for a reticulated python, for Christina's Reptile and Animal Sanctuary in Palmerton.Sanctuary owner Christina Obrecht said, "Brock came in at a bad time of my life. He was a big help. It was less work for us."At the time, the sanctuary was low on funds, and Moyer's project helped to cover the cost for the supplies."I was only expecting one cage," Obrecht said.Moyer still volunteers and helps clean the cages, feed the animals, and even went to a few reptile shows with Obrecht.After Moyer took a break from Scouts in sixth grade, he did not think he would work toward earning Eagle Scout. So when he decided he did want to earn it, he called committee Chairwoman Kelli George in February."He realized he waited, took a break and wanted to come back. He asked me, can I do this? I said, if you put your mind to something, and work hard, you can accomplish anything," George said. "I will never tell you you can't do something."So Moyer worked hard with the help from his family. They painted and sanded the cages in time to complete his project.Moyer is known in the community as the local snake wrangler."It's like 'Ghostbusters,' who you gonna call?" said Shari Beers, Moyer's aunt. The neighbors will always call Moyer if they find any snakes.Moyer's family is a big part of his life and also supported him constantly through his Boy Scout career. His dad did many activities with him over the years in Scouts.Brock's father, Rick Moyer, said his favorite parts about doing Scouts with Brock were, "The good quality time, the adventure hikes, camps and camping."He learned good qualities of life, honesty, courage," he said about Brock being involved with Boy Scouts.Beers also agrees with the positive attributes learned from Boy Scouts."It was a great experience watching him grow," she said."Developing leadership skills, giving back to the community, and it combined something he loved and was really important," Beers said about Brock's project. "Often times people buy pets and don't know what to do with them when they get big."At the end of his speech to thank everyone who helped him achieve Eagle Scout, Moyer gave some words of wisdom to fellow Scouts, "Don't wait till the last minute."In the fall, Brock will be attending West Chester to major in biology.In high school, Brock did chess club, FBLA, scholastic scrimmage and volunteered with the reptile sanctuary, along with Boy Scouts.One of his favorite memories of Boy Scouts was a nine-day canoe trip called Northern Tier in Minnesota. Brock and the troop canoed for nine days and hiked through the woods.