University of Wisconsin - Extension

Four Lakes Council, Boy Scouts of America, will honor Joan Palmer and five other top volunteers with the Silver Beaver Award at the council's annual dinner, May 17, 2000 at the Nakoma Country Club in Madison. Joan is a media specialist for the Program Development and Evaluation unit of University of Wisconsin-Extension Cooperative.

The Silver Beaver is the highest award presented to adult volunteers on the council level. This year's recipients represent the top leadership of more than 3,000 adult volunteers in Four Lakes. The council serves more than 7,000 young men and women, ages 6 to 21, in Dane, Iowa, Sauk, Columbia and Richland Counties.

This year's recipients are Joan and Ron Buchholz, Tony Lazewski, Michael Kleckner and Tom Crawford of Madison and Michael Heitke of Stoughton. Together these six individuals represent more than 175 years of service to Scouting.

Joan is well known for her years of leadership on PowWow staff, Mohawk 500, Cub Scout training, camporees, Cub Scout shooting sports and as day camp director for the first council day camps to get BSA Camp School certification. She developed Cub Scout Heritage Days and the EVENT Conference for Exploring/Venturing.

Joan has provided leadership for Cub Scout Pack 15, chartered to Queen of Peace Catholic Parish, as a Tiger Cub Coach, Assistant Cubmaster, Cubmaster and Den Leader Coach. In Troop 420, she served as Mrs. Claus on the Santa Train and as advancement chair, working with more than 40 Eagles. She was instrumental in reorganizing Troop 15 and served as its first Scoutmaster and Assistant Scoutmaster. Her troop was a finalist for the National Catholic Committee on Scouting, earned the Pope Paul VI and the Gilwell Staff Award at summer camp. She is committee chair of Venturing Crew 420, which has among its members the first council recipient of the Venturing Gold and Silver Awards. All crew members have earned the Venturing Bronze Award. She currently chairs the council Exploring/ Venturing Committee.

She earned the Tiger Cub Coach Award, Cubmaster Award, Cubscouter Award, Boy Scout Training Award, Scoutmaster Award of Merit, the Scoutmaster's Key, Exploring Training Award, Venturing Training Award, District Award of Merit and completed Woodbadge training.

Setting the example, she is a Girl Scout Cadette/Senior Leader (having earned the G.S. Curved Bar as a youth member), active in Midvale and Lincoln School programs and a volunteer for the Madison School Forest.

Joan's husband, Dan Heindl, is a Venturing Advisor. She has three children, Matthew, an Eagle Scout; George, a Life Scout; and Barbara, a Girl Scout Silver Award recipient.