Nick Sommer has earned the Gold Medal of Achievement with Royal Rangers. Sommer will be a senior at James Clemens High School. (CONTRIBUTED)

MADISON – Nickolas Reed ‘Nick’ Sommer, an upcoming sophomore at James Clemens High School, has earned the Gold Medal of Achievement with Royal Rangers.

Sommer will receive his award on June 28 at a ceremony at Madison Assembly of God, his family’s home church and also home to Royal Ranger Outpost 17.

The Royal Rangers organization mentors boys and young men with Christlike character and servant leadership in a fun and interactive environment. Their mission is to empower youth to share Christ’s message in a clear, appealing and Biblical way. (royalrangers.com)

“I wanted to become a Royal Ranger because activities like camping, shooting archery, knot tying and anything to do with the great outdoors attracted me,” Sommer said. He joined when he was five years old.

The Gold Medal requires the Ranger “to learn skills and prove that you can use them … participate in community service (and) learn how to be a Godly young man through giving to missions and studying and learning about the Bible,” Sommer said.

At leadership merit camps, Sommer has completed community service projects. One example is mixing concrete to build a layered fire ring with fellow Rangers.

“The main commanders who have helped me earn my medal are Commander Neal Ross and Commander Huber Kermit Johnson,” Nick said. “I also could not have done it without the help and support from my dad, Nathanael Sommer.

Nick’s parents, Nathanael and Jeannie Sommer, work in missile defense. Nick’s brothers are Daniel and Nathan McKnight. “Daniel works for a gaming company and Nathan works for DIRECTV. I have a sister, Kaelyn Sommer, an upcoming freshman at James Clemens,” Nick said.

The Sommers formerly lived in Madison County “but the good schools in Madison City brought us here,” Nick said.

Nick has participated in Junior ROTC and received the Military Officers Association of America award and the “Superior Cadet for Freshman Class” award.

He will attend the University of Alabama in Huntsville and major in mechanical engineering. “With this degree, I could work as a ballistic engineer at Remington,” Nick said.