Sam Houston Area Council celebrates 100th Anniversary of the BSA

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Scouts, Scouters, and supporters of the Sam Houston Area Council gathered Feb. 18 to celebrate the 100th Anniversary of the Boy Scouts of America and look toward the next 100 years.

Held to honor Scouting’s century of service, the evening drew many special guests including Houston business and community leaders, elected officials, astronauts, Distinguished Eagle Scouts, and other area luminaries.

According to the council, the highlight of the evening was the announcement that Mr. Harry Bovay Jr. (above with a Texas A&M Cadet), through the Harry E. Bovay Jr. Foundation, hopes to name the Sam Houston Area Council Boy Scouts of America as a key beneficiary of future funds from the foundation which may potentially result in future donations of up to $25 million.

A gallery of 15 paintings on loan from the National Scouting Museum in Irving, Tex., gave guests the opportunity to see some of the prized, original artworks of two famed illustrators of the Scouting experience: Norman Rockwell and Joseph Csatari.

The more than 13,000 Boy Scouts who attended enjoyed the midway of interactive concourse displays sponsored by community partners that included Houston sports teams such as the Astros, Texans, and Rockets, as well as NASA, the Children's Museum of Houston, the Houston Zoo, and the Houston Museum of Natural Science.

The evening also featured a video tribute to Scouting by Mike Rowe, an Eagle Scout and star of the Discovery Channel’s "Dirty Jobs," an interactive Boy Scout history drama, and a fireworks display.

Members of Texas A&M’s Corp of Cadets ushered in all of the guests, and His Eminence Cardinal Daniel DiNardo gave the invocation.

Follow the jump for more photos from the event.

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The audience watches a re-enactment of William D. Boyce meeting the Unknown Scout on a foggy London street.

SHAC3 Astronauts Pat Forrester, Jim Lovell, and Danny Olivas (from left) added some star power to the event.


About Bryan Wendell 3282 Articles
Bryan Wendell, an Eagle Scout, is the founder of Bryan on Scouting and a contributing writer.