Two local young men were recently awarded the rank of Eagle Scout after meeting with a board of review last week.

Mac Sims, 14, and Michael Whalen, 18, are members of a Boy Scout Troop sponsored by the Etowah Lodge F & AM No. 222.

Sims and Whalen are the first scouts during the lodge’s four-year-old sponsorship to achieve the honor.

Completion of a project is required to become an Eagle Scout. Sims built a prayer garden for his church, First Baptist of Dawsonville.

“It took four months to build,” said Sims, who attends Lakeview Academy in Gainesville. “It would have taken a lot less time, only we had some weather issues.”

Whalen, a Dawson County High School senior, built an addition to the shed at Veterans Memorial Park next to the football field.

Whalen said he enjoys “the different skills you can learn from Boy Scouts ... you can take a lot of that with you through life.”

Etowah Lodge Charter Representative Bill Sexton said the group “is very proud of these boys ... they’ve done a nice job.”

The troop meets from 7-8:30 p.m. each Monday at the Etowah Lodge in Dawsonville.

For more information, visit www.bsatroop422.com