Mullikin to be honored by Boy Scouts of America
March 22, 2016
CAMDEN, SC – The Boy Scouts of America (BSA), Indian Waters Council, will name Tom Mullikin the area-BSA’s “Kershaw County Citizen of the Year” for 2016 during ceremonies at the historic Robert Mills Courthouse in Camden, May 26.
The award recognizes an outstanding individual from Kershaw County who exemplifies the virtues and ideals of Scouting in his or her life and life’s work, says Larry Parrish, the BSA’s Wateree District senior executive. “And Tom Mullikin is probably one of the most-deserving award recipients we’ve ever had,” he adds.
Scout Executive Doug Stone, who directs the BSA’s Indian Waters Council (eight counties in the Midlands of S.C.), says, “Tom indeed exemplifies Scouting, and his amazing background as an adventurer and his leadership statewide toward serving is remarkable.”
Senior U.S. District Judge Joseph F. Anderson, Jr. – who also serves as pres. of the Indian Waters Council – agrees. “Tom Mullikin epitomizes all that Scouting stands for: Adventure, the great outdoors, devotion to God and country,” he says. “The Boy Scout program, as well as the greater South Carolina community in general, are all indebted to him for his leadership and commitment.”
A Camden-based attorney, environmental expert, global-expedition leader, martial artist, and military officer (a former U.S. Army officer who today holds the two-star rank of a major general and command of the all-volunteer S.C. State Guard), among other titles; Mullikin is on track to set one of history’s great exploratory records, that of becoming the first human to have both climbed the world’s seven great summits and recorded SCUBA dives in all five oceans. He has already logged the dives – including earning a certification as a polar diver for ice dives in the Arctic and Antarctic Oceans – and he has achieved successful climbs of many of the world’s highest mountains.
The summits achieved by Mullikin thus far include Mt. Elbrus (the highest in Europe), Mt. Kilimanjaro (Africa’s highest), Mt. Kosciuszko (Australia’s highest) and Mt. Aconcagua (South America’s highest) as well as mountain ranges across North America; all accomplished while studying the world’s fragile ecosystems.
Beyond his worldwide expeditions – all of which are interrelated with his other endeavors – Mullikin is an accomplished parachutist who has earned jump wings from U.S. and several foreign airborne forces. He serves as a university professor (Coastal Carolina University) and he is the founder and president of Global Eco Adventures (GEA), a non-profit organization dedicated to studying, informing the public, and educating policymakers and others about the Earth’s most fragile ecosystems and man’s responsibility to those systems. An extension of GEA is the GEA Adventure Club, a program wherein middle-school-aged adolescents receive academic instruction and applied knowledge of outdoor activities; inspiring within them a love of the outdoors and respect for the environment, as well as a newfound development of – and appreciation for – physical fitness.
The BSA is not the only organization or individual(s) recognizing an unusual sense of service and drive in the man. “Tom Mullikin, and those like him who have climbed many of the world’s great summits, is a model of perseverance,” says retired U.S. Marine Maj. Gen. James E. Livingston, a recipient of the Medal of Honor, the nation’s highest award for combat valor.
Mullikin has authored five books and many articles; and he has produced two full-length film documentaries (earning Telly Awards). An advisor and campaign manager to senior members of Congress, U.S. presidential candidates (both Republican and Democrat parties) and other government leaders; Mullikin has also lectured at various conferences and universities throughout the world.
The reception and ceremony honoring Mullikin as “Citizen of the Year” will be held at the Robert Mills Courthouse, 607 Broad Street in Camden, May 26, at 6:30 p.m. The event will also serve as a fundraiser for the Boy Scouts. For tickets or for more information, phone (803) 960-2934 or email Parrish at [email protected].
