An Elizabeth man will soon have another award to add to his lengthy list of Scouting honors.
Wayne Karcher, 46, is slated to receive the Silver Beaver during a ceremony of the Lincoln Heritage Council on Sunday afternoon at the Galt House in Louisville.
The Silver Beaver is the highest award a Scouting council can bestow upon a volunteer. This year, the Lincoln Heritage Council, which has more than 6,000 volunteers in several Southern Indiana counties and 30 to 40 counties in Kentucky, selected 12 adult volunteers as recipients.
"I was flabbergasted," Karcher said when he was notified that he had been selected. "The honor among the volunteers you see ... it's like winning the Pulitzer Prize."
Karcher was secretely nominated by someone from Boy Scout Troop 47 in Elizabeth. The council then reviews all nominations.
"They look at what you've contributed and what you've given to Scouting," both time and financially, Karcher said.
Karcher became involved in Scouts in 1962. "My dad was a barber, and I saw an application for Scouts in a 'Field & Stream' magazine at the shop on day," he said.
It became a family affair: His father was a cub master, his mother a den mother and his four brothers also became Scouts.
Karcher and one of his brothers, Keith, achieved the coveted rank of Eagle Scout.
After he graduated from high school, Karcher became inactive as he pursued other hobbies. His interest was renewed when his nephews joined scouting.
"I found out the Scouts needed volunteers," Karcher said. "We don't think of it too much, but we wouldn't make one Eagle at all if we didn't have people who took the time to go to camp ... For the people who did it for me is why I do it now."
Later, his sons would become Scouts. David, 17, a senior at South Central Junior Senior High School, earned his Eagle Scout award last year, and Daniel, 7, is in his first year of Scouting as a Tiger Cub.
Karcher's wife, Deborah, has been supportive of the time he has given scouting.
Karcher's volunteer Scout work includes 11 years as camp master, chairing camporees, working round tables, being Scoutmaster for a handicapped troop in Kentucky, helping build an archery range at the camp, and reopening the Kentucky Lincoln Trail.
He will share the spotlight with David during Sunday's program, as Scouts who earned their Eagle status in 2000 are recognized prior to the presentation of the Silver Beaver awards. (Michael Owen, also of Troop 47, will be recognized for achieving Eagle status last year.)
"I'll be real, real proud when David gets his award," Karcher said. Of his own honor, Karcher said "I feel humbled. Part of me will think about the group still in the trenches who gives their time." "I think every one of them deserves the Silver Beaver," he said.
"I will probably always stay active on a troop committee," he said last week, adding that he anticipates moving down to the younger level of Scouts "and working my way back up with Daniel."