Scout John McLaurin honored with Silver Beaver Award

WILMINGTON — Laurinburg’s John A. McLaurin has been awarded the highest honor that a local council can bestow on a volunteer for his service to Boy Scouting and the community.

McLaurin, an associate with Quality Equipment of Laurinburg, was honored by the Cape Fear Council, Boy Scouts of America with the prestigious Silver Beaver Award during ceremonies held on March 19 at the Ballast Hotel in Wilmington.

McLaurin, an Eagle Scout, has been active on the executive board of the Cape Fear Council for close to a decade. He has served and continues to serve as an integral piece of the fundraising leadership to support Scouting in Scotland County and chaired the campaign to success three years in a row. Notably, McLaurin chaired the campaign during the pandemic, working tirelessly to keep the campaign successful. He has also organized merit badge programs in farm mechanics and welding that were attended by Scouts from all eight counties served by the Cape Fear Council.

Beyond scouting, McLaurin is active with the Laurinburg Rotary Club where he served two terms as club president. He is active with the First Presbyterian Church as a youth advisor, and a member of the finance committee and memorial foundation of Scotland Heath Care System. In 2022, McLaurin was named as a trustee of the Scotland Healthcare System, becoming the youngest person ever so appointed.

“John has been steadfast in his support of the Scouting program in the Cape Fear Council. He has proven time and again that he lives by the tenets of the Scout Oath and Law and our organization is blessed to have him,” said Jonathan Widmark, Scout executive of the Cape Fear Council.