FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 11, 2023
For more information:
Alison Harrison, Marketing and Communications Director
James Parnell, Scout Executive
AJ VASTA RECEIVES TIDEWATER COUNCIL'S HIGHEST HONOR
Virginia Beach, Va. – Three local Boy Scouts of America (BSA) leaders have received the Silver Beaver Award, the highest honor bestowed by a local BSA council. First introduced in 1931, the prestigious award recognizes volunteer leaders who have provided distinguished service to youth. The Silver Beaver Award is not an “earned” award; rather, the distinction is granted by one’s peers in the local Scouting area.
AJ Vasta celebrates his 50th year in Scouting in 2023, the last 40 with his current unit, Troop 375 of Virginia Beach. He started in Cub Scouts in Dahlgren, VA, then Atsugi, Japan. He then started honing his leadership skills with Troop 313 of Honolulu, HI, where he served as senior patrol leader for five terms.
As a youth volunteer, he served on the Troop Leader Development (TLD) and Troop Leader Training (TLT) staffs and was an employee for three summers at Camp Pupukea.
After moving to Virginia Beach, he joined his current troop and was appointed Scoutmaster on his 21st birthday. He remained in that position for the next 24 years (save for two years when he was also registered as an ASM in Troop 256, Jacksonville, FL). AJ again took the helm as Scoutmaster in 2019 as a temporary stopgap until the troop could find a new Scoutmaster.
AJ has served as a Jamboree contingent Scoutmaster and University of Scouting Instructor with Tidewater Council. His awards and recognitions include the Scoutmaster Award of Merit, District Award of Merit, Scouter’s Key, and Scouter’s Training Award. He has been recognized as a Tidewater Council Living Legend and is a Vigil member of the Order of the Arrow’s Blue Heron Lodge.
AJ’s true passion, however, has been his work as Trading Post Manager at Pipsico Scout Reservation. He has volunteered for the last 20 years running the store at weekend events and summer camp (as a volunteer instead of taking a salary). He volunteers at the Tidewater Council Scout Shop, where he has been since retiring from the U.S. Navy in 2001.
AJ’s OA Vigil name translates to “Mentor of Youth,” a motto he believes in strongly, helping dozens of Scouts reach the Eagle rank throughout his career and a staff of Scouts who work with him each summer.
The recognition ceremony will be held on Thursday, May 11, 2023, at the Khedive Shrine Center, 645 Woodlake Drive, Chesapeake, Virginia. AJ will be honored alongside fellow Silver Beaver Award recipients Scott Buggey and Tom Callahan.
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 2,000 adult volunteers in the North Carolina counties of Camden, Chowan, Currituck, Dare, Gates, Pasquotank, and Perquimans, and the Virginia cities of Chesapeake, Norfolk, Portsmouth, and Virginia Beach. More 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 programs of character development and values-based leadership training. 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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