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 – Roland D. “Ron” Misfeldt – lives in Virginia Beach.
Ron Misfeldt grew up in a military family; his father had a career in the U.S. Air Force. Ron was a Cub Scout in the 1960s in Sacramento, California. He transitioned to Troop 29 in San Antonio, Texas, rising to the rank of Tenderfoot before the family moved to Anchorage, Alaska, and he joined Troop 220. He achieved the rank of Life Scout.
While in Alaska, he was inducted into the Order of the Arrow (OA) in November 1971, completing his Ordeal in minus-20-degree weather. He completed the 50-Miler twice, once on land and once on water.
The family moved several times before settling in Austin, Texas. There, Ron had the opportunity to complete a third 50-Miler at Northern Tier with his troop.
From 1975 to 1991, Ron’s involvement in Scouting was limited due to his tours with the U.S. Navy. He was stationed in Adak, Alaska, Newfoundland, Canada, and Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean during that time.
Ron has two sons, Robert and Richard. When the family arrived in the Tidewater area in 1991, Robert joined Pack 179, and Ron became a parent volunteer. Both boys joined Troop 179 and earned Eagle Scout.
Ron was an assistant Scoutmaster for the troop, then became a committee member to be the troop’s advancement chair. He has been a Merit Badge Counselor through the years. During one of the iterations of Crew 179, Ron served as the committee chair. He has also served as the Skipper for Ship 596.
Misfeldt has been an active part of Blue Heron Lodge since 1991, sealing his Brotherhood membership immediately after joining the lodge. In 1998, he was the National Order of the Arrow Conference (NOAC) associate Advisor; in 2000, he was the NOAC Advisor. In 2008, he participated in the Order of the Arrow Nationwide joint service project with the U.S. Forest Service, ArrowCorps5, where 1,000 people spent a week working on trails in the George Washington-Jefferson National Forest. For 10 years, Ron served as the lodge unit elections Advisor. For a period, Ron served as the lodge service Advisor. He received the OA’s Vigil Honor in 2015.
In 2019, Misfeldt attended Camp Ranger School. He has served as the In-City Ranger for Camps Moonyah and Baker, maintaining the roadways and campsites, meeting units during their stay, arranging service projects, and reconciling reservations.
Ron attended Wood Badge in 1998 as a member of the Bobwhite Patrol. He is serving on staff in 2025 as assistant Quartermaster.
Misfeldt and two other local volunteer Scout leaders, James T. Carroll 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.
###
