USVI Cub Scout Wins First Place In 2017 Boy Scout Of America National Council Reading Contest

Eight-year-old Aidan ‘Daniel’ Morris of Frederiksted St. Croix is the 2017 Boy Scout of America National Council – Boys’ Life and Scouting Magazine Reading Contest Winner.

Scouts from across the United States were asked to write a one-page report titled “The Best Book I Read This Year” and enter it in the Boy Scout of America National Council Boys’ Life 2017 “Say Yes to Reading!” contest. The book could be fiction or nonfiction. The report had to be no longer than 500 words. It had to be written in the entrant’s own words. There were three age categories:

• 8 years old and younger
• 9 and 10 years old
• 11 years old and older

Aidan, a Cub Scout with Pack 7131, chartered by the St. Peter’s Episcopal Church on St. Croix, wrote his report on a book authored by Dr. Wayne W. Dyer and Kristina Tracy. The book was titled “The Incredible You! – 10 Ways to Let Your Greatness Shine Through.” He was adjudged the 2017 winner in the 8 years old and younger category.

The Boy Scout of America National Council Boys’ Life 2017 “Say Yes to Reading!” contest has seen thousands of eager entrants from across the United States each year, since its inception about thirty (30) years ago. Aidan, an avid reader, will be featured in the May 2018 issue of the Boys’ Life magazine.

It must be noted that Aidan was a joint winner of the 2016 United States Virgin Islands Governor’s Summer Reading Challenge-St. Croix District. He shared the win with his younger brother Ethan Morris. He was also featured in the May 2017 issue of the Boys’ Life Magazine (Scouts Premier Magazine) for winning the USVI Governor’s Summer Reading Challenge. He has successfully completed the Kindergarten through Grade 3 Excellence in Reading Award Program of the MENSA Foundation and was awarded an Excellence in Reading Award by the organization. He has dreams of becoming an Eagle Scout, astronaut, and an inventor when he grows up.

The Boy Scouts of America is one of the nation’s largest and most prominent values-based youth development organizations, providing programs for young people that build character, trains them in the responsibilities of participating citizenship, and develops personal fitness. The organization has more than 2.4 million youth participants and nearly one million adult volunteers.

The BSA was founded in 1910, and since then, more than 110 million Americans have been participants in BSA programs at some time. The BSA is part of the international Scout Movement and became a founding member organization of the World Organization of the Scout Movement in 1922. For more than 100 years, Boy Scouts of America has helped build future leaders by combining educational activities and lifelong values with fun.