Boy Scouts take fundraising to great heights

Friday morning began with a light drizzle but cleared up just in time for more than 60 volunteers to rappel down the 17-story Irvine Marriott Hotel.

The Orange County Council, Boy Scouts of America held its second annual rappelling event in partnership with Over The Edge, a Canadian-based nonprofit that helps host these rope activities.

“We have scouts, community leaders, local folks and anyone who’s a thrill seeker participating in rappelling today,” OC Boy Scouts Chief Development Officer Devon Dougherty said. “It’s a great opportunity for anyone who wants to conquer their fear of heights.”

For volunteer and Exchange Club of Irvine member Lisa Fagan, that fear was very real.

The Irvine resident won the opportunity after her name was drawn in a raffle at an Exchange Club of Irvine event. The prize was an opportunity to scale down the Irvine Marriott for the OC Boy Scouts fundraiser.

While her eyes grew wide at the thought of coming down a 17-story building Friday morning, she did it for one reason — to support her 25-year-old son Ben Tourtelot, a sergeant in the Marine Corps who fell in a rappelling accident in 2006.

While staying at a Marine Corps base in Hawaii, Tourtelot was doing a demo of an Australian rappel from a helicopter. An unknown malfunction in his gear caused him to fall 110 feet and hit the ground.

He suffered brain damage, lost the vision in his right eye and spent six years gaining back his ability to walk and speak.

But Friday afternoon, Tourtelot and his mother both put on their harnesses and glided down the building. It was his first time rappelling since his accident.

“When we were rappelling, I spent more time thinking about my mom and making sure she was OK than I did being scared,” he said.

Once the two landed safely on the ground, the only thing Fagan could immediately muster was “I did it!”

“I was determined to do this for him, but he ended up doing this for me,” she said. “There were parts of me that did not want to do it. But if I didn’t, I knew I’d always look back on how I had this chance and didn’t take it.”

Individuals who signed up to rappel were asked to participate in a challenge to raise $1,000 by the end of the year. Last year’s event, also held at the Irvine Marriott, accumulated over $40,000 for the organization.

While Fagan won the chance to scale down the building, she said she and her family plan to make a donation to the OC Boy Scouts.

The rappelling activity was even open to passersby on Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Just after 9 a.m., 25-year-old San Diego resident Larry Chu arrived to Irvine for a work conference at Advantage Sales & Marketing across the street. While walking to the Advantage building he saw people gliding down the building on the ropes.

“I thought it was awesome,” Chu said. “I talked to the ladies at the booth to figure out what was going on then… I just did it.”

After Chu signed a waiver, got fitted for a harness, rode the elevator to the roof, scaled down the 120-foot building and landed safely on the ground, he grabbed his briefcase and coffee thermos and walked back into the Advantage building to finish off the rest of his work day.

Other rappel volunteers included OC Boy Scouts Eagle Advisor Don Webb and his two sons Don Web III and Cameron Webb.

Don Webb became an Eagle Scout in 1954 and both his sons are Eagle Scouts.

“Devon gave me this offer that I couldn’t refuse,” Don Webb said. “And I said I’d only do it if my two sons could join me.”

Once school let out that day, more of Orange County’s Boy Scouts arrived to the Irvine Marriott to step down the side of the building.

Proceeds of this fundraiser will go toward the OC Boy Scouts’ general fund, which covers costs for youth development programs, scout outreach, uniforms and official scout handbooks.