Special Commendation Honors Those Who Serve

On the last Sunday in December 2018, 90-year-old John Sanchez attended an Eagle Scout court of honor near his Schererville, Ind., home, something he’d done many times in his 70-plus years of Scouting involvement. This court of honor was different, however.

At the end of the ceremony, two young Eagle Scouts walked to the microphone and asked the audience to be seated. They then read off Sanchez’s impressive Scouting resume—which includes service at the unit and district levels, leadership at Owasippe Scout Reservation, and a slew of awards—and asked him to come forward to receive the Scouting Service Commendation. “As he started to walk down the aisle, he got a standing ovation,” says John Beede, a member of the Scouting Alumni and Friends Committee. “He was completely caught off guard, and you could see the great big smile on his face that he was being remembered not only for Scouting, but for what he did in the community.”

Being remembered for Scouting and community service is exactly what the Scouting Service Commendation is all about. Developed by Scouting and Alumni and Friends, it’s designed to honor Scouting alumni for giving back to their communities, to their professions, to their religions, to their families, and to Scouting and other youth-serving organizations. It recognizes that recipients’ sense of duty and service to others is based in part on the training, experience, and challenges Scouting provides. “This is really a celebration of service and those who provide it,” says Mike Movius, Scouting Alumni and Friends’ vice-chair for awards and recognition.

In some cases, the commendation goes to those who, like Sanchez, are well known for their service. In other cases, it goes to people who’ve been passed over for other awards, perhaps because they shunned the spotlight or moved around frequently or simply never got nominated for an award like the Silver Beaver (the highest award a local council can give) or the NESA Outstanding Eagle Scout Award.

Unlike those better-known awards, the Scouting Service Commendation, which is available from http://bsaalumnistore. com/safrecognitions-awards/, has no nomination forms or documentation requirements. Instead, you simply certify that

the person you want to honor has served in Scouting for at least 25, 50, or 75 years. Each commendation—a medallion on a neck ribbon accompanied by a certificate—costs $29.

Beede has been on a campaign to recognize deserving volunteers in his state of Indiana and far beyond the state’s borders. In fact, he’s talked up the commendation with friends from Massachusetts to California. “We don’t thank our volunteers enough, and this is a great way to thank them—not only for their Scouting, but for what they do in the community and what they did as a professional,” he says.

Although there’s no right way to present a commendation, Beede’s preference is to have them presented by young Eagle Scouts, as he did with John Sanchez. “The big thrill for him was two Eagle Scouts making the presentation,” he says. “He made that very clear to me.”

Movius says there’s nothing wrong with veteran Scouters ordering a commendation for themselves. “This is an important commendation,” he says. “People shouldn’t be reluctant to step forward and say, ‘Yeah, I’ve been giving service that I learned and practiced through Scouting.’”