SRWC offers LeBlanc scholarship

SAUGUS – The Saugus River Watershed Council (SRWC) is offering a scholarship in the name of the local Eagle Scout who left his mark on the waterway and in the minds of the volunteers who worked alongside him.Sean LeBlanc, who died at age 21 in a car crash, was not just a volunteer for the council. He participated routinely in river cleanup projects and, as a canoe guide, introduced people enthusiastically to the beauty of the Saugus River. The river became his passion.The SRWC is accepting applications for the Sean LeBlanc Memorial Environmental Leadership Scholarship. Applicants for the $500 award must be graduating from high school in 2011 and live in one of the following 11 communities that are part of the watershed ? Saugus, Lynn, Wakefield, Revere, Lynnfield, Malden, Melrose, Everett, Reading, Peabody and Stoneham. The applications must be received by the Saugus River Watershed Council Scholarship Committee, P.O. Box 1092, Saugus, MA 01906, no later than April 22.A memorial tribute posted on the council’s website states, “When we think of you, we smile. When we think of all you’ve done to make a difference with your life, we feel inspired.”The scholarship recognizes LeBlanc’s years of volunteer work to improve the watershed, which was inextricably linked to his scouting accomplishments with Boy Scout Troop 61. According to Joan LeBlanc, the council director, the young man achieved the rank of Eagle Scout by cleaning up the Saugus River and building new park benches at Prankers Pond.LeBlanc lived with his parents at 6 Pevwell Drive. He was killed in June 2009 when his car stuck a tree on Winter Street after skidding sideways along a curve in the road. At the time, LeBlanc, a graduate of St. Mary’s High School in Lynn, was in his third year of studies at UMass Amherst.Last summer, LeBlanc’s family joined with members of Boy Scout Troop 61 and Friends of the Saugus River Watershed Council for a day of volunteer community service in his name at Prankers Pond and along the river.