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Lake Geneva has three Eagle Scouts in one family

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Eric, Bradley and Kenny Winger have all reached the highest level of achievement in Boy Scouting: Eagle Scout. The brothers say the efforts in scouting have brought them closer together.

LAKE GENEVA — Three brothers. Three Eagle Scouts. One significant honor.

Kenny, Bradley and Eric Winger of Lake Geneva all have achieved the rank of Eagle Scout, the highest rank attainable in Boy Scouting.

It started as something their parents encouraged them to do and became something the brothers consider a bond between them.

"Being brothers and growing up around each other, we already have a lot of camaraderie. We do almost everything together," Bradley said. "It's one of those things we all wanted to achieve—to be together and be one step ahead of everybody else."

Eric is the last brother to earn his Eagle Scout rank—finishing the required 21 merit badges and service project this summer and receiving his medal in a ceremony early last month, just before his 16th birthday.

"Ever since I was in Cub Scouts, I wanted to do this," he said. "I wanted to be like my older brothers. I looked up to them."

Eric built two mock roof structures for local firefighters to use in training for his service project.

The Badger High School sophomore now is busy with wrestling, which he sandwiches in between football and baseball seasons.

Eric knows his ranking as an Eagle Scout is going to carry him far, from soon setting him apart from other college applicants to someday helping him stand out among job applicants.

"It's really going to help me in a lot of ways ..." he said. "There's nothing bad I could get out of it."

Bradley earned his Eagle Scout rank at age 12. He is one of few boys in the state to achieve the honor at such a young age.

"I wanted to beat my older brother ..." he said with a laugh. "I just wanted to beat him."

Bradley planted shrubs and perennials between the parking lots at the Geneva Lakes YMCA for his service project.

He now is 18 and a freshman at UW-Stevens Point, studying forest recreation in hopes of becoming a game warden.

Kenny earned his Eagle Scout at age 15, fulfilling a personal goal to be more independent.

"Starting out, it was the trips you went on, the adventures you were a part of," he said. "But then it was something you had to earn on your own, something your mom and dad couldn't do for you."

Kenny painted nearly 100 sewer drains on the northeast side of the city with a fish symbol that read, "Dump no waste. Drains to Lake," for his service project.

He now is 24, is a graduate of UW-Oshkosh and works as an account manager for a telecommunications distributor in Lake Geneva.

As each boy progressed through Boy Scouting, he leaned on his older brother for guidance, and when each boy earned his medal, he recognized his older brother with a mentor pin.

"I gave them some general direction," Kenny said, "that helping hand when they really were struggling on certain things. ... But they were both very independent, very mature, very adamant about achieving Eagle Scout on their own."

Jack and Diana Winger encouraged their sons to get involved in Boy Scouting from the time they were very young.

"It's a great learning experience; it builds character, and it broadens their horizons," Diana said.

They also encouraged them to pursue the highest rank in Boy Scouting.

"Becoming an Eagle Scout really means a lot," Diana said. "People see that, and it means they had to work hard to get that.

"We're very proud of them."

All three boys have gone above and beyond the basic requirements of an Eagle Scout, continuing to earn merit badges, their parents said. Kenny now has a sash of more than 50 badges, and Bradley has one with more than 60. Eric already has more than 40.

The Winger brothers simply are enjoying their moment in the spotlight.

"It's pretty cool," Eric said. "You don't hear about a family that has three boys who are all Eagle Scout. We're all really close, and now it's going to make us closer."