Boy Scout Volunteer to be Honored with Major Scouting Regional Award for Service

Kris Zahrobsky, of Willowbrook, IL, has been selected to receive the Boy Scouts of America Central Region's Silver Antelope Award for service to youth and Scouting.  The Silver Antelope Award is the highest honor a Scouting region can bestow upon an adult volunteer, and Zahrobsky is one of the youngest volunteers to ever receive the prestigious award.

The award will be presented to Zahrobsky in ceremonies at the 2014 National Boy Scouts of America Meeting this May in Nashville, TN.

Zahrobsky serves in the Boy Scouts Des Plaines Valley Council, LaGrange, IL, as well as in the Central Region’s Area 7, which involves 11 Scouting councils in Illinois, Indiana and Wisconsin, where he provides guidance and support to Area youth officers.  His focus in Scouting is Venturing, a youth development program for both young men and women up to age 21, intended to help them mature and become responsible adults.  He serves as a local and regional advisor to volunteer leaders of Venturing units, a role in which he is the longest-serving Area Venturing Advisor in the Boy Scouts of America.

“I am delighted to congratulate Kris on this major award,” said Des Plaines Valley Council President George Krempel.  “He is a skilled and dedicated volunteer who is making important contributions to our youth through his hard work and leadership in Scouting.  This award is richly deserved and I’m proud that he is a member of our Council.”

With guidance and support from the Boy Scouts, local community organizations establish a Venturing crew by matching their people and program resources to the interests of young people in the community. The result is a program of exciting and meaningful activities that helps young men and women pursue their special interests, grow, develop leadership skills, and become good citizens.  Venturing crews can specialize in a variety of avocation or hobby interests.

 “Kris has been a true mentor for the Venturing Program and has helped develop both some dynamic youth leaders and some exciting experiences for thousands of young people across our area,” said Matthew Thornton, Area Director for Area 7 of the Scouts Central Region and Interim Scout Executive for the Des Plaines Valley Council.  “He is very deserving of this prestigious recognition. “

The Des Plaines Valley Council serves 42 communities in Chicago’s western and southwestern suburbs.  The Central Region serves communities and Scouting councils in the upper Midwest.