Gen. William Webster speaks at Boy Scouts council dinner

ALBANY — The South Georgia Boy Scouts Council hosted the 2016 Friends of Scouting Character Counts dinner Thursday night at the Hasan Temple. The event is held as one of the group’s primary fundraising efforts for the year.

Gen. William Webster was the guest speaker for the event. Webster is a 41-year Army veteran who commanded units in Kuwait, Iraq, Afghanistan as well as within the United States. He’s been called on to teach and coach executive level leadership by various entities, and for the past three years he’s served as one of two senior mentors for the U.S. War College.

Scout executive Matt Hart said Webster was the perfect speaker for the event.

“We’re very excited because he embodies many of the values that we try to instill in our young people,” Hart said. “He’s a great living example of the Scout oath and the Scout law. He’s practiced it every day of his life and made a career of it. We’re honored to have him here tonight to talk about leadership and character and to provide some inspiration and motivation to our local community.”

Webster acknowledged the role the Boys Scouts play in America, even in its armed forces.

“We find that half of the young men and women who join the Army today have served in Boys Scouts or Girl Scouts,” he said.

Webster said he was a Cub Scout for a few years and said the lessons learned have stuck with him throughout his career.

“The things that have always stuck with me are the values of the Boy Scouts,” he said. “As well as being courteous and kind and reverent and clean, we should also be prepared. I’ve always thought of that. As a soldier and as a leader of soldiers, it’s important for me to stay prepared and try to prepare our whole team for the things that are to come next.”

Thursday’s event wrapped up with Eagle Scout Jefferson DeMott sharing with the audience his scouting experiences and Eagle Scout Class of 1992 member Eric Hooper issuing a scouting challenge.

The South Georgia Council Boy Scouts of America serves more than 4,000 youths in 28 counties. The group’s next event will be the 2016 Golf Classic held on May 9.