Sikeston attorney named Eagle Scout sponsor

CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. — Sikeston attorney Steve Taylor has been named the honored sponsor of the 2023 class of Southeast Missouri and Southern Illinois Eagle Scouts.

Taylor will provide the keynote address at a ceremony honoring the Eagle Scouts at 2 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 10 at Southeast Missouri State University. He will also present the 54 Eagle Scouts with honorary medals. The Eagle Scout rank is the highest and most prestigious a member of the Boy Scouts of America can achieve.

Tony Smee, president of the Southeast Missouri Eagle Scout Association, said recommendations for class sponsors are solicited from local Eagle Scouts every year. Nominees have had successful careers, significant stories and, usually, some involvement with the Boy Scouts of America.

“Mr. Taylor is very well-regarded in the Sikeston community for sure, but in Southeast Missouri and the State of Missouri in legal circles, as well,” Smee said. “... He’s very worthy to be the class sponsor this year.”

Taylor has been involved for more than 40 years with Boy Scouts of America, both as an active member and as an adult volunteer, including a term as a unit leader, district committee chair and council commissioner. He has received the District Award of Merit and the Silver Beaver Award, the highest award a local Boy Scouts of America Council can bestow upon an adult volunteer, and currently serves on the Cherokee District Eagle Board of Review.

This year’s class of Eagle Scouts will be known as the 2023 Steve Taylor Class. 

The ceremony is free and open to the public.

Taylor is a Sikeston High School and SEMO graduate who received his law degree from the University of Missouri-Columbia. From 1970 to 1981, he served in the United States Army, active duty from 1972-1973, where he began his law practice and retired in 1981 at the rank of captain.

Taylor has been active in the practice of law in the Sikeston area since 1973 with extensive jury and non-jury trial experience. He has served on the Board of Governors of the Missouri Association of Trial Attorneys; has served the Missouri Bar as a Disciplinary Hearing Officer; and has served as Special Assistant Attorney General for the State of Missouri.

He is presently a member of the Workers’ Injury Law and Advocacy Group, the Missouri Bar Workers’ Compensation Committee, the American Association of Justice, The National Trial Lawyers, the Scott County Bar, and Missouri Bar Association. He has been a lecturer at continuing legal education programs for the Missouri Bar Association on matters involving workers’ compensation law. He is admitted to practice in state courts in the State of Missouri and in US courts for the Eastern District of Missouri, the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals and the Supreme Court of the United States of America.

Taylor lives in Sikeston with his wife, Pat, and they have two children and six grandchildren.

According to Smee, it’s estimated that less than 5% of all Scouts will ever earn the rank of Eagle. The prestigious award requires formal demonstration of leadership over several years, creating and managing a significant service project that benefits the community and earning a minimum of 21 merit badges that require proficiencies such as first aid, environmental science, lifesaving, emergency preparedness, personal management, citizenship and outdoor skills. A lengthy formal review before a board of Eagle Scouts and community representatives is the final hurdle prior to a Scout’s elevation to the rank of Eagle.