YORBA LINDA — The highest rank of Eagle Scout in the Boy Scouts of America program has been awarded to Connor Toshio Loo, member of Orange County Boy Scout Troop 1775.
He is an active junior at Yorba Linda High School. An accomplished pianist, he performs in the Jazz 1 band and plays the marimbas in the Yorba Linda marching band percussion section.
Loo is a founding member of the Yorba Linda Chapter of the National League of Young Men, which is going into its third year of activities. The past two summers, he has participated in Kizuna’s Youth Can in Little Tokyo, learning leadership skills and how to make an impact in the community. Last summer, Loo was a volunteer counselor at the OCBC Nikkei Discovery Camp. His favorite part was leading songs while pounding out mochi.
He is the son of Herb and Christine Loo; grandson of Harvey and Carole Omata; and great-grandson of Millie Miyoko Okai. His older brother, Mitchell Loo, attained the rank of Eagle Scout in 2012.
Loo began his scouting career in the fall of 2002 as a Tiger Cub with Cub Scout Pack 775. He earned the Arrow of Light in 2007 and bridged over to Troop 1775. His most memorable moment in scouting was at Camp Chawanakee in the summer of 2009. He decided he wanted to use his leadership skills to help the younger scouts and was awarded the Pioneer Camper Award of his troop for his effort. Another favorite camp of his was Emerald Bay at Catalina Island.
For his Eagle Scout project, Loo designed and supervised the building of two rolling carts with doors to collect and store the monthly food collections for the Family Assistance program at San Antonio Catholic Church in Anaheim. He saw a need for the carts when he volunteered in the past by helping with Thanksgiving food basket distribution for the families in the program. The church members would place donations in cardboard boxes, then lift the boxes onto dollies and move them to the storage room.
The rolling carts would make the job more efficient and eliminate the stress and strain of lifting heavy boxes. With the help of family, friends, and church members; Loo successfully raised enough money for the building materials and to purchase food that filled one cart. On the day he delivered the carts and food, his food donations were enough to restock the bare shelves.