The Silver Beaver Award
The Silver Beaver is a national award presented by the local Council and is the highest honor the local Council may bestow upon a volunteer.
Nominations for the Silver Beaver Award consist of three parts:
• Distinguished and Significant Service to the Council,
• Noteworthy Service of Exceptional Character to youth outside of scouting,
• Outstanding Service to the Community in other non-Scouting areas. The Silver Beaver Selection Committee
John Galati, Chairperson
Mike Borinski
John Glowacki
Susan Goldman
Jason Miller
Bob Sharp
Staff Advisor: Michael Perry
Thank you for your diligent service
For a list of past recipients, visit our website by scanning the QR code or typing: GardenStateScouting.org/Silver-Beaver
Paul Ackley is a 25-year veteran of the New Jersey Department of Corrections and has been a Walmart employee for more than 10 years. He and his wife have four grown children.
Paul started in Scouting as a Cub and completed his Arrow of Light. He crossed over to a Scouts BSA Troop and completed the Life rank. He has fond memories of working on camp staff as a youth, providing service in the dining hall.
When Paul’s son Chris turned 11, Paul found himself reconnecting with Scouting. Three years later, he reconnected with his Summer Camp days as well and joined Camp Staff as sports director, archery director, shooting sports director, and a Scoutmaster for provisional campers.
On a Council level, Paul chairs both he Shooting Sports Committee and the Campership Committee
Paul shared his philosophy as a Scouting leader: “Do anything you can to make the Scout’s experience a memorable one.”
Mark began his Scouting journey in the 3rd grade with Pack 1 Verona, N.J. At 11, he crossed over to Troop 1. Mark earned his Ner Tamid at 13 & Eagle shortly after his 15th birthday. Mark enjoyed his Troop 1 experience as a Patrol Leader & Den Chief. As a Den Chief, he received special commendation from Pack 1; a plaque which he still cherishes.
Most weekends and summer camp, Mark could be found in canvas Baker tents at Camp Bell, a parcel of property donated by a local family to Troop 1. The rest of his summer he worked at an all-day day camp, teaching Scout skills and running the overnight program.
As Mark went off to college, the leadership in Troop 1 shifted. The new Scoutmaster, an Eagle Scout from Troop 1 when Mark first joined, reached out to former Troop youth leaders to invite them back to Camp Bell as Instructors. One of Mark’s fondest memories is one such weekend where he cooked multiple chickens on a spit over a fire pit.
Mark credits his Scoutmaster, Ken Hipkins, and ASM, Heinz Kuhne, his parents, and grandparents for guiding him into the adult that he has become. He says that his life has 22 guiding tenets: the 10 Commandments of his faith and the 12 points of the Scout Law.
In 2001, Mark seized the opportunity to rejoin the BSA with his son, Caleb. He remembers telling Caleb on their first trip that “the hardest thing to do while camping is to set-up a tent in the rain”. And, then they did, with Mark
as a Den Leader and then ASM. When Caleb went to college, Mark became a Unit Commissioner.
In 2006, Joe Brennan asked Mark if he would be interested in serving as Chair of the SNJ Jewish Committee. From this, Mark met AJ Kreimer, who invited him to jointly hold the position for SNJ & Burlington County Councils. Mark held this position through the merger and ever since. He is an active member of the GSC Religious Relationships Committee, has served as Chaplain for 2 Woodbadge courses, facilitated 10 Scout Shabbat services, organized many Jewish and Scouts-Own observances, served twice as Program Chair for the NER JCOS Conference, works as an ASM and advisor for Pack/Troop 36 of Temple Beth Sholom, attends the NJ Kinus each spring, and presents at the Ten Commandments Hike. Mark earned his Shofar Award in 2009 and received the District Award of Merit for his “service to the religious needs of Scouts” in 2009. Mark truly loves this role that binds his faith and Scouting into one journey. In 2010 Mark attended his only Jamboree and got to share in multiple worship services there with his friends, Joe and AJ.
Mark attended ITOLS at COL Council in 2005 and Woodbadge NE-II-159 (2006) in Monmouth Council. He regularly teaches SM Essentials and MB Counselor Training and has taught classes on Cold Weather Camping, Youth Run Troop, and Youth/Adult Position Sharing through UoS. Mark currently serves as the District Commissioner for Pine Hill.
Mark has a BS & MS in Biomedical Engineering. He has spent over 40 years advancing and supporting healthcare technology. In July, he retired from the VA after 26 years of Government service and now works as a consultant with Sigma-HC, LLC. This past November, Caleb, and his wife, Francia, gave birth to Mark’s first grandchild; on Mark’s mother’s 94th birthday.
Leo Greaney hails from South Jersey with a brief stint in Paris, Texas. He and his brother Fran grew up in Scouting. He earned his Arrow of Light with Cub Pack 76 (Mount Laurel). His mother Betty served as a Den Leader. He and his brother joined Troop 61 (Moorestown). Their father Leo enjoyed the Troop’s traditional Father/Son Campouts. Fran earned his Eagle rank and Leo achieved Star Scout. Leo also has two sisters: Margaret and Mary.
Leo graduated from Lenape High School, Mount Laurel, in 1976, and earned a Computer Science degree from Rutgers University in 1983. Right out of college he started as a software engineer with RCA, which though his 28 years of employment became GE/Martin Marietta/Lockheed Martin/L-3 Communications. Since 2012, Leo has served as the “Fix-it Dude”/Systems Manager for Johnson’s Corner Farm/ Johnson’s Locust Hall Farm. He also volunteers for the Wildflowers at Medford Homeowners Association as a Board Member-Grounds Maintenance.
Upon graduation from high school, Leo also became an Assistant Scoutmaster of Troop 61, a position he held until 2004 when he become the Scoutmaster. He continues to serve the Troop as Scoutmaster to this day.
Leo’s service to Scouting extended to the Council level. He served the former Burlington County Council on the Technology Committee, 2nd Generation Website Development Team. For Garden State Council, he has served on the Membership and Marketing Committees. He has also served as Camp Cook during the 2013 Webelos Resident Camp. He has also served on the National Jamboree Staff for two Jamborees (2005, 2010). Currently, Leo serves Scouting on the Council level on the Farm Fair Committee and the “Thursday Crew” for Pine Tree Education & Environmental Center.
His total weeks spent at summer camp, when combining youth and adult tenures in Scouting, number approximately 50 weeks. Add to that the weeklong summer trips taken with Troop 61 – approximate 15 – and countless weekend camping trips, and he can fill over two years’ worth of camping nights with his outdoor experiences. (“just 1 hour a week”)
I grew up in Ann Arbor, Michigan, in the 1950s. I was a member of a Scout Troop, but I only made it to Second Class before joining the Junior Deputy program, which was a forerunner to today’s Police Explorers. I loved Scouting; hated the winter camping.
My adult scouting career began like most others. I took my grandson to a Pack meeting where I was asked to write the monthly Pack Newsletter for Pack 161 in Williamstown. I was told the job would only take one hour a week. That soon morphed into putting on the uniform and then becoming a member of the committee, then the Assistant Cub Master.
After serving the Pack for several years, I moved to Troop 234, where I joined the Committee and later became the Committee Chair. I continue in that role today and now proudly serve a boys’ Troop as well as a girls’ Troop in Williamstown.
I have served as a Unit Commissioner, and currently as the District Commissioner for the Crossroads District. I am an active member of the District Advancement Committee and the current dean of the Crossroads Scout College. I have attended and taught at Commissioners Colleges in the Garden State and Cradle of Liberty Councils. I earned the Old Colony Chairman’s Award in 2018.
I attended Wood Badge in September of 2020 and received my beads last August.
I served eight years in the U.S. Air Force. The last two years as a member of the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds.
My wife JoAnne and I both are retired now, her after 20-plus years as a Financial Analyst, and me as a Senior Field Service Engineer for 42 years. My non-Scouting activities include Woodworking and working on our home.
I am thankful for being allowed to take this journey. I have met some truly outstanding people who were dedicated and passionate to the ideals of Scouting. Thank you for letting me come along.
Garden State Council Board Member Carl Williams was the 11th Superintendent of the New Jersey State Police. A lifelong resident of Camden and Burlington Counties, Carl was born at Cooper Hospital, Camden; graduated high school from Haddonfield Memorial in 1959; and has lived in Mount Laurel since 1964.
Following his high school graduation, Carl served four years in the U.S. Navy then graduated from the New Jersey State Police academy, class of 1964. That was a banner year for Carl, as it is also when he married Eloise Speck at the Franklin Lutheran Church in Dillisburg, Pa.
While Carl and Eloise raised their two children in Mount Laurel, Carl worked his way up from State Trooper to Colonel and attained the position of Superintendent. Along the way, he continued training in several areas of law enforcement and attended IRS Special Agent School, the FBI Academy, FBI National Executive Institute, and earned his Public Manager certification from Rutgers University.
Carl has been an active member in his community as well. An avid softball player, he has also served as a certified softball umpire. He has also served a number of organizations, including Stand Down of South Jersey, N.J. State Police Memorial Association Museum & Learning Center, the McGuire Memorial Foundation at the Joint Base, and the restoration volunteer corps at the Battleship New Jersey.
Scouting found Carl in 1999 when Ted Packer, then Chair of the Camp Corporation, asked him to become involved. Since then, Carl has continued his involvement with the Camp Corp., and has added Vice President, Ethics and Internal Affairs and Treasurer of Pine Tree Education & Environmental Center to his Scouting credentials.
