National Capital Area Council
Boy Scouts of America
9190 Rockville Pike, Bethesda, MD 20814
301-530-9360 | www.BoyScouts-NCAC.org
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who was a non-swimmer, began to drown. Eldred rescued Daly with
the assistance of Merritt Cutler. Chief Scout Seton presented Eldred
with the Honor Medal for this action.
Have you earned this?
Would you like to meet
others who have
earned this?
A graduate of Cornell University, Eldred enlisted at age 22 in the
United States Navy in January 1918, nine months after the U.S.
entry into World War I. After serving aboard various Navy vessels
and seeing combat in that conflict, he
then worked in the agriculture and produce transportation industries, serving
as a railroad industry official. Eldred
continued as an active Scout leader and
school board member throughout much
of his adult life.
Do you know
service over self
and want to find
service opportunities?
Do you want to join
others who consider
duty to God and country
a highest calling?
Arthur Eldred’s
Eagle Scout
medal, courtesy
National Scout
Museum.
In 1944, Arthur watched with pride as
his son, Bill, received the Eagle medal.
Two of Arthur’s grandsons are Eagle
Scouts and two of his great-grandsons
are now Eagles.
Eldred (center) looks
on as son Willard
(“Bill”) becomes an
Eagle Scout on October 27, 1944.
Join National Capital
Area Council’s
Gathering of Eagles
National Capital Area Council
Boy Scouts of America
9 1 9 0 Ro c k v i l l e Pi k e
Bethesda, MD 20814
Go to www.BoyScouts-NCAC.org/TheGathering
to sign up for our local NESA committee,
Gathering of Eagles
Parade Marks Anniversary of First Eagle Award
The 100th Anniversary parade celebration for Arthur R. Eldred will begin at 10 a.m. on Saturday, Sept. 8, at Eldred Park, located at the corner of North Centre Avenue and Parkwood
in Rockville Center, New York. All Scouts and family members are welcomed to join the
staff of Theodore Roosevelt Council to celebrate America’s first Eagle Scout.
Theodore Roosevelt Council (TRC) invites all councils to send a delegation up to 25 Eagle
Scouts to march in its parade. TRC’s Long Island Scout Camp is available for overnight
camping at no cost.
For more information, please contact John Zseller at [email protected] or 516-7977600, Ext. 113.
The Story of the First Eagle Scout
Arthur R. Eldred
Arthur R. Eldred was born in Brooklyn, New York,
and raised in Oceanside, Long Island, New York
by his mother after his father died. Eldred’s older
brother, Hubert W. Eldred, was instrumental in starting Troop 1 of Rockville Centre, Oceanside, Long
Island, New York in November 1910. Troop 1 was
fully uniformed and their appearance so impressed
Chief Scout Executive James E. West that he asked
the troop to serve as honor guard for the visit of Lord
Robert Baden-Powell, the founder of the worldwide
Scouting movement. West paid the expenses for the
troop to travel to New York on January 31, 1912.
Baden-Powell inspected Troop 1, and spoke with
Eldred at some length.
Arthur Rose Eldred in 1912,
shortly after receiving the
In March 1911, Eldred earned First Class rank. Eagle award and his Bronze
In April 1912, he completed the 21 merit badges Honor medal for saving a life.
required for Eagle Scout. At the time, only 141
merit badges had then been earned by about 50 Scouts. As originally implemented,
Eagle Scout was part of the merit badge system and was not a rank. Thus Eldred, like
several of the early Eagles, did not earn the Life or Star awards that later preceded
Eagle Scout. Eldred’s merit badges were noted in the Honor Roll of the August 1912
edition of Boys’ Life.
Eldred did not have a troop board of review, a review by the adult troop leaders to ensure
eligibility. Instead, Eldred had a thorough National Board of Review consisting of Chief
Scout Executive James E. West, Chief Scout Ernest Thompson Seton, National Scout
Commissioner Daniel Carter Beard, and Wilbert E. Longfellow, who had written articles
on life-saving and swimming in the Handbook for Boys. West informed Eldred of his Eagle
award in a letter dated August 21, 1912. This letter also informed Eldred of the delay in
the medal, caused by the fact that the design of the Eagle Scout medal had not been
finalized. Eldred was presented Eagle Scout on Labor Day, September 2, 1912, becoming the first to
Since BSA’s inception in
earn Scouting’s highest rank, just two years after the
1910, more than 100 milfounding of the BSA itself.
lion boys have enjoyed
the Scouting experience,
but just over 2 million
have attained Scouting’s
highest rank.
In August 1912, Eldred was camping with the troop
in Orange Lake, New York. While swimming in the
lake, fifteen-year-old Melvin Daly, another Scout
In his Winter 2010 Eagle Scout magazine column, National Eagle Scout Association
(NESA) President Glenn A. Adams stated in his column:
“By the time you read this, the qualifications and nominating form for the new National
Outstanding Eagle Scout Award (NOESA) will be posted on nesa.org. This award
honors Eagle Scouts who have excelled in their business endeavors or an avocation
on a local, state, or regional level.
“The honor is awarded by the local council NESA committee [in National Capital Area
Council this committee is known as Gathering of Eagles] and is limited based on
the number of Eagle Scouts produced in the respective council. The NOESA is not
a “prerequisite” to the Distinguished Eagle Scout Award any more than the Silver
Beaver is a prerequisite to the Silver Buffalo. The NOESA and DESA are equally
prestigious awards honoring different subsets of exceptional Eagle Scouts.”
And away GOE went. NCAC Eagle leadership grabbed onto the NOESA with both talons
and, understanding the plethora of talent represented in our Council, quickly determined
that further criteria had to be established to ensure the integrity of the award and its selection process.
It is important to mention that only 139 NOESA recipients were selected nationwide during
the award’s inaugural year. NCAC could have given out 13 awards but choose only seven
honorees. As with the Eagle Scout award and the Distinguished Eagle Scout award, it is
truly the quality – over quantity – that maintains award integrity.
The Honorable John Mason
Chairman, NCAC Gathering of Eagles
N N N 2012 NOESA Nominations Now Being Accepted N N N
GOE is now accepting nominations for the 2012 Class of NESA
Outstanding Eagle Scouts, which will be bestowed in 2013.
The criteria can be found at www.nesa.org/outstanding_eagle.html and clarified in this booklet
under the page titled “NOESA Award Guidelines, Criteria and Application Information.”
Submissions are due Sept. 30, 2012.
Submissions should be sent to [email protected].
Questions should be sent to [email protected]
NCAC to Honor Inaugural NOESA Class in the
100th Anniversary Year of the Eagle Scout Award
NOESA Award Guidelines, Criteria
and Application Information
2012 marks the 100th anniversary of the first Eagle Scout award and provides a fitting
backdrop to launch NCAC’s inaugural class of National Eagle Scout Association (NESA)
Outstanding Eagle Scout Award (NOESA) recipients. Gathering of Eagles (GOE) leadership aggressively sought nominations for this honor, receiving more than 40 submissions;
only seven were chosen.
The inaugural NOESA Selection Committee made several points about the award and
choosing its first NCAC recipients:
NOESA honors Eagle Scouts who have excelled in their business endeavors and/or an
avocation on a local, state or regional level. They are selected by local council volunteers
and confirmed by NESA. Realizing that this inaugural class would set the benchmark by
which future nominations would be measured, the GOE Awards Committee set out to “get
it right the first time” by establishing decision criteria and a selection process reflective of
the quality of recipients desired, which included having the right caliber of persons involved
in judging the nominations.
NCAC’s NOESA Selection Committee consisted of:
•
Dr. Ron Adolphi* — Distinguished Eagle Scout; Army Reserve Ambassador for
the Commonwealth of Virginia; current director at CALIBRE Systems and retired
member of the federal Senior Executive Service; member of NCAC Executive
Board as well as regional and national Scouting committees/boards.
•
Dan McCarthy — Former NCAC Council President; 2012 Silver Buffalo honoree and
recipient of many deserved Scouting awards; retired Vice Admiral, U.S. Navy; National
Director of The Summit Bechtel Reserve Group.
•
Mike Pocalyko* — Distinguished Eagle Scout; managing director and CEO of
Monticello Capital; chairman of TherimuneX Pharmaceuticals; National Association of Corporate Directors Board Leadership Fellow; author of The Navigator,
forthcoming from Macmillan Forge; NCAC Executive Board member.
•
Morgan Sullivan — Eagle Scout; managing director at Jones Lang LaSalle; involved in Historic Preservation Trusts and the Potomac Conservancy.
*Ron Adolphi and Mike Pocalyko are also Life Regents of NESA. As Distinguished Eagle
Scouts, they are ineligible to receive the NOESA.
•
Service to Scouting or within the Scouting community was definitely not the purpose
of this award. A significant number of Eagle Scout nominees who have had noteworthy involvement as Scouting volunteers were, regrettably, not professionally distinguished to the extent that the NOESA criteria require.
•
Greater weight was given to candidates whose nominations reflected the specific NOESA criteria of “achievements outside of Scouting,” “peak of their notoriety,” “prominence
at the state or regional level,” “long-term impact” and “cornerstones of the community.”
Major state and regional sustained professional achievement at the very top of the candidate’s field along with very significant “avocational” distinction (which can involve Scouting service) distinguished the selectees from the non-selectees.
•
Award of the NOESA in NCAC should never become an expectation for “super
Scouters” or a given as a “second Silver Beaver Award.”
•
Younger candidates were especially welcomed, specifically addressing the criteria
to “elevate the stature of Eagle Scouts in the public’s eye.” However, several candidates were not selected because they were, simply put, outstanding young men
who had just recently received the Eagle Scout Award. The judges believed that,
in these cases, there was a misperception of the NOESA. While Eagle Scouts
certainly are outstanding individuals, that alone is not sufficient to justify recognition
with the NOESA.
•
A number of the nominations simply did not meet the criteria for the award. The application and eligibility requirements for the NOESA are described at www.nesa.org/
outstanding_eagle.
•
Conversely, a number of Eagle Scouts who were considered by the judges to be incredibly qualified were not selected for the award because the narratives nominating
them were poorly written or insufficiently reflective of the individuals’ great achievements and prominence.
•
Self-nominations, nominations by parents and/or nominations where the narrative addressed criteria for the Silver Beaver Award rather than criteria for the NOESA were
not selected.
Phillip Ramsey
Director of Quality Control and
Assay Development
Science Applications
International Corporation
Phillip Ramsey is currently the Director of Quality Control
and Assay Development at Science Applications International
Corporation (SAIC-Frederick) where he has been involved in
the design and construction of a vaccine pilot plant for the National Institutes of Health. He formerly held management positions with Vical Incorporated
and Mari Biosciences. At Vical, he was involved with drug delivery, formulation, process
development, aseptic filling operations, and assay development, along with the design
and development of a new production facility. Mr. Ramsey was a founding member of Mari
Biosciences where he was responsible for operations and commercialization. Prior to this,
Mr. Ramsey was with MDS Pharma in the Analytical Services Division. He received his
B.S. in Chemistry and Physics from the University of Nebraska, an MBA with a specialty in
regulatory sciences from San Diego State University, and his M.S. in Biotechnology from
Johns Hopkins University. He also holds a RAC certification. Mr. Ramsey has over two
dozen publications and presentations, along with several patents and is a Reviewer for
Drug Development and Industrial Pharmacy. He contributed to the commercialization of
Lipofectamine™, DMRIE™, DMRIE-C™, and Apex-IHN®. He has also been involved with
several other drug candidates currently in phase 3 registration trials.
Mr. Ramsey is an active member of several professional organizations including
American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists (AAPS), the American Chemical
Society (ACS), the Regulatory Affairs Professionals Society, and the Parenteral Drug
Association (PDA). He has served on several taskforces with PDA and regional committees with ACS. With AAPS he has served in a number of capacities at the focus group,
section, and association level. Mr. Ramsey served on the Gene Therapy Focus Steering
Committee and as the Focus Group Chair. He was a program committee member for the
first National Biotech Conference (NBC) in 2002, and again in 2006. He participated at
the section level on the membership and abstract committees for the Biotech and PPD
sections, the 2007 Annual Meeting Program Committee, and the 2008 Biotechnology
Section Chair. He also participated in the NBC Task Force. Mr. Ramsey was recently
nominated to run for AAPS treasurer.
INAUGURAL CLASS
Kenneth L. Bedingfield
Vice President
Northrop Grumman Corporation
Mr. Bedingfield is Controller and Chief Accounting Officer
for Northrop Grumman Corporation. Northrop Grumman is a
leading global security company providing innovative systems,
products and solutions in aerospace, electronics, information
systems, and technical services to government and commercial customers worldwide. In
this role, he serves as a key financial advisor to senior management and the audit committee of the board of directors. He leads all aspects of corporate accounting operations
including maintenance and enforcement of corporate accounting policies and procedures
in accordance with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) and Securities and
Exchange Commission (SEC) requirements, ensuring the integrity of the Fortune-500
company. Mr. Bedingfield is also a co-chair of the Aerospace Industries Association’s A&D
Controllers Committee.
Prior to his current position, Mr. Bedingfield was a partner at KPMG and the national
client leader of its U.S. Aerospace and Defense audit practice. In this role he provided audit
and related services to large, publicly traded companies, with a specialty in government
contracting and telecommunications. He is a Certified Public Accountant and is a member
of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.
For the past six years Mr. Bedingfield has served in a number of roles on the Board
of the National Capital Area Council and is currently the Council Treasurer, as well as a
member of the audit and finance committees. He is also on the Accounting Advisory Board
of the University of Maryland at College Park; and he chairs the Audit Committee of the
Executive Board of the University System of Maryland Foundation.
Mr. Bedingfield grew up in Montgomery County, MD and earned his Eagle Scout Award
in 1985 as a member of Troop 214 in the National Capital Area Council. He graduated
from the University of Maryland College Park with a Bachelor of Science in Accounting. He
resides in Potomac with his wife and four children.
Paul Adair Petty
Operations Officer for the
Army Review Boards Agency
Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Manpower and Reserve Affairs
Mr. Paul Adair Petty is the Operations Officer for the Army
Review Boards Agency (ARBA), Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Manpower and Reserve Affairs and a
member of the Army General Staff.
Mr. Petty is a native of Arizona and graduated from the University of Arizona in 1974
with Honors in Music Education and as a Distinguished Military Graduate in ROTC with
a commission in the Army. He served for 21 years in Europe and the United States in
the Adjutant General Corps in personnel, administration, automation, community services,
protocol, and as an Army Staff Band Officer for 16 Army bands in the Western United
States. His awards include the Legion of Merit, four Meritorious Service Awards, and five
Army Commendation Medals.
After retiring from the Army as a Lieutenant Colonel, Mr. Petty put his Army personnel
experience to work as an analyst in the Army Review Boards Agency. He was subsequently assigned as a special projects officer, the Plans Officer, and now as the Operations Officer. A major part of his job is the operations and development of the Agency information
technology programs to improve business processes, case tracking, and communications.
The Computerworld Honor Program honored the ARBA Case Tracking System with Laureate Honors and international recognition for heroic achievement in Information Technology
for the betterment of the world. Mr. Petty has also been awarded the Patriotic Civilian
Service Award by the Secretary of the Army.
Mr. Petty is an Elder in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and has served
continually in a variety of teaching, administrative, music, and leadership positions. He is
a graduate of the Church’s Seminary and upper level Institute programs. He served a fulltime two year mission for his church in Georgia and South Carolina.
In his community, Mr. Petty has served as a baseball little league coach, community
association volunteer, participated in community gardens, parks volunteer; and Community Theater musical director, musical performer, director and an actor. Mr. Petty is also a
member of American Legion Post 176 and the Military Officers Association of America. He
serves in a variety of leadership positions in Scouting at the unit, district, and council level
in Venturing, Sea Scouts, Varsity, Boy Scouts, and Order of the Arrow.
Basil Mossaidis
Executive Director
American Hellenic Educational
Progressive Association
Basil Mossaidis is executive director of the American Hellenic Educational Progressive Association (AHEPA), the nation’s largest and oldest association of American citizens of
Greek heritage and Philhellenes. In his capacity as executive
director, Mr. Mossaidis is responsible for the overall management and efficient operation of
the AHEPA Headquarters located in Washington, DC. He has served as executive director
since January 1, 2003.
He is also a 27-year AHEPA member and has served the organization voluntarily at
the chapter, district and national levels. In 2001-02, he served as Supreme Governor,
chairman of the 35th Congressional Banquet – “Honoring Our Veterans,” and chairman
of the National Tragedy Relief Fund Drive that raised more than $150,000 for September
11 relief.
In addition, Mr. Mossaidis served as Supreme President of the Sons of Pericles—the
Junior Order of AHEPA—during the 1989-90 year. During his term, the Sons of Pericles
and Maids of Athena collectively raised a record $60,000 for their national project, Deborah
Heart & Lung Foundation. Moreover, the Sons of Pericles attained its highest membership
levels since World War II during his tenure (approximately 2,500 members).
A native of Broomall, Pa., Mr. Mossaidis, holds a dual degree in History and Political
Science from Eastern College, Radnor, PA.
He is also a successful restaurateur, co-owning Philadelphia Cheesesteak Factory, a
dining establishment located in Alexandria and Tysons Corner, VA.
In October 2010, Mr. Mossaidis was invested an Archon in the Order of St. Andrew the
Apostle of the Ecumenical Patriarchate. This is the highest lay award presented within the
Orthodox Church. He is also an Eagle Scout.
Mr. Mossaidis is the proud father of Kyriakos Mossaidis and resides in Alexandria, VA.
Robert E. Branand
Founder & Principal
Robert Branand International
Robert E. Branand is the founder and principal of Robert
Branand International (RBI). Mr. Branand is an international
trade attorney with over thirty years of experience in creative
problem solving and constructing effective business, political,
and legislative strategies. Based in the Nation’s Capital, his practice has three areas of
concentration: government affairs before United States and foreign governments, international legal representation, and international commercial transactions. In addition to
his practice, for the past twenty years Mr. Branand has served the U. S. Department of
Commerce and the United States Trade Representative as an appointed Advisor on the
Industry Trade Advisory Committee (ITAC-3) for Pharmaceuticals, Chemicals, and Health
Care Products and Services. This Committee represents over U.S. $360 Billion in two-way
annual trade. Mr. Branand has served this Committee as Vice-Chairman. In addition, he
has served as the ITAC-3 representative on ITAC-15, the Committee that advises on issues relating to Intellectual Property. As an ITAC-3 Advisor, Mr. Branand has participated
in WTO Ministerial meetings in Hong Kong, Cancun, Seattle, Doha, and Geneva. He works
to shape trade policy as it affects international commerce.
Prior to founding RBI, Mr. Branand served as Counsel to the U.S. House of Representatives Banking and Finance Committee. He has also served as Special Assistant to
the Assistant Attorney General for Legislative Affairs for the U.S. Department of Justice.
He has authored a book, Guide to Exporting, and numerous articles on trade and legal
matters for industry publications. Mr. Branand is a frequent guest speaker for industry and
government groups.
Mr. Branand holds a Juris Doctorate degree after completing studies at the University
of Denver, Georgetown University School of Law, and the Hague Academy of International
Law. He has been admitted to practice before the United States Supreme Court, the United
States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, and the Federal Circuit, the
United States Court of International Trade.
Donald E. Ellison
Certified Corporate Director &
Board Leadership Fellow
National Association of Corporate Directors
Donald E. Ellison is a Certified Corporate Director and a
Board Leadership Fellow of the National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD). He is very involved in corporate governance as non-executive Chairman on Boards of Directors and
Chairman of numerous Board Committees.
Mr. Ellison has served as the director of a major Federal Government program (recognized with a medal for its success), chief operating officer of a U.S. trade association
with extensive international interaction, a chemical industry senior executive, a consultant
to multinational companies and entrepreneurs, and an association and industry spokesperson. Since 1988 Mr. Ellison has been appointed and reappointed by successive U.S.
Secretaries of Commerce and United States Trade Representatives to a statutory International Trade Policy Advisory Committee providing guidance for the Executive Branch and
the U. S. Congress. Additionally, he served on the Federal Government’s “Manufacturing
2040 [year] Task Force.” Mr. Ellison’s international business responsibilities have taken
him worldwide to conduct business and to negotiate with governments, trade associations,
and businesses.
He has testified before the U.S. Congress, federal regulatory bodies, and state legislative committees. He is active with the Congressional Award Foundation, establishing a
partnership with the Boy Scouts of America. Mr. Ellison serves on numerous professional
and trade association councils and committees. He has served as Vice Chairman of the
Space Council at the Aerospace Industries Association (AIA) and a member of the AIA National Security Council and the AIA International Council. Additionally, Mr. Ellison has been
a leader with the Drug, Chemical and Associated Technologies Association; the Society of
Chemical Manufactures and Affiliates; The Chemists’ Club; the Society for International
Affairs; and many similar organizations. He currently serves on the NACD Capital Area
Chapter’s Board of Directors.
Mr. Ellison received his Bachelors degree from Brigham Young University and a
Masters from the University of Northern Colorado. He was also selected for the Federal
Government’s Executive Development Program and graduated from the Environmental
Management Institute at the University of Southern California. He has completed all-butdissertation towards a doctorate at the Center for Technology and Administration at The
American University. He has attended the National Defense University.
Besides professional credentials, Mr. Ellison has been very active in The Church of
Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS), Scouting, Jaycees, and other regional community organizations.
The Honorable John Mason
Former Mayor of the City of Fairfax
Executive Board Member
National Capital Area Council, BSA
John Mason has been a career Army officer, retiring as a
colonel; professionally associated with Science Applications
International Corporation (SAIC), where he previously was a
vice president. In the civic arena he was previously a Council Member and Mayor of the City of Fairfax. Mr. Mason currently serves on the Executive Board of the National Capital Area Council, Boy Scouts of America and chairs its
Strategic Plan Task Force and Gathering of Eagles, its National Eagle Scout Association
(NESA) committee.
Regionally, then-Mayor Mason served on the National Capital Region Transportation
Planning Board (Chair in 2001), Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments, Metropolitan Washington Air Quality Committee, Northern Virginia Transportation Commission
(Chair in 1993), and the Transportation Coordination Council of Northern Virginia (Vice
Chair). In 1997, then-Mayor Mason received the Elizabeth and David Scull Metropolitan
Service Award, given to the elected official who has contributed most significantly to the
enhancement of intergovernmental cooperation in the metropolitan Washington, D.C. region. Nationally, he continues to be a member of the board of the Association of Metropolitan Planning Organizations (Chair in 2000).
In recognition of his support to the Fairfax Symphony Orchestra, Mr. Mason was its
1993 Pyramid Award recipient as a local civic leader who has contributed to the success
of the Symphony. He serves on the boards of the Arts Council of Fairfax County and the
Arts at Mason Partnership. In 2004, Mr. Mason was awarded the Jinx Hazel Arts Citizen of
the Year by the Arts Council.
Mr. Mason retired from the U.S. Army as a colonel, having served 21 years, to include
two tours in Vietnam. He is the recipient of the Legion of Merit with Oak Leaf Cluster, the
Bronze Star with two Oak Leaf Clusters, the Meritorious Service Medal with Oak Leaf
Cluster, Air Medal with four Oak Leaf Clusters, and the Army Commendation Medal with
Oak Leaf Cluster. He was also awarded airborne badge, Ranger tab, and Vietnamese
armor badge.
Mr. Mason holds a B.A. (History) from the University of Massachusetts and a M.A.
(Political Science) from New York University. He and his wife have been married 49 years
and have three adult children (John, Jr., Joanna, and Jeffrey) and four grandchildren.