Eagle Scouts receive awards

By PHIL FAUVER

The Tavaputs District Eagle Scout Banquet was held recently at the Orangeville City Community Center. Program organizers were Danna Gray and Bart Cox The Tavaputs District represents the Huntington Stake, Castle Dale Stake and Ferron Stake and all scouts within those boundaries.
This Scout Banquet was held to honor the 12 scouts who had obtained their Eagle in the year of 2016. At the Awards Ceremony an Eagle Scout plaque was presented to each scout by Danna Gray, Tavaputs District Advancement Chairman and Bart Cox a member of the Advancement Committee. Monty Hatch of the Price Elks BPOE 1550 presented each Scout with an American Flag and a Certificate of Accomplishment. Frank Davis featured speaker shook the hand of and congratulated each Scout.
Scout Leader Talana Ivie and mother of Eagle Scout Braiden Ivie announced the name of each Scout as they went through the reception line.
The meeting started with a video about the flag of the USA and the shelling of the American Fort McHenry by British Ships in an attempt to destroy the flag which Francis Scott Key watched and later wrote about in the song “The Star-Spangled Banner.” This video was followed by a flag ceremony and the audience singing the National Anthem led by Eagle Scouts.  
Chairman Gray introduced the main speaker for this event as Frank Davis a businessman for more than 40 years from Orem and reported that he has built several multi-million dollar businesses, one of those is Overstock.com and Nu Skin, a current humanitarian program which was purchased from him in 2013. One of his ideas started KSL classified ads. He is engaged currently in volunteering and giving back to the community. Frank has taken disaster relief supplies to ours and to other countries. He was awarded the title of Registered Jeweler by the American Gem Society. He is the past president of the BYU School of Management. His education came from Brigham Young University. Frank currently owns a Freeze Dried Food and Food Supplement Company in Provo. He started the American Food Festival in Provo.
Davis told the Scout Banquet several faith promoting stories of how honesty, integrity, strong moral principles, of how observing his duty to God (as applied in the Scout Oath), along with prayer and fasting has assisted him, his family and his businesses to be successful over the years. The topic of his program was the predictable outcome. There are certain things that we do that we can pretty well predict what the outcome will be. If you follow the most encompassing part of the Scout Oath, which is “On My Honor I Will Do My Best To Do My Duty To God.“
Frank said, if we do our duty to God we will have a predictable outcome in our lives. Unfortunately we live in a time when God is taking a diminishing role in our lives. I am 70.  Most people my age and older believe in God and are believed to be religious people. Today the statistics of the millennial generation of which our Scouts would be the tail end of, only 64 percent believe in God. I believe when we look at what is happening in our society it is because God is being taken out of the lives of people in our country.
Davis said years ago I went on a humanitarian excursion to Romania and we were delivering food to orphanages. There I met a Romanian by the name of Peter Dubalaski, a Baptist minister who stood up for freedom.
I invited him to speak at the American Food Festival In Provo. Peter told Frank the story of Romania being under Communist rule for 40 years where they could not practice religion.
Peter led the first public prayer in Romania, which in essence started the Romanian Revolution because the soldiers opened fire on the people. They started massacring people in an open public prayer meeting. That led to the revolt.
Peter has written a book titled “The Angel Of Death.” The right hand man of the Romanian Leader Nicolae Ceaucescu attempted to kill Peter on three separate occasions. Peter later visited this man in jail and forgave him. The man told Peter of the number of times he had tried to kill Peter but was unsuccessful unable to do so.
Peter said Romania used to be the bread basket of Europe, it was the leading cultural center of Europe.  When the Communists came in and threw God out of the country and it became just the opposite they lost everything. He said, I worry about the United States, they have taken God out of the schools, they have taken God out of everything.
 Romania is an example of what happens when you do that. If you do not change your course that is what is going to happen to the United States.
Frank Davis stated, If you honor the Scout Oath you will be able to predict your future and your success, whether it is success in business, success in marriage or success in anything in your life.  He discussed Gods law of health which has been beneficial to him over the years. Be cheerful friendly, smile and you will be successful.
Frank asked, What does it mean to do your duty to God? His answer, It is to help those that are less fortunate than yourself. God is in charge. He knows from the beginning to the end, God is in control.  He knows that we are part of his plan and he will bless us and see to our needs if we do our duty to God. I admire what you Eagle Scouts have achieved. You have a lot of opportunities ahead of you.  If you put God first, do your duty to God, he will protect you, bless you and you will be successful.
Monte Hatch of the past Exalted Ruler of the Price Elks BPOE 1550 reported that it was an honor and a privilege to present an American Flag and a certificate to each of the Eagle Scouts. Many of your goals to God and country are the same as the Elks Lodge. In order to become a member of the Elks Lodge you must believe in God, you must swear allegiance to the American flag and our country. The Elks Lodge was started in the Civil War to help people in need at that time there were no social programs to help the poor. The actual name of the Elks Lodge is the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks of the United States of America. You are the future of our country.  I am here to present you with a certificate and a small American flag. It was the Elks that petitioned the American Government to declare June 14 as flag day.
 Every year we hold a ceremony to honor that flag. The flag is the emblem of freedom and the symbol of unity. I ask you to preserve the flag you will receive tonight. Dedicate yourselves to high ideals to yourself, your family, your community and your country.
The Scouts honored this year were as follows: Tracy Dalton Bennett, Koby Butler, Kolton Butler, Beau Dean Cook, Tavan Brent Cook, Kobe Tamatoa Faimalo, Zachary Fauver, Talon Wesley Gray, Braiden Joseph Ivie, Zachary Jorgensen, Bryar Meccariello, and Ty Baxter Mecham.
The delicious dinner was catered by Kent Wilson of BK’s Stop n’ Shop of Huntington.