Daniel Beard Carter Masonic Scouter Award

Lebanon Lodge #837 proudly participated in the honoring of Jim Nipper who received the very prestigious Daniel Beard Carter Masonic Scouter Award on August 10, 2023.

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PGM Wendell P. Miller presented the award to Jim.

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Freemasonry's relationship with the Boy Scouts started with a Freemason named Daniel Carter Beard. Beard was made a Mason in Mariner's Lodge No. 67, New York City, NY, and later affiliated with Cornucopia Lodge 563, Flushing, NY. In the late 1800's he founded a male youth program called the "Society of the Sons of Daniel Boone." By 1905, the program had become "The Boy Pioneers." The man who would create the first "Boy Scouts," and be known as its founder, was Lord Robert Baden-Powell of Great Britain. Lord Baden-Powell, who was not a Mason, read of Beard's program, and based on his own military experience, developed what is known as the "Boy Scouts." In 1910, the Boy Scout program came to America when Beard merged his organization into the "Boy Scouts of America" and became its first National Commissioner.

Beard, known affectionately as "Uncle Dan" by millions of Boy Scouts, worked tirelessly to create the Scouting Program that exists today. He developed the elements of the Scout badge and the Scout uniform, and wrote and illustrated various early publications of the Boy Scouts of America. Beard exemplified the Masonic ideals throughout the Scouting program.

The Daniel Carter Beard Masonic Scouter Award is an honor due to members of the Masonic Lodge who act as role models and provide dedicated service to the young men in the BSA. The Daniel Carter Beard Masonic Award not only supports the Masonic relationship through the man who brought Scouting to America, but proclaims the integrity of the recipient who is honored by receiving the award.