Continuing one of its longest-standing traditions, the Downtown Rotary Club on Monday recognized young men in North Florida who have earned the rank of Eagle Scout.
Thirty-five of the 265 members of the 2013 North Florida Council Boy Scouts of America Eagle Scout class and their parents were the club’s guests at the Omni Hotel.
North Florida Council Scout Executive Jack Sears said each year nearly 300 young men achieve the rank of Eagle Scout, representing about 4 percent of the total local scouting population.
“Their achievement deserves recognition,” he said.
Each year, the club selects one of its members to be recognized along with the eagle Scouts.
This year’s selection was David Sillick, publisher and president of the Jacksonville Business Journal and a North Florida Boy Scouts of America officer for more than 10 years.
He advised the Scouts as they embark on higher education or a career to never stop learning and begin as soon as possible to save money and invest.
“Your ability to set goals and persevere to see things through” is what gives Eagle Scouts an advantage in life, Sillick said. “You have the courage to do what is right even if it’s not the most popular.”
Author Alvin Townley, himself an Eagle Scout, addressed the club and its guests. He has published two books about Eagle Scouts, “Legacy of Honor” and “Spirit of Adventure.”
His latest book, “Defiant,” tells the story of a group of Americans who were prisoners of war held in North Vietnam until Feb. 12, 1973.
The men were shot down over North Vietnam and then were forced to live in 4-by-9 windowless cells for 23 hours and 55 minutes each day.
The group, one of whom had been held prisoner for more than eight years before being released, became known as the “Alcatraz 11” because they were considered by their captors to be the most uncooperative and subversive detainees. Many were Scouts and some were Eagle Scouts, Townley said.
Throughout their isolation, starvation and torture, the Americans upheld their code of conduct and refused to give their captors any information that could be detrimental to their country or their fellow POWs.
“The prisoners vowed to return home with their honor, even though they had no idea when they would return. The upheld their Scout oath to do their best,” said Townley. “They had every incentive to compromise, but they didn’t compromise.
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