Scout’s Honor: Eaton named ‘Good Scout of the Year’ by Longhorn Council, Boy Scouts of America

The Longhorn Council, Boy Scouts of America honored Wise County Messenger owner Roy Eaton with the Good Scout of the Year award Tuesday at the Decatur Conference Center. Pictured (left to right) are Tracy Ferguson, Field Director, Longhorn Council BSA, Scout sponsor Don Majka, Roy Eaton and John Yovanovitch. KRISTI BENNETT | WCMESSENGER

The Longhorn Council, Boy Scouts of America (BSA) presented Wise County Messenger owner Roy Eaton with the Good Scout of the Year award Tuesday at the Decatur Conference Center.

The award is presented to citizens for achievements, professionally or as a community leader, who have left an enduring impact on their community, according to BSA press release.

“This really means a lot to me,” Roy Eaton said as he accepted the award. “The Boy Scouts are the foundation of good citizenship and learning great skills.”

Wise County Sheriff Lane Akin presented the award at Wise County Good Scout of the Year Luncheon. Akin began his remarks by recounting the date March 20, 1992. It was the day he met Roy Eaton.

“I was a brand new Texas Ranger in town, but you made me feel at home,” Akin said. “It wasn’t my first time in Decatur — I have driven through here back and forth many times. But that day after talking to you, I felt that this was home. I left that conversation thinking this is the right place for me. We came to Decatur in 1992, and much of that is because of you.”

Akin went on to recall Eaton’s recent Q&A at a Decatur Chamber of Commerce Luncheon, and just how much the name Jeannine Eaton came up when he reflected on their accomplishments as co-owners of the Messenger since 1973.

“It’s the way it should be. Roy Eaton is the way it should be,” Akin said. “He brings so much experience and is so passionate. You can see it in his eyes, you can hear it in his voice. He is passionate about this community.”

There’s a long list of accomplishments that Roy and Jeannine Eaton have shared.

Under their stewardship, The Messenger has won more than 300 awards for excellence in news coverage and advertising, including three National Newspaper Association “General Excellence” awards. He was part of the inaugural class of the Texas Newspaper Foundation Hall of Fame. Eaton’s accomplishments have gone beyond news.

He was named Decatur’s “Citizen of the Year” in 1980 for his work in developing a county wide emergency medical service system, and he was instrumental in the building of the Decatur Conference Center. In 2015 the Library and Research Center at Weatherford College Wise County was named in honor of Roy and Jeannine Eaton. He was also past Texas Press Association President and the recipient of the Frank W. Mayborn Award for Community Leadership award in 2019.

His leadership roles have included president of the Decatur Economic Development Corporation, president of the Decatur Chamber of Commerce, chairman-of-the-board of Wise Health System, chairman of the Decatur Home Rule Charter Commission and chairman of the Decatur Airport Advisory Committee. He also was past president of the Northwest ISD Education Foundation board of directors and the Wise County Water Supply District board of directors (he retired from that post this week.)

Roy and his wife Jeannine are both graduates of Northwest High School and Texas Christian University. They are the parents of three sons and have six grandchildren. They are members of the First United Methodist Church of Fort Worth and the First United Methodist Church of Decatur. 

The BSA council hosts the Wise County Good Scout of the Year Luncheon to bring together local community members who support the BSA’s goal of providing the nation’s foremost youth program of character development and values-based leadership training. 

Honorees model the principles and values expressed in the Scout Oath and Law. Funds raised through event sponsorships and donations at the luncheon directly support local youth Scouting programs. Special thanks go to Bridgeport Lions Club as a First-Class Sponsor and also Don Majka and Rex Hoskins as Scout Sponsors.