Video: The Changing Family: Father and Son Eagle Scouts

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COLUMBUS, Miss. (WCBI) – It’s the highest rank in all of scouting.

For 100 years, hardworking, thrifty and honest young men have been named Eagle Scouts.

It takes a tremendous amount of time and effort, but the rewards can last a life time.

It was back in 1912 that a 17 year old from Long Island, New York first earned the rank of Eagle Scout.

In the century since, more than 2 million boys followed in Arthur Rose Eldred’s footsteps.

Dr. Bill Kibler, a Vice President at Mississippi State, became an Eagle Scout in 1972.

He says, ” Scouting teaches important values for all of us. When I was a young kid, it was fun. It was outdoors, but it was also teaching me a lot of values in terms of how to take care of myself, how to be self reliant, how to build life long friendships. ”

When Dr. Kiblers young son Austin decided he wanted to be an Eagle Scout, he was happy to help.

Austin remembers what he enjoyed most about his efforts, ” Probably getting to spend time with my dad, because the time that I would used to not get to spend with him because of just work related stuff, he took time out to do scouts with me.”

Austin and his dad spent countless hours serving their community and earning 21 merit badges.

Austin recalls, ” Carpentry, woodwork and all 3 citizenships.”

I asked, ” Do you feel like you can tackle almost anything now?”

Austin answered, ” Yes sir.”

And Austin is only a high school freshman.

Now, he joins a brotherhood that includes more than its fair share of American heroes.

And once you’re Eagle Scout, well, scouts from as far back as the1940’s were recently back in uniform for a 100th Anniversary celebration at Mississippi University for Women.

Dr. Kibler sums it up, ” My favorite bumper sticker of all time is one that said, America is returning to values that scouting never left.”

Sounds like we should be in good hands for the next hundred years.

Famous Eagles scouts include, Gerald Ford, Dirty Jobs’ Mike Rowe, and M-U-W President Dr. Jim Borsig.