Bishop, Gauthier honored with Whitney M. Young Jr. Service Award

U.S. Rep. Sanford D. Bishop Jr. and WTVM evening anchor Barbara Gauthier were honored Tuesday night at the Scouting America Chattahoochee Council’s 12th annual Whitney M. Young Jr. Service Award Dinner.

The event, held in Columbus, recognized leaders who have made significant contributions to serving underserved youth in the community. News Leader 9’s Roslyn Giles served as master of ceremonies.

Scout Executive and CEO Tanya Dobbins said the award highlights the council’s mission to provide opportunities for young people.

“This award is so important because it gives us the opportunity to show the community the need to help and protect our youth,” Dobbins said.

The Whitney M. Young Jr. Service Award was established by the Boy Scouts of America in 1978 to honor individuals and organizations that have helped expand Scouting to youth from rural or low-income urban backgrounds.

Young, the award’s namesake, was a civil rights leader and longtime executive director of the National Urban League. A trained social worker, he worked to end employment discrimination and pushed for equitable access to economic opportunity. He played a key role in shaping President Lyndon B. Johnson’s War on Poverty programs during the 1960s.

Bishop, who has represented Georgia’s 2nd Congressional District since 1993, was praised for his decades of public service and advocacy on behalf of military families, farmers, and historically underrepresented communities.

Gauthier, a veteran journalist and evening anchor at WTVM, was recognized for her years of service informing and uplifting the Chattahoochee Valley community through local journalism.

The program concluded with a call to continue advancing Young’s legacy of service by ensuring that every child in the Chattahoochee Valley has access to opportunity and support through scouting.