FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 12, 2025
For more information:
Alison Harrison, Marketing and Communications Director
James Parnell, Scout Executive
Virginia Beach, Va. – Three local Scouting America leaders have received the 2024 Silver Beaver Award, the highest honor bestowed by the Tidewater Council. First introduced in 1931, the prestigious award recognizes volunteer leaders who have provided distinguished service to youth.
These three exemplary leaders have given untold amounts of their time and talents to serve the needs of local youth Scouts in the area. One of them – James T. Carroll – lives in Virginia Beach and teaches in Norfolk Public Schools.
When Carroll’s son came home from kindergarten with a flyer to join Pack 991, both were excited: his son wanted to build fires and launch rockets, while James hoped to share the fun he had as a Cub Scout in Yokosuka, Japan. The last advice he got before the recruiting meeting was, “Don’t sign up for anything.” His resolve lasted two weeks before he signed up to become a Tiger den leader, the first “yes” in a long line of volunteerism.
Since then, James has held various Scouting roles, focusing on providing a high-quality program for his children and all Scouts in the Tidewater Council. He has been a den leader and Cubmaster in Pack 991. Later, he was a committee member with Troops 5374, 408, 67, and 5067. He was also a den leader with Pack 6296 in the Heart of Virginia Council.
After attending Wood Badge in 2018, he realized the broader impact he could have. He has volunteered at Day Camp since 2017, serving as Camp Director in 2020 during the pandemic and a hurricane. Seeing COVID’s impact on youth, he created and led “Stay Camp,” engaging nearly 500 youth across Hampton Roads and North Carolina via Zoom, followed by STEM Stay Camp, connecting Cub Scouts nationwide with experts to earn their NOVA and Supernova awards.
His passion for working with youth extends beyond Scouting. James is a math teacher for Norfolk Public Schools and has focused his career on working with students with behavioral and psychological issues. He is currently at the Madison Alternative Education Center. Through his work, he attempts to instill in his students a passion for lifelong learning and character lessons inspired by the Scout Oath and Law.
As Program Director for Pipsico’s Scouts BSA Resident Camp in 2021, he gained experience running council camp events, which he leveraged into co-chairing the Cub Scout Working Group. That culminated in helping with Cub Scout Resident Camp 2024 and leading Cub Scout Weekend this summer. James serves on the National Cub Scout Committee and helped roll out last year’s Program Updates.
He was on the Wood Badge staff in 2021 and 2025, and he served on the National Youth Leadership Training (NYLT) staff in 2019 for the Tidewater Council and in 2021 for the Colonial Virginia Council. He was the Course Director for NYLT in 2022 and will run the fall 2025 course. His proudest Scouting moments include receiving an Eagle Scout Parent pin from his daughter, Sydney, and watching his son, Jack, complete his Order of the Arrow Ordeal on the path to Eagle.
Carroll and two other local volunteer Scout leaders, Roland “Ron” Misfeldt and Kate Sklat, were honored with the 2024 Silver Beaver Award at the annual Scouting America Tidewater Council recognition dinner on Wednesday, April 30, 2025, at the Khedive Shrine Center in Chesapeake.
(from left): Tidewater Council President John Scheib, Silver Beaver Chair Byron McPherson, 2024 Silver Beaver Award Recipient James Carroll, 2024 Silver Beaver Award Recipient Ron Misfeldt, 2024 Silver Beaver Award Recipient Kate Sklat, Tidewater Council Commissioner Tim Briggs, and Scout Executive James Parnell
About the Silver Beaver Award
As a movement with leadership overwhelmingly comprised of volunteers, Scouting America recognizes the need to acknowledge the invaluable service Scout leaders render to youth.
The Silver Beaver is the highest honor that a local council can bestow upon a volunteer and is among the most prestigious awards in Scouting. Since 1931, the award has been a means for council-level recognition of Scouters who have provided distinguished service to youth.
A recipient of the award may be a Scouter who has given exceptional service to Scouting or their community over a long period, or it may go to a Scouter who has done a single remarkable act of noteworthy service. Length of service is not a prerequisite, nor does someone’s tenure make this recognition automatic or warranted.
The Silver Beaver is not an “earned” award. A Tidewater Council peer-level volunteer committee selects the honorees after thoroughly reviewing nominations. The Scouting America National Council, upon the recommendation of the local council, makes the award.
About Scouting America Tidewater Council
Established in 1911, Tidewater Council is the fifth oldest Scouting America council in the United States. 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. To learn more about Tidewater Council or to sign your child up for Scouting, visit TidewaterBSA.com, email james.parnell@scouting.org, or call 757-497-2688.
About Scouting America
Scouting America provides the nation’s foremost youth program of character development and values-based leadership training, which helps young people be “Prepared. For Life.®”
Scouting America welcomes all of America’s youth into its programs. Scouting aims to give them fantastic experiences in the outdoors, and elsewhere, where they can grow in a safe environment. More than 130 million Americans have participated in Scouting’s programs since its founding. Today, more than one million youth are served by 477,000 dedicated adult volunteers in local councils nationwide.
To learn more about Scouting America’s mission, visit Scouting.org.
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