Volunteer awarded Scouting's highest honor
By Joanne Fox | Posted: Monday, December 01, 2008
Rose Kronick takes a break during a pack meeting at First Lutheran Church, South Sioux City. She recently received scouting's highest honor, the Silver Beaver award. (Staff photo by Jim Lee)
SOUTH SIOUX CITY -- Rose Kronick stood her ground amid the tigers, wolves, bears and eagles. She was backed up by two uniformed police officers and a uniformed member of the Woodbury County Sheriff's department.
It wasn't because there was an inordinate amount of rowdiness in the group gathered at First Lutheran Church. The law enforcement members were there for a fingerprinting exercise. Kronick, also uniformed, was there as a volunteer with the Boy Scouts of America.
On this particular evening, when Cub Scouts of Pack 154 and Boy Scouts of Troop 149 were gathering for a monthly meeting, Kronick was riding herd on the younger boys, getting them into place for fingerprinting.
"Where's my Bears? Where's my Tigers? Where's my Wolves? Where's my Webelos?" Kronick inquired as hands shot up and Eagle Scouts helped with crowd control.
Kronick is no stranger to scouting. She was a Brownie and a Girl Scout, earning the Gold Award, the highest honor that Girl Scouting awards. Once Kronick married and started having a family, she started a relationship with Boy Scouting in 1982 when her son wanted to join Cub Scouts.
"I continued until my youngest earned his Eagle award in 2004 and now have a grandson in scouts, although he lives elsewhere," she said.
Kronick stays with the organization that's been around since the early 1900s, founded by Robert Baden-Powell, despite having no one participating locally.
"It's all for the kids," she said, gesturing around at the room full of energetic lads. "They are our future."
Kronick, who serves in a variety of Scouting leadership positions, recently received the Silver Beaver Award, a national honor and the highest level of recognition that a council can give to adults for exceptional service to scouting.
Despite having a relationship with Scouting programs for decades, as well as almost 30 years with Boy Scouting itself, Kronick said the Silver Beaver Award came as a "total surprise."
"I was ecstatic when I received the phone call," she said, acknowledging there were a few tears with the announcement. "The best part was I knew and had worked with some of the other recipients, so it felt like a team honor and not so much an individual honor."
Kronick and a dozen other Scouting volunteers were presented the Silver Beaver at a Nov. 8 Boy Scouts Mid-American Council Awards reception in Omaha.
The council serves 33,701 youth in 58 counties in Nebraska, Iowa and South Dakota and is supported by 9,585 volunteers. The Mid-American Council is headquartered in Omaha, with a satellite service center in Sioux City.
"All the training, any awards I've achieved, it just reminds me that maybe I've made a difference in their lives," she said, again gesturing to the boys in the room.
VITA
Name: Rose Kronick
Hometown: Rock Island, Ill.
Education: Graduated from Central High School in 1969; earned an LPN degree in Lincoln, Neb.
Professional: Worked briefly at a nursing home in Gretna, Neb. before coming back to Sioux City in 1972; associated with Tri-State Nursing for 18 years
Personal: Married to husband Norm; eight children; 13 grandchildren, 3 great-grandchildren
How she's making a difference: By volunteering locally with the Boy Scouts of America
It wasn't because there was an inordinate amount of rowdiness in the group gathered at First Lutheran Church. The law enforcement members were there for a fingerprinting exercise. Kronick, also uniformed, was there as a volunteer with the Boy Scouts of America.
On this particular evening, when Cub Scouts of Pack 154 and Boy Scouts of Troop 149 were gathering for a monthly meeting, Kronick was riding herd on the younger boys, getting them into place for fingerprinting.
"Where's my Bears? Where's my Tigers? Where's my Wolves? Where's my Webelos?" Kronick inquired as hands shot up and Eagle Scouts helped with crowd control.
Kronick is no stranger to scouting. She was a Brownie and a Girl Scout, earning the Gold Award, the highest honor that Girl Scouting awards. Once Kronick married and started having a family, she started a relationship with Boy Scouting in 1982 when her son wanted to join Cub Scouts.
"I continued until my youngest earned his Eagle award in 2004 and now have a grandson in scouts, although he lives elsewhere," she said.
Kronick stays with the organization that's been around since the early 1900s, founded by Robert Baden-Powell, despite having no one participating locally.
"It's all for the kids," she said, gesturing around at the room full of energetic lads. "They are our future."
Kronick, who serves in a variety of Scouting leadership positions, recently received the Silver Beaver Award, a national honor and the highest level of recognition that a council can give to adults for exceptional service to scouting.
Despite having a relationship with Scouting programs for decades, as well as almost 30 years with Boy Scouting itself, Kronick said the Silver Beaver Award came as a "total surprise."
"I was ecstatic when I received the phone call," she said, acknowledging there were a few tears with the announcement. "The best part was I knew and had worked with some of the other recipients, so it felt like a team honor and not so much an individual honor."
Kronick and a dozen other Scouting volunteers were presented the Silver Beaver at a Nov. 8 Boy Scouts Mid-American Council Awards reception in Omaha.
The council serves 33,701 youth in 58 counties in Nebraska, Iowa and South Dakota and is supported by 9,585 volunteers. The Mid-American Council is headquartered in Omaha, with a satellite service center in Sioux City.
"All the training, any awards I've achieved, it just reminds me that maybe I've made a difference in their lives," she said, again gesturing to the boys in the room.
VITA
Name: Rose Kronick
Hometown: Rock Island, Ill.
Education: Graduated from Central High School in 1969; earned an LPN degree in Lincoln, Neb.
Professional: Worked briefly at a nursing home in Gretna, Neb. before coming back to Sioux City in 1972; associated with Tri-State Nursing for 18 years
Personal: Married to husband Norm; eight children; 13 grandchildren, 3 great-grandchildren
How she's making a difference: By volunteering locally with the Boy Scouts of America
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Susan L wrote on Dec 1, 2008 8:44 AM: