by Max Marbut
Staff Writer
It was all about being trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean and reverent Monday at the meeting of the Rotary Club of Jacksonville. Those are the 12 points of the Scout Law and many club members and guests recited the words along with Club President Jack Diamond, who brought his 1956 edition of the Boy Scout Handbook to the meeting.
Each year since 1987, the club has set aside a meeting to honor the young men in the North Florida Council of the Boy Scouts of America who have completed the rigorous requirements to be an Eagle Scout. The 2007 local Eagle Scout class numbered 227 and 31 of them attended the luncheon.
Club member and former Eagle Scout Arnold Rogers pointed out that the North Florida Council covers 17 counties from Jacksonville Beach to Cedar Key. There are more than 16,000 Scouts in the North Florida Council and 6,500 volunteers, mostly parents and former Scouts.
“It’s one of the first things you do in your life that takes more than a year to accomplish,” said Rogers of the process to earn the rank of Eagle Scout.
The keynote speaker for Rotary Eagle Scout Day was James J. Terry Jr., Assistant Chief Scout Executive and Chief Financial Officer of the Boy Scouts of America (BSA). In that capacity, he provides leadership to the BSA’s Administration Group, the Human Resources Group and the Supply Group as well as the Controller Division, Internal Auditor Service and the general Counsel of the corporation. Terry is also a former member of the Rotary Club of Jacksonville.
He said that combined, the local Boy Scout Councils in America hold more than $1 billion in capital assets and another $1.1 billion in endowments. They own 700 Boy Scout camps and the BSA has a collection of 56 original paintings by Norman Rockwell.
Terry also said in 2007, there were 51,782 new Eagle Scouts in America, marking the fourth consecutive year more than 50,000 achieved the honor.
“Scouting has such a tremendous impact on our lives. Our most precious assets are our young members and our volunteers,” he said.
Each year the Rotarians also honor one of their members for service to Scouting. This year’s honoree is Steve Bacalis, who currently serves as Regional Vice President - Learning for Life on both the Regional and North Florida Council Board. He is also a past recipient of the Silver Beaver Award, the highest honor for a Scouting volunteer.
“I only made it through the Cub Scouts,” he said. “I am extremely honored to have my name associated with the North Florida Council’s 2007 Class of Eagle Scouts.”