Although the name may seem funny to some people, the Silver Beaver Award and the dedicated community servants honored as such are certainly no laughing matter.

The late Carl Colegrove of Ironton was the most recent recipient from our area of the award that recognizes individuals who give back to the Boy Scouts of America. Colegrove, who passed away in September, had such an exemplary record that the organization honored him posthumously, one of the first times this is has occurred in Ohio.

The Silver Beaver Award is one of the highest honors a volunteer can receive at the council level. The award was introduced in 1931 and it distinguishes scouts who provide service to youth on the local level.

The Boy Scouts of America was once an integral part of the fabric of American culture. And, although that has waned some in recent years, the organization still does much to prepare young men to be the leaders of tomorrow.

Colegrove earned many distinctions in his years as a scoutmaster and volunteer including helping nearly a dozen young man become an Eagle Scout, the highest rank achievable and part of a select class that includes U.S. Presidents, Nobel Prize winners, astronauts, entertainers and business leaders.

For his decades of service Carl Colegrove certainly deserves this honor.

The man’s legacy lives on in his family and in all the men he helped shape.