Luke Hedgpeth and fellow Boy Scouts from Troop 16 complete his Eagle Scout project at Russell Christian Academy.

Bert Turcotte, 53, a Philadelphia native, started cycling five years ago, developing a passion for giving as well as riding.

“I became interested in cycling as a way to spend time with my sons, while at the same time guiding them toward a lifestyle that includes daily exercise,” said Turcotte, who has been the director of nurses at John C. Stennis Hospital in DeKalb for the past five years.

Married for 29 years to Sharon Turcotte and father of two sons, Owen and Matthew, cycling became such a passion for Turcotte, that he turned to running triathlons. This passion has also allowed him to fulfill another passion, promoting organ, eye and tissue donations.

“In doing the cycling and running events, I would see people with different advertisements on their jerseys,” Turcotte said.

He decided he could promote organ donations in a similar way.

“I first learned about donation, when a friend’s child was killed in a tragic accident and her child gave the ultimate gift of organ donation,” Turcotte said. “This experience had a big impact on me wanting to promote donation.”

“Bert is a valuable member of the donation community,” said Kevin Stump, chief executive officer of Mississippi Organ Recovery Agency. “His passion for donation and saving and healing lives sets a great example for not only our hospital partners, but the community in general.”

Turcotte said he has seen the positive outcomes that donation can lead to for those in need of lifesaving and life healing transplants.

“I have several friends that have been recipients and have had a great outcome from donation.”

Turcotte has been recognized for his efforts to promote organ, eye and tissue donation by staff members of the Mississippi Organ Recovery Agency, who nominated him numerous times for a Spero Award. Those awards are handed out annually by the agency to community and business partners who help to enhance MORA’s mission.

His goal is not winning awards, though. It is to create awareness about the gifts of organ donation and the impact it can have on the lives of both donor families and recipients.

“People ask me what is Donate Life and I explain to them what it is. I generally receive a positive reaction or folks will just give me a thumb’s up when they are running past me or cycling by me,” he said.

Eagle project benefits Russell Christian

Luke Hedgpeth and his fellow Boy Scouts from Troop 16 met Sept. 17 at Russell Christian Academy to complete his Eagle Scout project.

Approximately 2 percent of all Scouts complete the required projects and earn the rank of Eagle. Each Eagle candidate must choose their own community project and Luke chose to help the Russell Christian Academy football team by insulating the weight room, building racks for football equipment and upgrading the sign at the school entrance.

There are 21 merit badges that must be completed in order to become an Eagle. Each badge represents a specific skill the scout has mastered or a project the scout has completed. Luke has completed 41 badges and is looking forward to reaching his goal of Eagle Scout.

Merchant Marine veterans wanted

As time passes, the non-profit nationwide veteran’s organization, originally established by World War II Merchant Marines, needs former and present Merchant Marines to join membership to help keep the vital maritime history alive and to assist in achieving our goals, which includes earning veteran’s status for post-WWII conflict Mariners.

Membership qualifies for a quarterly magazine. Any active United States Merchant Marine or widow/descendant of one can gain information about membership by contacting American Merchant Marines Veterans at www.ammv.us; National Office, 2722 Maynes Ct., Santa Rosa, CA 95405; or call Sindy Raymond at 707-546-6349.

Suzanne Marshall writes the Neighbors column for The Meridian Star. Submit items to editor@themeridianstar.com.