Earlier this month, Cam Sutherland, Sr., was presented with the Silver Beaver Award from the Northeast Georgia Council of the Boy Scouts of America (BSA).

The Silver Beaver Award honors distinguished service and is highest award that can be given at Council level.

Recipients of this award are registered adult leaders who have made an impact on the lives of youth through service given to the council. It is a distinguished award to commend those who implement the Scouting program and perform community service through hard work, self-sacrifice, dedication, and many years of service.

Sutherland was presented with the award Aug. 5.

He has a long history of BSA involvement, spanning over 60 years, beginning when he joined Troop 1, in Dante, Va., at age of 11 in 1950.

Sutherland’s commitment to Scouting has encompassed many adult leadership positions to include Assistant Scoutmaster, Scoutmaster, Neighborhood Commissioner, Unit Commissioner, Assistant District Commissioner, District Chairman and currently District Commissioner of the Etowah District.

In his current role, Sutherland serves 87 units in Forsyth, Dawson and Lumpkin Counties.

In addition, he has been the State Evaluator for Scout of the Year for the VFW from 2003 to present and was Boy Scout Coordinator for Rotary International District in Georgia from 2003 to 2009. He is also a Wood Badge recipient.

The Boy Scouts of America is one of the nation's largest and most prominent values-based youth development organizations. The BSA provides a program for young people that builds character, trains them in the responsibilities of participating citizenship and develops personal fitness.

For more than a century, the BSA has helped build the future leaders of this country by combining educational activities and lifelong values with fun. The Boy Scouts of America believes — and, through over a century of experience, knows — that helping youth is a key to building a more conscientious, responsible, and productive society.