Boy Scouts of America 2018 Distinguished Citizen Awards Dinner Honors Outstanding Community Members

2018 Honorees

  1. (above) Tom Garvey
  2. (above) Steve & Karen Bowman
  3. (above) Gary Singleterry

Boy Scouts of America will be honoring local citizens at the 2018 Distinguished Citizen Awards Dinner to be held on the evening of Thursday, September 13th at The Canoe Brook Country Club at 6:30 pm. This year’s honorees are Tom Garvey, Karen & Steve Bowman, and Gary Singleterry. The event recognizes these four outstanding citizens for their community service, as evidenced by their leadership and interests within the community, and for their embodiment of the values of the century old Scout Oath and Law in their personal and professional lives. The event co-chairs are Karl Hersch, Principal, Strategy & Operations, Deloitte Consulting LLP and Al Lord, Founder & CEO, Lexerd Capital Management LLC.

Tom Garvey is retired after a thirty-five year career with J.P. Morgan/Chase Bank.Tom was Vice Chairman of Chase Mortgage Corporation and President of Chase Retail Mortgage banking. Since retiring from J.P.Morgan, Tom has led several volunteer and charitable organizations including acting as President of the Summit Taxpayers Association (STA) for five years; acting as the assistant coach of the Summit Women’s High School basketball team and serving as a board member of the Summit Speech School. Tom currently is chairperson of the finance committee at St. Teresa of Avila Church and School. Tom has also spent much of the past five years as the Capital Campaign Chair raising several million dollars to provide dignity, food and shelter for the sick and poor at the Kevin Guest House in Buffalo, New York.  Kevin Guest House is particularly noted as the inspiration for creation of the Ronald McDonald hospitality houses nationwide. Additionally, Tom is a Trustee of St. Bonaventure University in Olean, New York and is actively involved in the University’s athletic endeavors and Franciscan mission activities.

Karen Bowman is an Audit Partner at Deloitte. Her current and past volunteer activities include serving on the audit committee of the Summit Educational Foundation, leadership roles at Central Presbyterian Church, committee member of the Fort Worth Economic Development Council, Summit YMCA Laugh Out Loud planning committee, Chair of the Banking Committee for the American Chamber of Commerce in both Singapore and Hong Kong, member of the Women’s Advisory Board of the Girl Scouts Council of the Nation’s Capital Area, Camp CEO program of the Girl Scouts Council of the Nation’s Capital, member of Leadership Greater Washington, audit committee chairman and finance committee member of the Fairfax County Virginia Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors, Head of the Finance Committee of the Tahirih Justice Center, and member of the Los Angeles YMCA Board of Directors.

Steve Bowman currently serves as Common Councilman for Ward 2 in Summit and was previously a City of Summit Zoning Board member. He serves on Safety and Works committees as well as Summit Downtown Inc, the Joint Meeting committee of Union and Essex County and the NPSM Emergency Communication Management Board.  Steve is an Elder at Central Presbyterian Church and teaches Sunday school.  Steve serves as the President of the Board of Crestview Swim Club. He previously coached SJBS softball and was a volunteer at Franklin Elementary School.   Steve also previously served on the Board of Directors of the Hong Kong Trenchless Technology Society and was the Canterwood Homeowners Association President.

Gary Singleterry is currently an Investment Director of GAM, an international investment management firm based in Zurich, Switzerland. He is a member of a team that oversees investments of approximately $2 billion, specializing in mortgage-backed and asset-backed securities. Gary has served for several years as the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Plainfield Christian Science Church, Independent.  He is also founder and trustee of the Wellspring Foundation, which was established to promote Christian education. Gary earned the Eagle Scout Rank, the highest rank in Scouting, in Portland, Oregon in 1963.

Funds raised at the Distinguished Citizen Awards Dinner will benefit the Boy Scouts of America’s STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) programs. The Boy Scouts of America has enhanced STEM content in every facet of Scouting from summer camp to the pinewood derby, by developing programs that explore the STEM principles behind familiar Scouting activities. The BSA’s STEM initiative gives Scouts an opportunity to explore relevant skills and experiences and to be recognized for their achievements. The BSA’s aim is to expose youth to new opportunities and help them develop the STEM skills critical for the competitive world marketplace. Further funds will be raised at the event for Scouts in underserved areas of New Jersey to experience summer camp and enjoy the Scouting program.

For more information on Scouting in the area, attending and/or supporting the event, contact Jennifer Volz, Sr. Development Director, at 973-765-9322 ext. 249 and/or jennifer.volz@scouting.org.