Donna Gallops pins on Daniel's Eagle Scout medal.

Daniel Gallops came to Botetourt County because he attends Fincastle United Methodist Church, where his mother Donna is the choir and music director.

Daniel is the son of Donna and Wayne Gallops. They live in North Roanoke County and he is a senior at Northside High School. In an age when it seems tough times are all around, it is uplifting, especially during the holiday season, to see someone beat the odds.

Daniel Gallops is one of those people, so sit back and embrace how Daniel took, "If you think you can, you will," especially with love and support of family, friends and other scouts, to become an Eagle Scout. Daniel received his Eagle Scout in a touching ceremony with his Troop 209 in front of family and friends on Tuesday, Nov. 24. And that is where being a regular kid who pursued scouting ends.

A scoutmaster of the troop reminded the gathering that only 2 percent of all boys who enter scouting make it to the Eagle Scout level -- the highest achievement for a Boy Scout. Daniel achieved Eagle Scout, though he had to make extraordinary efforts to get there.

Daniel Gallops embodies "I know I can." According to his mother, Daniel was diagnosed at an early age with numerous disabilities. Donna Gallops described his life so far in this way.

"Daniel was diagnosed at the age of 9 with Kearns-Sayer Syndrome, a mitochondrial disease that affects the nervous system and can result in ocular paralysis, heart bundle branch blockage, hearing loss, impaired growth and muscular development, and various cognitive/developmental issues." She continued, "Now at the age of eighteen, Daniel's KSS manifests itself in that he has lost the ability to move his eyes, loss of depth perception, bundle branch blockage for which a pacemaker was implanted, mild hearing loss, and some developmental impairment."

Daniel has not let those impairments keep him from achieving Eagle Scout. His Eagle Scout project was for the St. Francis of Assisi Service Dog Foundation. Daniel Gallops said, "For my project, we did portable staging for the St. Francis of Assisi Service Dogs facility. They use it for their graduations in December." He had to work very hard to get through all of the badges and levels it takes to get to the Eagle Scout level, as the physical aspects were the most serious for him to attempt. Harder than for those who have no disabilities because it took him longer, but he persevered.

At his ceremony, the scoutmasters repeated stories of "Daniel in a canoe, Daniel forging ahead with a backpack, Daniel falling down and getting back up." He even served three summers as an instructor at Camp Powhatan.

For those who know Daniel, he isn't the kind of young man to give up. A chatty fellow with a really good nature, he said he has enjoyed scouting from his days as a Webelo in Florida through the move to Virginia and forward in Troop 209.

Daniel fondly remembered his days in scouting, "I first joined Cub Scouts in Troop 212 as a Webelo. They were part of the Gulf Ridge Council in Tampa, Florida. Kelly Castor was the leader of my den. One year later I crossed over to Boy Scouts and my Scoutmaster was Mark Rose. I was involved with Scouts only two years in Florida before moving to Roanoke, Va. I then joined the Blue Ridge Council, Troop 209, in 2004. I've had a couple of Scoutmasters since joining this troop, Tim Brady and Mike Laffoon. I have accomplished a lot over the years like earn merit badges, earning ranks like scout, tender foot, second class, first class, star, and life. Now after all these years I have finally made it to Eagle Scout."

Daniel Gallops is an inspiration to those who might want to give up when life gets hard. He knew he could and he did, no matter the obstacles in his path.

For more photos from the ceremony, visit The Notebook on botetourtview.com