Walking with pride

The Kobel family always watches the Tournament of Roses Parade on TV New Year’s Day, but this year, they will get to see it from the inside.

Cory, 18, Wes, 16, and Connor Kobel, 15, of Huntington Beach will be walking in the parade with the Boy Scouts of America’s float.

The brothers will be representing the Scouts at the parade. They are all Eagle Scouts, the highest rank in the organization.

Cory has the honor to hold the centennial flag at the front of the procession, and Connor and Wes will be holding one of the Scouts’ many merit badges.

“Scouting is cool. It’s not like how most people perceive it — well, most young people,” Cory said. “It’s a great experience that you would be willing to give up a lot of other things for.”

The Boy Scouts of America is kicking off its 100th anniversary celebration by entering a float in the 121st Rose Parade. The float will be the first in a year-long series of events to celebrate 100 years of scouting.

The Boy Scouts of America incorporated in 1910, and what started as a weeklong camp for boys has grown into a national organization that helps boys develop character, personal fitness and value-based leadership training. The scouts have nearly 3 million youth members and more than 1 million adult members.

The float, “Celebrating the Adventure, Continuing the Journey,” will feature scouts rock climbing, camping, hiking, canoeing, kayaking, fishing and flying along on a zip line.

Three hundred Eagle Scouts will march along side it, 15 of them from Orange County, and five Orange County scouts will be riding on it, said Ed Laird, the centennial chairman. The adventure-packed float is supposed to be fun, but also to send out the message that scouting is alive and well, Laird said.

The Kobels said they are honored to be able to represent the scouts and have a chance to start giving back to the organization that has given them so much and become such a large part of who they are, Cory said.

The three started as tiger cubs when each one reached first grade, but over the years, their paths have crossed and the three became Eagle Scouts within two months of each other.

The three have gone on backpacking trips in the middle of nowhere, become certified in open water scuba diving and, in one of Wes’ most memorable moments, gone gliding.

“That’s just one example of thousands of things we were able to do,” Wes said.

Connor, Wes and Cory said they will stay with the scouts for life. For now, the boys plan on staying with their troops and mentoring younger scouts to help them achieve Eagle Scout status.

Cory was accepted into a highly competitive Sea Explorer Advanced Leadership, or SEAL, training program and will continue with it.

Scouting has given them confidence, taught them leadership skills and “any outdoor skill that you could possibly learn,” Connor said. Their mother, Roni Kobel, said scouting has given them something deeper as well.

“It’s character that’s the biggest thing,” Kobel said, “I’ve seen them grow in character.”

If You Go

What: The Community Service Department is taking its 12th annual Rose Parade Excursion

When: The buses leave at 6:45 a.m. and return 3 p.m. Jan. 1

Cost: $110

Register: www.hbsands.org

Information: (714) 536-5486