Christopher J. Culley Jr., a member of Boy Scout Troop 285 in Wilmington, will receive his Eagle Scout recognition on Feb. 4 at St. Elizabeth Church.
Culley, a 2023 graduate of First State Military Academy in Clayton, joined the troop in 2015 and moved through seven ranks during his tenure there. In 2020, he became a senior patrol leader, the highest position and leader of the troop.
He completed his Eagle Scout project at Bellanca Airfield Museum in New Castle, which preserves the aviation legacy of Giuseppe M. Bellanca and includes his planes, factory, workers and pilots. Culley, with the help of his troop, family and friends, worked on the museum infrastructure over the winter of 2022-23. The group repainted interiors, reorganized artifacts, and scraped and prepped the doors of the airfield service hangar.
After the project was completed last March, Culley passed a formal review and earned the rank of Eagle Scout. It is the highest rank in the Boy Scouts of America. He is currently a freshman at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond.
Culley and his family are members of St. Elizabeth Parish. He comes from a family with an extensive background in Scouting. His mother, Sarah Betley, is an honorary assistant scoutmaster. An uncle, J. Phillip Betley, is an Eagle Scout and the scoutmaster of Troop 285. His great-uncle, C. Primus Poppiti, is an Eagle Scout and troop leader.
