2023 Distinguished Citizen Award Dinner

Our annual recognition of members of our community who freely give of their time and talents in service to youth.

Proceeds from this event help support the operations of the Pacific Skyline Council’s camps as well as provides an opportunity to ALL youth no matter their economic circumstance, neighborhood, or ethnicity to have an enriching and life-changing Scouting experience!

DCAD 2023

Stephen Wu is an attorney of AI and Emerging Technologies at the Silicon Valley Law Group. He served as the 2010-11 Chair of the American Bar Association (ABA) Science & Technology Law Section. He founded and is the current Chair of the ABA Artificial Intelligence and Robotics National Institute. An author of seven technology legal books and numerous other publications, Steve graduated from Harvard Law School in 1988.

Steve embarked on his Scouting adventure in the Cleveland area, earning his Eagle Award in 1978 while in Troop 448 in Chagrin Falls, Ohio. He was a Vigil Honor member of the Cuyahoga Lodge, Order of the Arrow and served as the Lodge’s Activities Vice Chief. When his son Michael joined Cub Scouts in Pack 74 in Los Altos in 2003, Steve jumped back into active Scouting, acting as Assistant Cubmaster and later Cubmaster. When Michael joined Troop 37 in Los Altos in 2008, Steve became an Assistant Scoutmaster and later Scoutmaster. On February 1, 2019, Steve, his wife Mary, and daughter Elizabeth started as leaders in the first Scouts BSA troop for girls registered with the Council, Troop 201 (named after February 1). Steve served as the founding Scoutmaster of the troop until he retired in February 2022.

Steve has also served as a Unit Commissioner, Associate Lodge Advisor for Ohlone Lodge of OA, Council Risk Management Committee Member, and Assistant Scoutmaster for the 2013 Council contingent troop at the National Jamboree. He headed the Law Merit Badge program on the staff of the 2010 National Jamboree, and served on the national Merit Badge Maintenance Task Force.

Steve and his wife Mary have a daughter Kate, son Michael (Eagle, 2014), and daughter Elizabeth (member of the inaugural class of female Eagle Scouts, 2021).

Lee Kenna is the chairman of SIMCO Electronics. He graduated from Duke University with a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering and has an MBA from Harvard Business School. Lee also served as a First Lieutenant in the United States Army for three years, which included time in Long Binh, Vietnam.

Lee started his Scouting career as a Cub Scout. He went through the ranks and earned his Eagle Scout rank in 1961. He continued to be involved in Scouting as his sons, Brian and Randy, went through the program, also earning the Eagle Scout rank.

In 1994 Lee joined the Pacific Skyline Board of Directors. He has been a past Council President, Vice President of Development and ScoutReach. He has been awarded the Silver Beaver and the Distinguished Eagle Scout Award.

 

Fred LaCosse speaking at a podiumOur Emcee for the evening: Fred LaCosse

Fred LaCosse is well known to Bay Area television viewers as a veteran news anchor, reporter and talk show host. Since the beginning of his broadcasting career in 1956, he has worked at six television stations: WTTW, Chicago; WLWC, Columbus, Ohio; KNTV, San Jose; KRON and KGO-TV, San Francisco; and KICU, San Jose and held positions in almost every phase of the industry.

He co-hosted the daily morning talk show A.M. San Francisco on KGO-TV (ABC) 1982-1987 with his wife, Terry Lowry. LaCosse also hosted the weekly syndicated program “Silicon Valley Business This Week” from 1995-2001.

LaCosse has generously given of his time to community and charitable organizations such as: The Janet Pomeroy Center; The Salvation Army; Laguna Honda Volunteers, Inc.; The Community Music Center of San Francisco; St. Luke’s Hospital; Red Cross; He is also active in NATAS and the Broadcast Legends.

Fred adds, "I was born and raised in South Bend, Indiana where being a Cub Scout and Boy Scout made you distinguished. What fun!"

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Fred LaCosse speaking at a podiumOur Emcee for the evening: Fred LaCosse
Fred LaCosse is well-known to Bay Area television viewers as a veteran news anchor, reporter and talk show host. Since the beginning of his broadcasting career in 1956, he has worked at six television stations: WTTW, Chicago; WLWC, Columbus, Ohio; KNTV, San Jose; KRON and KGO-TV, San Francisco; and KICU, San Jose and held positions in almost every phase of the industry. He co-hosted the daily morning talk show A.M. San Francisco on KGO-TV (ABC) 1982-1987 with his wife, Terry Lowry. LaCosse also hosted the weekly syndicated program “Silicon Valley Business This Week” from 1995-2001. LaCosse has generously given of his time to community and charitable organizations such as: The Janet Pomeroy Center; The Salvation Army; Laguna Honda Volunteers, Inc.; The Community Music Center of San Francisco; St. Luke’s Hospital; Red Cross; He is also active in NATAS and the Broadcast Legends. Fred adds, “I was born and raised in South Bend, Indiana where being a Cub Scout and Boy Scout made you distinguished. What fun!”

Dinner Location: 
Dinner location: tentative Crowne Plaza, Palo Alto

For more information please contact:
Ron Change at (650) 341-5633 x103, or ron.chang@scouting.org

Past Distinguished Citizen Award recipients include:
Justin Knowles, Judy Kleinberg, Marie Chuang, Bill Graham, Bill Long, Wendy Young & Mark Convery, David & Lynn Mitchell, Bill Reller, Bill Floyd, Carol Mayer Marshall & Robert Beresford Williams, Allen Phipps, Franklin “Pitch” Johnson, Jr., and Rebecca (Becky) Morgan, among others.
 
Purpose:
Established by the Boy Scouts of America, the Distinguished Citizen Award recognizes noteworthy and extraordinary leadership of citizens in communities across the United States. Honoring distinguished citizenship delivers a message to our youth that character counts. The lives of distinguished citizens put into place guideposts that serve to inspire our youth to lead, to accept responsibility, and to care about principles and causes beyond self-interest.
 
For over 100 years, the Boy Scouts of America has led the nation in providing citizenship training for American youth. Through the years, Scouting has provided young people with character development programs based on values found in the Scout Oath: duty to God, duty to country, duty to others, and duty to self. Today’s often-heard call for a return to ethical behavior, self-reliance, and caring and concern for others refers precisely to the values expressed in the Scout Law, the bedrock of the movement since 1910.