West Valley Scouter receives prestigious service award

For West Valley resident and dedicated Boy Scouts of America volunteer Alvin Merrill, Scouting is much more than earning merit badges and camping out in the cold.

“I believe Scouting is about boys creating opportunities for themselves to be successful in life and to be better people,” Merrill said.

Merrill’s dedication to that cause earned him the prestigious National Community Service Award and pin from the service organization Daughters of the American Revolution. Merrill accepted the award from the Princess Timpanogos chapter of the organization in a ceremony in Salt Lake City on Oct. 17.

“There are many people like me that don’t volunteer our time to receive an award, but we just do it to help change lives,” Merrill said. “But it is nice to have your efforts noticed and receive that motivation to continue doing what you are doing.”

For the past six years, Merrill has volunteered for the Boy Scouts in various capacities. He began serving with a troubled troop from the Saint Marguerite Catholic Church, located at 15 South 7^th Street in Tooele.

“The troop attendance was low, and the leaders were just burned out,” Merrill said. “I came in to help, and we figured out a plan together. With a lot of hard work, we grew the unit to more than 17 boys.”

The Scout leaders’ hard work has had its own rewards. In the first two weeks of November, six of those 17 boys proudly earned their Eagle Scout awards.

“It was definitely a challenge, and we had a mix of different personalities and faiths and levels of motivation,” Merrill said. “But, in the old Spencer Tracy movie ‘Boys Town’ there is a line that I truly believe in: ‘There is no such thing as a bad boy.’”

Merrill also assisted in a special needs Scouting unit where he served with other leaders whom he described as “100 percent committed to the goal of Scouting.”

Merrill has lived in West Valley for the past two years and is currently volunteering as a leader for a local community Venturing Scouting unit.

“Venturing helps Scouts advance beyond the Eagle Scout award,” he said. “It is a lot more individualized and teaches the boys new and helpful skills that they, in turn, can use to help their community.”

 Merrill’s philosophy when it comes to his volunteer work with Scouting is simple. “If we teach them correct principles, they will govern themselves,” he said. “When leaders give Scouts the opportunities to succeed, they will catch the vision and lead others to do the same.”