For over one hundred years, two organizations have played an integral role in our nation’s history. Founded in 1910 by William D. Boyce, Ernest Seton, and Daniel Beard, the Boy Scouts of America is one of the nation’s largest and most prominent values-based youth development organizations. Ranging in ages from 7 to 21, there are over two million youth participants assisted by one million adult volunteers. The National Park Service, which celebrated its Centennial Anniversary in 2016, was created by an Act of Congress and signed by President Woodrow Wilson in 1916. Yellowstone National Park was established in 1872 as the nation’s first national park by President Ulysses S. Grant. Today, there are over 400 units in the National Park Service.
Hartzog Award for Outstanding Volunteer Service Presented August 1, 2017
The Boys Scouts of America (BSA) was recognized at the National Park Service (NPS) “Hartzog Awards” on August 1, 2017, for their longstanding partnership with the National Park Service (NPS). The George and Helen Hartzog Awards for Outstanding Volunteer Service recognize the exemplary contributions of these very important people. After his retirement, George Hartzog and his wife Helen remembered the VIP program with a generous donation to the National Park Foundation. This fund has been used to support awards that honor the efforts of exceptional volunteers, groups, and park VIP programs. Each year the Scouts spend more than 60,000 hours on volunteer projects to restore or enhance national parks throughout the country. Scouts have been joint stewards of our national park sites, working alongside our rangers to ensure that this and future generations are able to enjoy the magnetic landscapes of our beautiful country and connect to the glorious history of the greatest nation on earth.
A Continuing Collaboration between BSA and NPS
The BSA/NPS Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) renewal earlier this year further solidified the 100 plus years partnership between our two organizations. This renewed agreement authorizes the NPS to coordinate efforts with the Boy Scouts of America to foster deeper engagement between parks and youth audiences by creating meaningful connections to our nation’s natural and cultural heritage through the pillars of recreation, education, volunteer service, and employment. Through this MOU, the NPS will join Boy Scouts of America to support efforts that engage millions of youth through transformational experiences on public lands. Under this agreement, the NPS encourages parks to develop relationships with local councils and provide opportunities to connect scouts to NPS sites through our national joint program, Resource Stewardship Scout Ranger Program.
Resource Stewardship Scout Ranger Program
In 2008 the National Park Service collaboratively developed BSA/ NPS Resource Stewardship Scout Ranger program. This program was developed to promote responsible citizenship and natural and cultural resource stewardship. Through this joint partner program scouts are able to engage in meaningful educational activities, interpretive programs, and volunteer service. Tens of thousands of Scouts have received a special Scout Ranger patch for completing the requirements for this program. The American public has benefited from the hundreds of thousands of volunteer service hours contributed by Scouts toward making our great public lands even greater. Resource Stewardship Scout Ranger program strongly supports BSA’s outdoor initiative and NPS’ priority goal to develop the next generation of public land stewards. The partnership that the Service has with the Scouts is invaluable not only to us but to all citizens of our country.
Presentation of the Hartzog Award
C. Forbes, Inc. was proud to play a small role in the custom design and presentation of this prestigious award. The iconic National Park Service arrowhead logo has been encircled with the word “Volunteer.” Placed next to the custom plaque with descriptive text, the components were mounted in a gold frame with textured mat board and protective glass. This is one of the many awards we have been privileged to design for numerous occasions and organizations.
Those present at the award presentation in Washington, D.C. were, from left to right:
Les Baron – BSA Scout Executive; Joe Landy – Treasurer BSA; Keith Christopher – Department Manager; Erica Austin – NPS, Program Manager, and Liaison to BSA;
George McDonald – Youth Program Manager; Lowell Baier – Member of BSA, Board of Directors; Mike Reynolds, Acting, NPS Director; Franice Sewell – Acting, NPS Program Manager and Liaison to BSA.
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