Local identical twin brothers poised to attain elite Eagle Scout rank (2024)

Like many identical twin siblings, Sam and Eli Brothers spend much of their time together. They recently graduated from Lewis-Palmer High School together. They’ve both been involved in Boy Scouts of America for as long as they can remember, and their ascent up the Scout ranks has been mostly parallel.

So it was no surprise when they decided — together —that they'd take a shot at obtaining their Eagle Scout designations.

It also wasn’t much of a surprise that they nearly waited too long to get started on their respective Eagle projects, according to their father, Michael Brothers.

“You age out of the Scouts when you turn 18,” said Michael, an assistant scoutmaster with Troop 8 in Larkspur. “And they both turn 18 at the end of June. So they’re just getting in under the wire.”

Michael said he can barely fault his sons for that. After all, he did pretty much the same thing when he attained his Eagle Scout rank decades ago.

“They’re following in my footsteps – including almost waiting too long,” he said.

The twins recently got past the final, and most daunting, obstacle in the path to Eagle Scout, which is to complete a “significant community service project” that benefits an organization other than Scouts BSA. The project typically takes months of planning, coordination and hard work.

Eli chose to build a greenhouse for Larkspur Elementary School. Sam’s project was a bicycle pump track— a track designed to be ridden by riders “pumping” the bike up and down instead of pedaling — at Concrete Couch near downtown Colorado Springs.

“I took a carpentry class (at Lewis-Palmer), and one of the things we did was build a greenhouse,” Eli explained. “I enjoyed that, so when it came time to look for an Eagle project, that’s what I decided to do.”

The building of the structure was only part of the project. In order to qualify as a legitimate Eagle Scout project, it needed to benefit someone other than the Scouts.

“I reached out to Larkspur Elementary, and they liked the idea,” Eli said.

Enlisting the aid of several fellow Scouts, including his brother, Eli constructed an 8-by-12 foot greenhouse and placed it on the Larkspur Elementary grounds.

“They think it’s going to be a great addition to the school,” he said.

Sam, a bicycling enthusiast, contacted Medicine Wheel Trail Advocates, a Colorado Springs-based biking and trail-building nonprofit. Cory Sutela, Medicine Wheel’s executive director, knew the ideal venue for Sam’s project.

Concrete Couch, a nonprofit dedicated to building communities through creative projects, seemed like a natural fit, Sam said.

“Medicine Wheel reached out to us about the project, and I said, ‘Sure,’” said Steve Wood, Concrete Couch’s executive director. "We were happy to do it.”

Pump tracks can take on any number of shapes, Sam said. He chose to build one in the shape of a right triangle, with two side lengths of 54 feet each, and a 76-foot “hypotenuse” side. Bill’s Equipment and C and C Landscaping donated much of the equipment and materials, including nearly 80 tons of dirt and gravel.

Naturally, Eli was among the several Scouts and scoutmasters who helped bring the track to completion.

“It was a big project, and a lot of work,” Sam said. “But I think it turned out pretty well.”

“I think they did a great job on it,” Wood agreed. “They put a lot of work into it, and I think people – especially kids – will have a lot of fun riding on it.”

There’s some administrative work that still needs to be done -- including a scoutmaster review of each project -- but Michael is confident that his sons will achieve a status that only 6% of all Scouts attain.

“Teenagers in their senior year of high school have a lot going on, especially if they’re planning to go to college, like Sam and Eli,” Michael said. “For them to juggle all that, and still manage to complete their Eagle Scout requirements, is a big deal. I’m proud of both of them.”

When the 2024-2025 academic year begins in a few months, the twin brothers will embark on diverging paths. Sam intends to study mechanical engineering at Colorado School of Mines, while Eli will attend University of Colorado Boulder.

“That’s going to be a little strange,” Eli said. “But I imagine we’ll always be close. It will be interesting to see what we end up doing.”