John Boehner honored with Spirit of Scouting award in Fairfield

Former Speaker of the House John Boehner was never a Boy Scout, but for three decades he had been involved with the organization that supports millions of young people across the country.

And for his decades of support and leadership — both at the local and national levels — Boehner was honored Thursday evening by the Dan Beard Council, presenting the former 8th Congressional District representative with the 2016 Spirit of Scouting award during a banquet of the Dan Beard Council, Fort Hamilton District at the Oscar Event Center.

Boehner said the vast majority of a child’s life from birth to 18 is spent outside of a classroom. And many turn to the Boy Scouts.

“What the Boy Scouts do for our country is hard to measure,” said Boehner.

The annually awarded honor recognizes individuals of “outstanding character” or those “who embody the Scout oath and law.”

According to the Dan Beard Council, Boehner, a West Chester Twp. Republican who resigned from Congress in October 2015, was chosen as the 2016 Spirit of Scouting Award recipient in recognition of his service to nation and the region.

“Thank you for serving as a role model for our young men and women … and thank you for your many, many years of service back to our community and to our nation,” said Lynda O’Connor, district chair for the Fort Hamilton District.

Boehner was first elected to Congress in 1990 and worked his way through the leadership ranks and was sworn in as speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives in January 2011, the first Ohioan to be Speaker of the House since Nicholas Longworth left the position some 80 years earlier in 1931.

Longtime friend and West Chester Twp. Trustee George Lang said Boehner took scouting values, including respect, honesty, citizenship and leadership, and was a “warrior” for the county, district and country.

The keynote address was delivered by Tom Hendricks, a 1975 Fairfield High School graduate and principal owner of TL Hendricks Aviation Strategies, who said, “Not everyone is cut out to be a servant or a manager.”

“Trust is the key,” he said of servant leaders. “This leader listens, this leader is humble, and this leader gives credit to his team … and most important, this leader takes care of people and doesn’t take credit.”

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