Reed receives award from Ozark Trails Council

Submitted photo Steve Reed poses with his Silver Beaver Award for his service to the Ozark Trails Council Scouting program.

Nevada Daily Mail

Nevada resident Steve Reed was honored by the Ozarks Trails Council Boy Scouts of America Saturday, Feb. 1, receiving the Silver Beaver award at their annual banquet.

Reed, who is the Cottey College director of public information and is a member of the Nevada Rotary Club, represents the Mo-Kan District, a five-county area that includes Vernon and Barton counties in Missouri and Bourbon, Cherokee, and Crawford counties in Kansas.

"Steve was presented the Silver Beaver Award for his years of service to the Scouting program in our Council," said Jared Alexander, special projects director for the council.

"The Silver Beaver Award is the highest award a council can give a volunteer. Steve was nominated by other volunteers in the area, and selected by the awards committee. This year, Steve was one of six volunteers selected from the council (which serves 31 counties, 8,500 youth, and 4,000 volunteers)."

"The Silver Beaver Award is the council-level distinguished service award of the Boy Scouts of America," according to the Council's website.

"Recipients of this award are registered adult leaders who have made an impact on the lives of youth through service given to the council. "The Silver Beaver is an award given to those who implement the Scouting program and perform community service through hard work, self-sacrifice, dedication, and many years of service."

"The neat thing about this award is that all the recipients have their names installed on a wall at the Scouting headquarters in Irving, Texas," said Reed of the honor.

"I've been a registered Scout leader for over 24 years, serving over 15 years directly as a Scout leader, most of that time as the Scoutmaster of Troop 42, with two short stints as a Webelos Den Leader in Pack 42."

Reed was also the Mo-Kan District Chairman for seven years.

The District serves just over 650 youth members and 400 adult volunteers, "with Steve being the lead volunteer for the entire five-county area," Alexander noted.

"I've also been a contingent Scoutmaster for two National Jamborees, in 1997 and 2001," Reed recalled.

"I am proudest, however, of the 30 young men who earned their Eagle rank under my tenure. That is my true legacy."

Reed is a previous winner of the District Award of Merit (2002) and the council's Golden Sun award (2011). He was also named the district's Scoutmaster of the Year in 1997 and 1999.

"I worked with Steve for the first two years of my professional career as district executive, and he was outstanding," said Alexander. "His kids had been out of the Scouting program for many years by that time, but Steve still believed in scouting so much that he continued to spend his time volunteering to keep scouting going.

"As a brand new district executive at the time, I couldn't have asked for a better volunteer to help lead our district."