Scouting Honor Follows Local Men Through Careers

Robert Wharton keeps a gold paperweight on his desk that says, “Once an Eagle, always and Eagle.”

The South Dakota School of Mines & Technology president says it is not only a reminder of his time as an Eagle Scout, but what the organization stands for today.

“I’m blessed to have accomplishments, but it comes with responsibility in the way I behave as a person,” he said.

Wharton is one of thousands of men, young men and boys across America who are celebrating the 100th anniversary of Eagle Scouts this year.

Becoming an Eagle Scout starts with participation in the Boy Scouts program. By staying in the program, earning awards, taking on leadership positions, and eventually completing an intensive, multiyear project, young men can earn the Eagle Scout rank.

It’s not for everyone, said Mike McGinnis, chief executive officer of the Black Hills Chapter of the Boy Scouts of America.

Since 1930, when the Black Hills chapter opened, only 1,000 young men have become Eagle Scouts. Nationwide, only one out of every 25 Boy Scouts will earn the rank of Eagle Scout.

“It’s pretty powerful,” McGinnis said.

Later in their lives, Eagle Scouts can be nominated and given the Distinguished Eagle Scout award. But, that too, is prestigious and rare.

According to organization officials, the award is given for distinguished service in a profession for a period of at least 25 years after attaining the rank of Eagle Scout. About 1 in 1,000 Eagle Scouts earns the national Distinguished Eagle Scout award.

In South Dakota, Wharton, Ed Seljeskog, David Hyink and David Emery, all of Rapid City, as well as Paul Christen of Huron, Gary Olson of Wentworth, and Frank Farrar of Britton have been awarded the national Distinguished Eagle Scout award.

Emery, who is CEO and chairman of the board for Black Hills Corp., is the most recent recipient in South Dakota.

For Hyink, earning the Eagle Scout rank changed his life.

“It’s one of the things you do before you turn 18 that you put on your resume for the rest of your life,” he said. “There’s a certain discipline involved and a journey along the way that sets a young man up to be successful in life.”

Hyink, a retired chief scientist and forester for Wyerhaeuser Corporations, said he remembers several times in his life when he made the right decision because of his work to earn his Eagle Scout rank.

Chad Tussing, education services coordinator for the South Dakota Game, Fish & Parks Department, agreed and said becoming an Eagle Scout helped him develop the leadership skills he continues to employ today.

“One of the quintessential purposes or goals is to create leaders,” he said.

The Boy Scouts program is more than the stereotypical image, he added.

“There are so many experiences,” he said. “They think traditional camping, cooking outdoors, tying knots, but there’s also first aid, personal finance and planning and leadership roles that are required to gain that experience.”

Today, Tussing said he works hard to use those skills as a supervisor.

“I learned as a leader, you never ask someone to do something you wouldn’t do yourself,” he said.

It’s something he hopes to pass along to his son. For the past two years, he has served as a den leader for his son’s Cub Scout pack- the program boys can belong to before they turn 11 and join Boy Scouts.

He carries the same idea that Wharton sees in his paperweight.

“If you’re an Eagle Scout, you’re always an Eagle Scout, even as an adult,” Tussing said.

Wharton, who serves as the local leader for the National Eagle Scout Association, hopes that more local Eagle Scouts will earn the Distinguished Eagle award.

“It’s meant a lot to me,” he said. “It’s one of the award I”m most proud of. It’s always on my resume.”

And if he sees a job candidate with Eagle Scout on their resume, he takes notice.

“That says something to me about what they’ve accomplished and the values they have.”