Boy Scouts To Present Distinguished Citizen, Organization Awards

HERNDON, VA — The Powhatan District of the National Capital Area Council of the Boy Scouts of America will be presenting distinguished citizen and organization awards during an Oct. 19 ceremony at the River Bend Golf and Country Club in Great Falls.

The council will be presenting the 2022 Northwest Fairfax Distinguished Citizen Award to Raul "Danny" Vargas of Herndon, for his many contributions to the Northwest Fairfax community.

"We are pleased to honor Danny and celebrate the values he shares with Scouting — citizenship, servant leadership and action," Powhatan District BSA Chair Roland Taylor said, in a release.

The current chairman of the Virginia Advisory Committee to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, Vargas previously chaired the Dulles Regional Chamber of Commerce, the Virginia Board of Workforce Development, and Leadership Fairfax.

Vargas is also the founder and chairman of the American Latino Veterans Association, which seeks to enhance the welfare of Latino veterans and promote greater understanding of their historic contributions to the defense of the U.S.

As the chairman emeritus of the Friends of the National Museum of the American Latino, Vargas advocates for the establishment of a national museum honoring American Latinos. In late 202o, authorizing legislation for the museum was approved by Congress and received presidential approval.

For the first time, Powhatan District BSA will be recognizing a local organization for promoting the ideal of service to the community. The inaugural Northwest Fairfax Distinguished Organization Award will be presented to the Rotary Club of Herndon-Reston.

“Rotarians are role models for scouts — they are people of action, community builders and problem solvers," Taylor said, in a release. "We are pleased to honor the Rotary Club of Herndon-Reston as our first-ever Distinguished Organization."

The Rotary Club's work includes conducting monthly food collections and organizing a Kids Helping Kids Fun Bike-A-Thon, with the proceeds going to the Kids R First school supply drive. The club also works with the Dolly Parton Imagination Library to provide free books every month to 1,500 children up to age 5.

Other recent Rotary Club activities included organizing a Candyland Holiday Gift project and hosting a Walk to End Polio. The club also benefits the international community by working to provide clean water for a village in South Africa and repairing Haitian homes damaged by hurricanes.

Individual tickets for the Oct. 19 awards ceremony are available, as are sponsorship opportunities. For more information, contact Powhatan District Director Todd Block at Todd.Bolick@Scouting.org.