Cynthia Ann Hay of Demopolis received the Silver Beaver Award for distinguished volunteer service to youth at the Black Warrior Council of the Boy Scouts of America 2008 Recognition Banquet in Tuscaloosa on Jan. 29. The Silver Beaver is the highest award that a council can present.

“I was kind of shocked,” Hay said of winning the award. “I remember when my Dad won it back in 1980 — so I was shocked because I remember all the work that he did, and I knew I didn’t do nearly as much as he did!”

Hay has served Scouting for 10 years. Since 1998, she has served Pack 41 — which is sponsored by the Rotary Club of Demopolis — as a Tiger Cub, Cub Scout and Webelos den leader. She is now a den leader for Cub Pack 41, and has earned Leader Square Knot awards for each position in which she has served. She has also held various positions on the Pack committee.

“The first time I got involved in Scouting, my dad was a Scoutmaster,” Hay said, “and when my son got involved with Tiger Cubs, I got involved.

“My boys are involved, which keeps me involved. It’s fun, it’s outdoors and you’re learning citizenship. My guys have learned skills and had opportunities that they would not normally have had in other programs. If you can’t swing a bat or kick a ball, you can still do Scouting.”

From 2002 until 2004, Hay served the Prairie District (Greene, Hale, Marengo and Sumter counties) as the activities chair, and from 2005 through 2007, she chaired the leadership development committee, where she organized training for both youth and adults in the district. As popcorn chair for the district in 2008, she increased popcorn sales by 17 percent. She was recognized in 2002 with the District Award of Merit.

“Terri Gregson, our district executive, has worked very hard to get our Prairie District committee up to par so we can provide the programs here not only for Boy Scouts, but also for Cub Scouts and Venturing crews,” Hay said. “We are a huge district, so that is a monumental amount of work.”

Hay is married to Larry Hay, Scoutmaster of Troop 41, and they have three children, Brandon, 17; Nathan, 13; and Noah, 9, all involved in Scouting.