Lincoln Electric Receives Boy Scouts of America North Star Award
The Boy Scouts of America has awarded Lincoln Electric (Cleveland, OH) with its prominent North Star Award for the welding equipment manufacturer’s dedicated efforts in supporting the organization’s Welding Merit Badge program, which rolled out in 2012.
The award, introduced in 2011, is presented by councils on behalf of the National Court of Honor for non-Scout volunteers who have made a significant contribution to Scouting. The Scouts have named approximately 20 North Star Award recipients since the award’s inception.
Lincoln Electric welding educators Carl Peters, Charlie Cross and Jason Scales received the award on behalf of the company and its tireless efforts toward introducing tens of thousands of Scouts to welding and the career paths this valuable skill can open to them. The Scouts awarded the honor to the trio at its annual Top Hands Conference in Washington in late August.
“We are honored to receive such a prestigious award from the Boy Scouts of America,” notes Peters, Lincoln Electric’s director of technical training. “Lincoln Electric is helping today’s youth get excited about such career options as welding, engineering and manufacturing in a hands-on way, and the Welding Merit Badge is one excellent way to do this. We are thrilled to be part of the development and will continue to provide ongoing support to the organization, its councils, troop leaders and the Scouts working to earn this badge.”
Lincoln Electric has not only assisted with the badge’s development in conjunction with other welding industry organizations; it also has hosted a welding day for more than 100 Cleveland-area Scouts in April and participated in the 2013 National Scout Jamboree in West Virginia, where more than 4,000 Scouts tried their hands at live welding.
In addition, Lincoln Electric teamed up with the AWS Careers in Welding Trailer to get the Scouts excited about welding by using the VRTEX® 360 Virtual Reality Welding Trainer. Going forward, the company will offer resources for counselors wanting to teach welding to Scouts earning the badge, including a curriculum with lesson plans, visual aids and safety information. Lincoln Electric’s national sales and distribution network is working with local agencies to offer tours and workshops designed for Scout troops.
