Meet your 2016 Silver Buffalo Award class

The Archbishop of New York, the former CEO of Kampgrounds of America and the driving force behind the Composite Materials merit badge are three of the dedicated Scouters who received the Silver Buffalo Award at a special ceremony tonight.

The 2016 Silver Buffalo Award class includes 13 Scouting volunteers whose contributions to our movement on a national level are deserving of the highest recognition the Boy Scouts of America can give to adults.

These 12 men and one woman join the prestigious list of Scouters who have received this award since 1926.

The list includes massive names in Scouting (Robert Baden-Powell, “Green Bar Bill” Hillcourt), Hollywood (Walt Disney, Jimmy Stewart), sports (Yogi Berra, Archie Manning) and politics (Gerald Ford, Lyndon B. Johnson).

And it also includes Scouters whose names you don’t know but whose impact you can see and feel.

The men and women who wear the Silver Buffalo pendant suspended from a red-and-white ribbon have diverse backgrounds but are united by their commitment to the Scouting movement.

Please help me celebrate these 13 newest members of the Silver Buffalo family.

Timothy A. Acree

Murfreesboro, Tenn.

Master Trainer – Servant Leader – Eagle Scout

The unsung hero of Scouting is the commissioner — that experienced volunteer who provides ongoing support to unit leaders. The unsung hero of the commissioner service is Tim Acree.

Over the past eight years, Acree has led a comprehensive analysis and restructuring of commissioner training. The result has been a simplified and more effective curriculum for training in eight different positions, as well as revised commissioner conference curricula for Philmont Training Center and Florida Sea Base.

Acree has done similar work with the commissioner college program. He recruited and led a team of 35 volunteers that in a year produced revisions of 68 college courses and created a continuing-education component. Scouting University — of which he is a regent — has cited his teaching methodology as a best practice worthy of emulation.

In addition to his work with the National Commissioner Task Force and Scouting University, Acree is a vice chairman of the National Eagle Scout Association, a member of the Alumni Committee, and a board member of the Middle Tennessee Council.

An Eagle Scout, Acree has received the Silver Beaver, Alumni, Philmont Training Center Master’s Track, and Distinguished Commissioner awards. He is a James E. West Fellow.

Acree is a lead cloud engineer for Hewlett Packard. He holds bachelor degrees in engineering and mathematics from Geneva College.

Acree and his wife, Lonnie, have two sons, both Eagle Scouts.

Ronald Bell

Miami

Youth Advocate – Distinguished Eagle Scout – Lifelong Arrowman

At every high-profile Order of the Arrow event since 1997 — and there have been many — Ron Bell has been front and center. He oversaw the American Indian Village at the last five national jamborees, led American Indian activities at the last eight National Order of the Arrow Conferences, ran one of five work sites during the 2008 ArrowCorps⁵ program, and chaired ArrowTour, which took the OA’s centennial celebration on the road to more than 100 camps and council service centers across the country.

But Bell’s influence has been felt in less visible ways as well. In 2012, he created the OA’s American Indian Advisory Group, which ensures that the Order depicts native cultures appropriately, and he has led two National Indian Seminars to teach American Indian history, crafts, and tradition.

At the same time, Bell has served the South Florida Council for more than four decades as a Scoutmaster, OA lodge advisor, executive board member, and council vice president. The council’s 2004 Eagle Scout class was named in his honor.

A James E. West Fellow, Bell is a Distinguished Eagle Scout and Vigil Honor member of the Order of the Arrow. He has received the Silver Beaver and Silver Antelope awards and the OA’s Distinguished Service and Founder’s awards.

Bell is the retired operations coordinator for Miami-Dade County Parks. During his tenure, he worked with groups like the National Football League and the Inner-City Games Foundation to better serve low-income kids. He holds an associate degree from Miami Dade College.

Bell and his wife, Lynda, have one son and two grandchildren.

Steven D. Bradley

Riverside, Calif.

Servant Leader – Distinguished Arrowman – Eagle Scout

The best leaders combine high impact with low visibility, willingly sharing credit with those they lead and serve. Few Scouters do that better than Steve Bradley. In his work with the Order of the Arrow and with a string of national jamborees, Bradley has consistently focused on serving youth without seeking credit.

Bradley’s national-level OA leadership includes service as a lead advisor at seven National Order of the Arrow Conferences and as an incident commander for ArrowCorps⁵ and SummitCorps. He is the National Order of the Arrow Committee’s vice chairman for region and section operations and the OA’s representative to the Council Operations Group.

He worked in transportation for two national jamborees, then served as a base camp commissioner at the 2013 National Jamboree. In his role as vice chairman for operations for the National 2017 Jamboree, he is already at work ensuring that Scouts will have a mountaintop experience.

An Eagle Scout and Vigil Honor member of the Order of the Arrow, Bradley has received the Silver Beaver and Silver Antelope awards, the Distinguished Commissioner Award, and the OA’s Distinguished Service Award. He is a James E. West Fellow, an OA Legacy Fellow and a NESA Legacy Fellow.

Bradley holds a bachelor degree from California State University. He is a retired senior territory manager for EIS Inc.

Bradley and his wife, Sherri, have five children and eight grandchildren.

Daniel Leo Coberly

Hazel Green, Ala.

Visionary Leader – Distinguished Eagle Scout – Scouting Ambassador

Many dedicated Scouters serve in more than one council. Dan Coberly has served on more than one continent. Coberly’s youth involvement stretched from the Far East Council to the Transatlantic Council, and in his 45 years of adult service, he has returned to those councils to strengthen public and military support for Scouting and repay the investment other volunteers made in him as a youth.

Coberly has served as a Scoutmaster, Order of the Arrow chapter advisor and district training chairman, but perhaps his greatest impact has occurred at the intersection of Scouting and the military. During his career with the U.S. Army, he shaped a law authorizing military support for the BSA, garnered increased military support for four national jamborees, and ensured extensive publicity for Scouting in five editions of Stars and Stripes.

Now retired from the Army, Coberly serves as senior advisor for national communications with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s National Health and Environmental Effects Research Laboratory.

A Distinguished Eagle Scout and Vigil Honor member of the Order of the Arrow, Coberly has received the Silver Beaver and Silver Antelope awards, the Whitney M. Young Jr. Service Award, the Order of the Arrow Founder’s Award, and the Scoutmaster Award of Merit. He is a James E. West and Baden-Powell Fellow.

Coberly holds a bachelor of science degree from Excelsior College, a master of arts degree from Norwich University, and graduate certificates from Alabama A&M University and Oklahoma University.

Coberly has one son, Todd.

Christopher Allen Grove

Ormond Beach, Fla.

Gifted Surgeon – Outstanding Eagle Scout – Friend of Youth

Since 1997, Dr. Chris Grove has worked to ensure the health and safety of countless Scouts and Scouters. Grove has served as a subcamp physician at two national jamborees and Order of the Arrow medical officer at a third. He has served as assistant medical director for six national Order of the Arrow events, including four National Order of the Arrow Conferences. He serves as health and safety chairman on the Summit Bechtel Reserve Committee and will serve as deputy chief medical officer for the 2017 National Jamboree.

Not all of Grove’s service involves health and safety, however. A member of the National Order of the Arrow Committee since 2007, he serves as vice chairman for outdoor adventures. He has also been a council president and commissioner in the Miami Valley Council, a Central Region Executive Board member, the Central Region Order of the Arrow chairman, and a Philmont Training Center faculty member, among many other roles.

Grove is an Eagle Scout and Vigil Honor member of the Order of the Arrow. He has received the Silver Beaver, Silver Antelope, and NESA Outstanding Eagle Scout of the Year awards, and the Order of the Arrow’s Distinguished Service, Founder’s, and Centurion awards. He is a James E. West Fellow.

A surgeon with Florida Healthcare Partners, Grove holds a bachelor of science degree from the University of Alabama at Birmingham and a medical degree from the University of Alabama. He is a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons.

Grove and his wife, Rebecca, have two children.

Timothy Michael Dolan

New York

Spiritual Leader – Friend of Youth – Man of God

His Eminence Timothy Michael Cardinal Dolan has been an advocate for young people and the underprivileged since his ordination as a Roman Catholic priest in 1976. As a pastor, educator, and leader of the 2.6-million-member Archdiocese of New York, he has been committed to serving those in need, regardless of religious affiliation.

When he chaired Catholic Relief Services, he traveled the world to support the agency, which he called “Catholicism in action.” When he led the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, the church implemented mandatory youth protection programs in every diocese. Today, he serves on the Board of Trustees of the Catholic University of America and on the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of the New Evangelization.

A longtime supporter of Scouting, Cardinal Dolan has celebrated Mass for thousands of Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts on Scout Sunday at St. Patrick’s Cathedral, where Scouts receive religious emblems. On Scout Sunday 2015, he himself received an award: the Duty to God Award from the International Catholic Conference of Scouting for his distinguished service to youth and Scouting.

Cardinal Dolan has received numerous other awards, including the William Wilberforce Award (Colson Center for Christian Worldview), the Cardinal Bea Interfaith Award (Anti-Defamation League), the Flame of Hope Award (Catholic Charities), and the Blessed Edmund Rice Humanitarian Award (Iona College).

Cardinal Dolan holds a bachelor degree from Cardinal Glennon College, a licentiate of sacred theology from the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas, and a doctorate in church history from the Catholic University of America.

He lives in New York City.

J. Brett Harvey

Pittsburgh

Business Icon – Model Philanthropist – Scouting Leader

Brett Harvey’s most visible contribution to the Summit Bechtel Reserve is the iconic Consol Energy bridge, which his company funded before the Summit opened in 2013. But the bridge marks just one way Harvey has given of his time, talent and treasure to benefit the West Virginia high-adventure base since the site was first selected.

As chairman of Arrow Inc., Harvey coordinates continued physical development of the Summit and negotiates and oversees all construction contracts. He has secured millions of dollars in donations for the Summit, and he and his wife, Carol, underwrote creation of the Harvey Family Mountain Bike Shop and Jared Harvey Mountain Bike Trails. A member of the National Executive Board, Harvey has served as a Scoutmaster and council president.

Harvey is the chairman and former CEO of Consol Energy, where he has long championed the cause of mine safety and fulfilled the company’s committee to serve youth with more than $5 million in annual grants. For his industry leadership, Harvey has received numerous honors, including induction into the West Virginia Coal Hall of Fame and the West Virginia Business Hall of Fame. He has received the Distinguished Alumnus Award from the University of Utah and the Percy Nicholls Award from the American Institute of Mining, Metallurgical and Petroleum Engineers and the American Society of Mechanical Engineers. He holds a bachelor degree in mining engineering from the University of Utah.

Harvey and his wife have four children (including two Eagle Scouts) and eight grandchildren; their son Jared, who died in 1993, is the namesake for the Summit’s Jared Harvey Mountain Bike Trails.

Mark A. Kriebel

Endwell, N.Y.

Servant Leader – Friend of Youth – Distinguished Eagle Scout

As a Scouting volunteer for three decades, Mark Kriebel has lived out his belief that a single individual can change the life of a youth forever. In fact, he has changed the lives of thousands of youth, most of whom will never know his name.

Kriebel’s most visible service has involved jamborees. He has been a national jamboree subcamp, base camp and regional chief and twice served as a world jamboree regional chairman. In preparing for the first world jamboree after the 9/11 attacks, he worked tirelessly to assure parents that their children would be safe halfway around the world.

As the inaugural chairman of the BSA’s New Unit and Retention Committee, Kriebel oversaw development of the Unit Performance Guide, which unit-serving professionals across the country use to extend and strengthen the Scouting program.

Kriebel has also served as a regional vice president, area president and vice president, and council president and vice president. He has taught at the Philmont Training Center seven times and has served on countless camp visitation teams.

A lifelong Rotarian, Kriebel has spoken to clubs on six continents about how service to youth is critical to Rotary’s success. He is the incoming president of the International Fellowship of Scouting Rotarians, which promotes cooperation between Rotary and Scouting.

A Distinguished Eagle Scout and Order of the Arrow Vigil member, Kriebel has received the Silver Beaver and Silver Antelope awards. He is a James E. West Fellow.

Kriebel is the president of Arranged Sound Inc. He holds a bachelor degree in communications from Ithaca College.

Kriebel and his wife, Pat, have two children (including one Eagle Scout) and two grandchildren.

Joseph P. Landy

Bronxville, N.Y.

Visionary Leader – Creative Thinker – Dedicated Scouter

As a private-equity executive, Joe Landy is an expert at achieving positive results through focused management and visionary thinking. As a National Executive Board member, he is sharing his expertise with the BSA, and Scouts across the country are reaping the dividends.

During his time as chair of the Innovation Committee, Landy was the driving force behind the STEM Scouts initiative, which offers the BSA an exciting and relevant new avenue to deliver Scouting values to more young people. He not only guided the program’s development through close personal involvement but also provided the funding to make the initiative possible.

In his role as vice president for operations for the BSA, Landy oversaw the recent restructuring of the national professional staff and is directing the development of a new volunteer structure and operating procedures for the BSA.

Landy knows firsthand the local impact of national decisions. In the past decade, he has been active on the local level as a Scoutmaster and troop committee chair, national jamboree contingent leader, and Philmont adult advisor. A former Scout, Landy has received the Silver Beaver Award and the Unit Leader Award of Merit.

Landy holds a bachelor degree in economics from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and a master of business administration degree from the Leonard N. Stern School of Business at New York University. He is co-president and co-CEO of Warburg Pincus, a global private equity firm.

Landy and his wife, Mary, have two Eagle Scout sons.

Christine Perry

Medina, Wash.

Committed Volunteer – Teacher of Youth – Woman of God

The spouses of prominent Scouters often labor in the shadows. That’s never been the case with Chris Perry, wife of former BSA president Wayne Perry. Besides supporting her husband, Perry has been an active Scouter in her own right for 31 years.

In the Chief Seattle Council, Perry has served as a den leader and Webelos den leader, as a Wood Badge assistant course director, and as chair of the Camp Edward Development Committee.

But her greatest contributions have occurred far from the Pacific Northwest. She served on the 2013 National Jamboree staff and has staffed other events at the Summit Bechtel Reserve, including the Wounded Warrior Weekend and several Sportsman Classics. On the international level, she has been part of the BSA contingent to two world jamborees and two world Scout conferences. She has also been a member of World Scout Foundation camp visitation teams in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Switzerland, Spain, Austria, Finland, the Netherlands, Sweden and Hong Kong.

For her service, Perry has received the International Scouter Award and the Great Salt Lake Council’s Influential Women in Scouting Award.

In the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Perry has served as president of the Church Young Women’s Organization, as a counselor for the Church Relief Society Presidency, and as a youth Sunday school teacher.

Perry is an elementary and model preschool special education teacher.

The Perrys have four sons — all Eagle Scouts — and seven grandchildren.

James D. Rogers

Reno, Nev.

Committed Volunteer – Friend of Youth – Distinguished Eagle Scout

Jim Rogers knows firsthand the value of camping and the power of Scouting. As a National Executive Board member, he combines that knowledge with a deep understanding of sound business practices.

During his time on the National Executive Board, Rogers has chaired the National Mission Impact Committee and served on the Council Solutions Group, the Brand Management Committee, and the National Experience Committee. He has also served as Western Region president and vice president, as president of the Nevada Area Council, and as a pack and troop leader.

As a national board member of KOA Care Camps for Kids, Rogers has helped raise more than $9.6 million to allow young cancer patients and their siblings to enjoy camping and outdoor experiences. He also forged partnerships with Cabela’s; the Children’s Oncology Camping Association International; the Recreational Vehicle Industry Association; and other partners in order to serve more children. In 2015, nearly 40,000 cancer patients and their families attended free Care Camps.

Rogers is a Distinguished Eagle Scout and Vigil Honor member of the Order of the Arrow. He has received the Silver Beaver and Silver Antelope awards. He is a James E. West Fellow and recently attended Wood Badge.

Rogers holds a bachelor degree from the University of California – Berkeley and a master of business administration degree from the University of California – Los Angeles. He was previously chairman and CEO of Kampgrounds of America Inc.

Rogers and his wife and fellow Scouting volunteer, Sandra, have three sons — all Eagle Scouts — and four grandchildren.

John D. Tickle

Bristol, Va.

Business Leader – Philanthropist – Distinguished Eagle Scout

John Tickle’s life might best be summed up in four familiar words: “A Scout is loyal.” He has worked tirelessly to support charitable causes in his home region. He is proud of never ordering layoffs at his company, Strongwell Corporation — even when that meant cutting his own pay. And he is a steadfast support of Scouting.

At the national level, Tickle is partnering with the BSA to establish the John D. Tickle National Leadership and Training Center at the Summit Bechtel Reserve. When completed, this facility will offer innovative, Scout-centric training, including National Camping School, Wood Badge, and other courses that give adult volunteers the tools they need to provide life-changing programs back home.

Tickle was also the driving force behind the Composite Materials merit badge. Introduced in 2006, this badge has introduced thousands of Scouts to the composites industry and related professions. At the local level, Tickle is a former president and 32-year board member of the Sequoyah Council.

A Distinguished Eagle Scout, Tickle is a recipient of the Silver Beaver and Silver Antelope awards. In 2012, he received the BSA’s Heroism Award for using CPR — at age 69 — to save the life of a heart-attack victim. He has been honored by groups including the United Way, the National Society of Fundraising Executives, the Bristol Chamber of Commerce and the American Composites Manufacturers Association for his community and industry leadership.

Tickle holds a bachelor of science degree from the University of Tennessee.

He and his wife, Ann, have three children and three grandchildren.

David M. Weekley

Houston

Visionary Leader – Friend of Youth – Distinguished Eagle Scout

In 35 years as a Scouting volunteer, David Weekley has made his voice heard on countless boards, committees and task forces. But his enduring legacy has been to give a voice to Scouts themselves.

Weekley chaired the BSA’s Voice of the Scout Study Committee and funded the development of the Voice of the Scout tool. This innovative program captures the experiences of members, parents and volunteers during semiannual surveys, then aggregates that information in a format that councils can use to improve their operations.

Weekley joined the National Executive Board in 2010, the same year he became president of the Southern Region. Since 2014, he has served as vice president of marketing for the BSA. In Sam Houston Area Council, Weekley has held numerous roles, including council president and executive board member for more than 30 years. He has also chaired board committees related to buildings, land disposition and strategic planning and has been an active Friends of Scouting leader.

A Distinguished Eagle Scout, Weekley has received the Silver Beaver, Silver Antelope, and Whitney M. Young Jr. Service awards. He is a James E. West Fellow.

The chairman of David Weekley Homes in Houston, Weekley holds a bachelor degree from Trinity University. He has served actively with Young Life, the Kinkaid School, Camp Eagle, the Greater Houston Community Foundation, and the YMCA of Greater Houston, which named a facility in his family’s honor.

Weekley and his wife, Bonnie, have three children — including two Eagle Scouts — and six grandchildren.

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Photo by Roger Morgan/BSA