The Chattahoochee Council of the Boy Scouts of America is proud to present the 34th Annual Distinguished Citizen Award to Eagle Scout Congressman Sanford D. Bishop Jr. of the 2nd District of Georgia. Congressman Bishop grew up in Scouting and not only earned the highest rank as a youth, Eagle Scout, later in life he was presented by the National Boy Scouts of America the honor of Distinguished Eagle Scout. 

Congressman Bishop will be the 34th recipient of the award. Past recipients include; Cason Callaway, Jr., John B. Amos, U.S. Senator Sam Nunn, Judge Aaron Cohn, Howard “Bo” Callaway, Calvin Smyre, Jack Pezold, George Jeter, Larry Sanders, T. Sam Rawls, Dr. Carmen Cavezza, and Sam Wellborn. The award is presented to leaders in our community who live and act in accordance to the values of Scouting. 

The award will be presented on May 8th at the Annual Distinguished Citizen Award Banquet at the Columbus Convention and Trade Centre. The reception is at 6:00 p.m. and dinner program at 7:00 p.m. This event will not only honor Congressman Bishop it will raise funds for the local Chattahoochee Council, Boy Scouts of America. 

Scouting is a leader in the fight against poverty. It has been shown that the number one cause of poverty is a lack of a High School diploma. In a national survey it was shown that men who were in Scouts for five years or more graduate high school at a rate of 91%. Local studies have shown that boys who are in Scouting outperform boys who are not in Scouting on the CRCT. Scouting fights poverty by preventing it in the first place. 

“We are proud to honor Congressman Bishop who has done so much for our community. It is a testament to the Scouting program that we have such a distinguished alumni such as Congressman Bishop and we expect that this event will give us the needed resources to increase the number of boys who can join Scouting,” said Luke Mansour who serves as the volunteer Council President for the Chattahoochee Council.