The highest accolade

Today is of course New Years Day and it seems fitting to devote an entry to two people who have done a lot over their years to foster the Scouting Movement.

Norman Boxman aged 83 dedicated 75 years of his life to Scouting, joining the Scouts at age 8 and has spent the last 65 years as Scoutmaster for the 1st Earley Baden-Powell Scouts' Association group in Reading and has run the Duke of Edinburgh award program within the organisation for 20 years.

He was awarded a MBE in this years New Years Honours.

David Owen aged 73 from Hereford here in the Midlands also was awarded an MBE for 50 years as a Scout Leader has helped develop new scout leaders and has led about 10 international trips, involving between 50 and 250 youngsters.

For him the satisfaction though comes from seeing the older Scout at the age of 23 or 24 in the street seeing how well they had done in the time from when they joined Scouts, growing as people.

In what as been a difficult year for scouting when many scouts have helped in their communities to provide much need relief and assistance  it is fitting that two people who devoted time, effort and dedication to enabling scouting to made a difference are rightly honoured.  

We salute them.