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Scott Moore never had much of a choice about participating in Boy Scouts.

Whenever his interest waned — as it started to during his late teens — the examples set by his brothers nudged him back on track.

Moore, 18, of Jefferson, officially began to follow his older brothers Greg, 27, and Ben, 24, down the path to the Eagle rank when he joined the Tiger Scouts in 1996. According to his father, Jim, he actually "started Scouting as an infant in his carrier at his brother Ben's Cub Scout meetings."

On Saturday, 13 years after starting his journey, Moore received his Eagle badge and joined the fraternity of young men who have reached that highest goal of Scouting, a group that now includes all three of Jeanie and Jim Moore's children.

"It's kind of hard to believe that all three boys have achieved this goal," Jeanie Moore said before Scott's Eagle ceremony began Saturday. "They've accomplished something that less than two percent of Boy Scouts do. They've achieved something greater than is imaginable right now. It's a real proud moment — I'll be sure to have Kleenex."

Scott earned his Eagle rank as a member of Troop 279 of Point of Rocks, as did Greg; Ben went through Troop 1066 of Jefferson. Reaching the rank of Eagle requires years of commitment, acquiring a sash full of merit badges and completing a community service project.

The "Eagle project," as it is known, is a rite of passage for teenagers nearing the rank, and it is planned, managed and executed with minimal adult assistance.

Greg painted a playground at the Jefferson Ruritan Center, Ben refurbished utility buildings and utility boxes at Catoctin Mountain Park, and Scott finished refurbishing a pavilion at the Point of Rocks Ruritan Community Center last summer.

But the story of Scott's Eagle project has an odd ending. After completing the work, he left to work in Colorado with AmeriCorps for the summer.

Three weeks later, unbeknownst at the time to Scott, who was busy clearing trails out west, a tree fell on the pavilion and destroyed it. So goes the luck of the youngest of three brothers.

Despite the unfortunate event, Greg and Ben were beaming with pride before the ceremony, as they stood with Scott, all three matching in the ubiquitous tan shirts and olive slacks.

"It's an accomplishment, how many people can say they stuck it through with Scouts? Of course I'm proud of him. He's going into the world a lot more prepared," Ben said.

The three are not only connected by blood and the code of the Eagle Scout. They also all graduated from Brunswick High, and all three chose to attend college in their home state. Greg graduated from the University of Maryland and works as an electrical engineer in Norfolk, Va.; Ben graduated from Towson University and is doing technical theatre work on a cruise ship; and Scott starts at Frostburg University later this month, where he will pursue a biology degree.

Tom Wheatley, an assistant scoutmaster with Troop 279 who has known the Moores since he and Ms. Moore helped lead Cub Scout Pack 1066 in Jefferson 15 years ago, was in attendance to see the final Moore son have his Eagle award pinned to his shirt.

Wheatley is also the eldest member of a trio of brothers who achieved the unlikely task of all reaching the Eagle rank. He has a theory that families of Scouts often help give young men the drive they need to reach the highest ranks. As such, he is proud — but not particularly surprised — that the boys were able to achieve their common goal.

"Generally, once the first brother gets Eagle, the family is already fairly involved in Scouting, and the older brothers may give a push to the younger siblings," he said. "… It's fantastic that he got Eagle, because we knew he was going to make it."

As Scott puts it, he is now a part of something bigger than himself.

"It feels really good. I've always looked up to [my brothers]," he said before his ceremony. "In the legion of Eagle Scouts, we're all brothers now."

E-mail Connor Adams Sheets at csheets@gazette.net.