I want to thank Dr. John Reynolds and his wife, Jean, for more than 13 years of devotion to the Boy Scouts of Decatur County.

Jean and John have devoted an incredible amount of time and resources to ensure that every boy had the same opportunity to enjoy all that the Boy Scouts of America offered.

John encouraged 25 of his scouts to reach the rank of Eagle. During the past year, his scouts earned 209 individual merit badges. John has dedicated every Monday night for more than 13 years to Boy Scout Troop 502 sponsored by the Bainbridge Rotary Club. John and Jean treat each scout as if they were their own children.

I can still clearly remember my first visit to Troop 502 trying to determine which troop was the best fit for my son. During the weekly flag raising ceremony, a few of the scouts were not respecting the flag as they should. John immediately stopped the ceremony to tell the boys about our men and women in uniform who were fighting for that flag and how our grandfathers had died fighting for the flag. He demanded the boys to treat the flag with the utmost respect. John had my respect from that point forward.

Dr. John Reynolds recently turned the leadership of Troop 502 over to the new scoutmaster, Billy Walker. John, I thank you for your years of service to the community. You are much appreciated.

Bill Burke

Bainbridge, Ga.