According to the Boys Scouts of America Web site, only 5 percent of all Boy Scouts earned the rank of Eagle Scout last year.

But statistics aren't a deterrent in La'ie's Troop 382, where brothers Nathan, Seth and Jacob Richardson received their Eagle Scout medals during a Court of Honor ceremony Thursday evening.

"Reality is, being a scoutmaster can be kind of challenging if the boys aren't focused, if they don't want to participate, if they don't show up, or can't motivate themselves," said Kevin Kimball, who served as the boys' scoutmaster. "But these are the type of boys that people would love to be a scoutmaster over because they're excited about it, they show up, they are respectful, they follow through on the things they commit to, they have self motivation, and they want to do well. If all scouts were like these guys, you'd have more people wanting to be scoutmasters."

Young men earn the Eagle Scout Award — scouting's highest honor — by holding leadership positions in their troop, earning 21 merit badges, and completing community service projects.

"The Eagle Scout Award says that this is someone who has goals, can motivate themselves, live within rules of order of some kind, that they know how to show respect, and that they're willing to work as a team," said Kimball.

Nathan, 17, oversaw the repair of a neighborhood basketball court for his Eagle project.

"I really liked the project because I love basketball," he said. "Now I see little kids using (the court), and it's a really good feeling."

Seth, 16, organized a cleanup of the La'ie Falls hiking trail, hauling more than 1,000 pounds of trash out of the mountains during his one-day project.

Jacob, 14, collected and sealed emergency food supply items in protective mylar bags for members of the La'ie 8th Ward, the local Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints congre-gation the Richardsons attend.

All three boys credited their troop leaders and their mother, Helen, for helping them complete their projects.

"It was definitely the leaders. They were really good, always asking me and pushing me to get my merit badges and to fulfill the requirements," said Jacob. "It was also my mom — she really helped, especially with the Eagle project. I can see how so many scouts don't receive their Eagle award; it's not an easy thing to accomplish."

As for receiving the award together, "I think it's really cool and made it more enjoyable for all of us," said Seth. "We can connect over it."

The brothers honored their parents, Timothy and Helen Richardson, with pins during the ceremony. As new Eagle Scouts, they were charged to live with honor, loyalty, courage, cheerfulness and service.

"I definitely learned a lot of skills through earning merit badges," said Jacob. "I can teach other scouts when I get older, and use the skills in situations where I normally wouldn't know what to do."

All three brothers work in the Polynesian Cultural Center's food service department. Nathan is a freshman at Brigham Young University-Hawai'i, while Seth and Jacob are homeschooled.

"It was kind of by accident that they ended up getting it at the same time because Nathan's project took longer than we expected," said Helen Richardson. "The boys always loved attending their scouts so much, and had so much fun, that I didn't have to pull their arms to get them to be involved. They wanted to do it because it was so much fun for them."