Dave and Susan Ecklund, of Aiken, have devoted more than three decades of their lives to Scouting.
Last week, during the annual Georgia-Carolina Boy Scouts of America Volunteer and Eagle Scout Dinner at Grace United Methodist Church, the Ecklunds were two of six recipients of the Silver Beaver Award, the highest commendation given to volunteers by a Boy Scout council.
Scouting officials said it is a rarity for a husband and wife to receive Silver Beaver Awards in the same year.
"For me, it seemed like a dream," Susan Ecklund said of receiving the award. "It didn't seem like reality had hit yet. I was very, very honored."
The Ecklunds earned the awards for their work to organize the move of four bunk houses, known as Fred Sheds, from Linwood Haynes in Augusta to the Knox Scout Reservation outside Lincolnton, Ga. Three of the four have been moved to the new camp.
The Ecklunds and a team of workers removed the roofs from the 15-foot-by-12-foot buildings, loaded the houses onto trailers, and moved the buildings to the new camp, where they were rebuilt.
The couple has taken part in Boy, Girl and Sea Scouts since they lived in California in the 1970s, Susan Ecklund said. She is the skipper of Ship 110, and her husband is the ship's mate.
They have also filled many leadership roles within the Georgia-Carolina Council.
Scouting runs in the family. Son Jon is an Eagle Scout nearing the rank of quartermaster, the highest level in Sea Scouts. Daughter Cathi is a quartermaster in Sea Scouts and has reached Life Scout in Girl Scouts.
Susan Ecklund's father is a former Silver Beaver Award recipient and Scoutmaster.
The Ecklunds also are involved in cave restoration efforts at Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico, and are fellows in the Cave Research Foundation.
Also receiving Silver Beaver Awards during the ceremony were Dearing, Ga., resident and Scout leader Bobby Simpson, Evans residents Paul Burwinkel and Jim Babula, and Karen Breedlove, of Swainsboro, Ga.
In other council business:
- Greenbrier High School senior and Eagle Scout John William Richards III received the Boy Scouts of America National Court of Honor Heroism Award for his actions saving a fellow Eagle Scout from drowning in July 2007.
- Kenneth Watkins, of Dearing, won the Frank Dennis Eagle Scout Service Project of the Year Award for building a butterfly garden and classroom at Dearing Elementary School.
Reach J. Scott Trubey at scott.trubey@northaugustatoday.com.
