By Melissa Dunson

mdunson@joplinglobe.com

Rob O’Brian can only remember how to tie one knot and was never a very good at paddling a canoe, but he’s still very much a Boy Scout and said he carries with him the ideals he learned more than 40 years ago.

Today, O’Brian rubs shoulders with executives dressed in tailor-made suits, but when he was 9, he was a Cub Scout with an interest in science and the need to make some new friends in a new hometown. What he received from the program were some great memories and character development that he said he still benefits from today.

“I think the real core of the Scouts is the set of values that are inherent in the program,” O’Brian said. “It’s really all about trying to build good character, teaching integrity, the importance of being trustworthy and self-reliance.”

The president of the Joplin Area Chamber of Commerce was recently honored by the Scouts for keeping those ideals so many years after leaving the organization. The Distinguished Eagle Scout Award was created in 1969, and is the most prestigious award given to an adult not currently involved in the Scouts.

To be eligible for the award, the nominee must have reached the Eagle Scout level and spent at least 25 years in outstanding service in his profession or community.

Brian Karch, Ozark Trails Council district director, said this seemed like the year to award O’Brian the local Distinguished Citizen Award. The local award is handed out annually to Southwest Missourians who have made a long-term difference in their communities. Past recipients include Larry and Virginia Hickey, Grace Energy Corporation and Empire District Electric Company.

“We wanted to honor him for the extent of what he’s done in the community,” Karch said. “He’s been involved in the schools through the TREK program, been involved in helping the Missouri workforce not just in Joplin, but statewide, he continues his service to his church, and he supports the mentoring of Scouts.”

Karch said when he heard the chamber president was an Eagle Scout, he nominated him for the national award. O’Brian’s nomination was reviewed by a group of seven current Distinguished Eagle Scouts and a majority had to sign off on the honor.

He was awarded the national Distinguished Eagle Scout title earlier this month at a Boy Scout fund-raiser, in what he said was a total surprise. He is the first person to receive the national award in the Joplin metropolitan area, and only the fifth person awarded it in the Ozark Trails Council.

“It was an absolute shock, I was speechless,” O’Brian said.

During his years in the Scouts, O’Brian said he learned some valuable lessons including it’s OK to fail. He said it took him three years to earn his canoeing merit badge, which was especially frustrating because he did regularly canoe with his friends.

“I had an older Scout tell me I was the worst canoer in the world,” he said laughing. “To get the badge, you have go straight by paddling only on one side. So that canoeing badge meant a lot to me.”

From that experience, O’Brian said he also learned how to get back up from a fall.