FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 23, 2024
For more information:
Alison Harrison, Marketing and Communications Director
James Parnell, Scout Executive
17-YEAR-OLD RECEIVES EAGLE SCOUT PROJECT OF THE YEAR AWARD
Virginia Beach, Va. – Benjamin D. Parker, a 17-year-old Eagle Scout from Virginia Beach, was awarded the 2023 Tidewater Council, Boy Scouts of America Eagle Scout Service Project of the Year. He is a member of Scouts BSA Troop 63, chartered by Francis Asbury United Methodist Church.
Ben planned, organized, led, and managed a service project constructing a living shoreline along the Lynnhaven River. A living shoreline acts as a natural filter for the water, provides a habitat for many kinds of wildlife, protects against erosion, and improves the health of the Chesapeake Bay.
He sought out the experts at Lynnhaven River NOW, a local environmental organization, to turn his vision into reality. Lynnhaven River NOW and other state environmental groups help fund these projects.
Ben’s Eagle Scout Service Project resulted in installing 100 feet of Coir logs and 40 tons of sand, creating 800 square feet of shoreline, and then planting hundreds of sprigs of native aquatic grasses. As time passes, the grasses will grow, anchoring the shoreline until they fully integrate into the local ecosystem, filtering runoff and the water and preventing erosion.
His project has been submitted to the Boy Scouts of America’s Council Service Territory 15 as Tidewater Council’s Adams National Eagle Scout Service Project of the Year. He will be honored along with two runners-up, Joshua Miller and Jackson Todd, at Tidewater Council’s Recognition Banquet on Wednesday, May 15, 2024, at the Khedive Shrine Center, 645 Woodlake Drive, Chesapeake, Virginia.
About the Glenn A. and Melinda W. Adams National Eagle Scout Service Project of the Year Award
The National Eagle Scout Association established the Glenn A. and Melinda W. Adams National Eagle Scout Service Project of the Year Award to recognize valuable service of an exceptional nature by a Scout to a religious institution, a school, a community, or another entity.
The award recognizes the Scout for their Eagle Scout service project, part of the requirements for earning the Eagle Scout Award. Tidewater Council’s National Eagle Scout Association chapter chose this year’s council winner. Each Council Service Territory (CST) will pick a CST-level winner from that pool of council winners. A national winner will then be selected from the 16 CST finalists.
About Tidewater Council, Boy Scouts of America
Tidewater Council is the 5th oldest Boy Scouts of America council in the United States, established in 1911. Today, the council serves approximately 4,000 youth and 1,700 adult volunteers in the Virginia cities of Chesapeake, Norfolk, Portsmouth, and Virginia Beach, and the North Carolina counties of Camden, Chowan, Currituck, Dare, Gates, Pasquotank, and Perquimans. Information about Tidewater Council is available by visiting TidewaterBSA.com, emailing james.parnell@scouting.org, or calling 757-497-2688.
About the Boy Scouts of America
The Boy Scouts of America (BSA) is one of the nation’s foremost youth character development and values-based leadership training programs. Since its inception in 1910, more than 130 million young men and women have participated in the BSA’s youth programs. More than 35 million adult volunteers have helped carry out the BSA’s mission.
BSA programs serve boys and girls ages five through 20, and their families, with age-appropriate curriculums that develop character, citizenship, leadership, and personal fitness. More information about the Boy Scouts of America is available by visiting scouting.org.
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