2014 -- H 8163

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LC005663

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     STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2014

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H O U S E   R E S O L U T I O N

HONORING ARTHUR KEEGAN FOR 76 YEARS OF INSPIRED SERVICE TO THE BOY

SCOUTS OF AMERICA AND CONGRATULATING HIM FOR RECEIVING THE "GOOD

SCOUT AWARD"

     

     Introduced By: Representatives Morin, Phillips, Casey, Bennett, and Guthrie

     Date Introduced: May 08, 2014

     Referred To: House read and passed

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     WHEREAS, Arthur Keegan began his distinguished scouting career at the age of 12

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when he joined the Boy Scouts of America. His youthful love for all things scouting turned into a

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lifetime commitment as he has served the Boy Scouts of America with loving devotion and

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energetic exuberance for the past 76 years. For his outstanding service to the Boy Scouts of

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America, Mr. Keegan will receive the "Good Scout Award"; and

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     WHEREAS, Mr. Keegan served as a scout for more than six years. While most young

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folks tend to end their scouting careers when they turn 18, for Arthur his adventures in the

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wonderful world of scouting had just begun. He went on to serve in numerous leadership

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positions at the district level, as a committee member, as vice chairman, chairman, unit

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commissioner, assistant district commissioner, and as district commissioner. He later served as

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the Health and Safety Committee Chairman at the council level, as the Activities Committee

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Chairman, and as the Assistant Council Commissioner and the Council Commissioner; and

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     WHEREAS, Mr. Keegan says that the highlight of his scouting career was his

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involvement with numerous national scout jamborees. He worked at twelve jamborees from his

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first national jamboree in 1953, in California, to the most recent jamboree he attended in West

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Virginia; and

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     WHEREAS, Mr. Keegan's father passed away in 1942, when Arthur was just 16 years

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old, and he was forced to leave school and become the primary provider for his family. To

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support his family he worked at various jobs including being a florist, a bartender and working in

 

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an ice cream parlor. Despite the hardships he endured, he always worked hard and impressed his

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superiors. He eventually attained a job working for an electric company and began working his

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way up the ladder; and

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     WHEREAS, Mr. Keegan went on to earn his high school equivalency and attended the

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New England School of Technology to study air conditioning and refrigeration. He later attended

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the University of Rhode Island at night and attained a bachelor's degree in business

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administration. He also went on to become a certified protection professional and graduated from

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the Defense Industrial Security Institute in Richmond, Virginia; and

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     WHEREAS, Mr. Keegan also served the Red Cross as a volunteer for more than fifty

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years, serving as a first-aid instructor and in numerous other positions within that organization.

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He also received numerous awards and honors throughout his life including the Silver Beaver

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Award, the Kiwanis Club Citizen of the Year Award, the District Award of Merit, the Silver

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Antelope Award, the Saint George Emblem, the Ad Altari Dei Medal, the Scouters Key, the

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Wood Badge, the American Red Cross Clara Barton Award, and the Shofar Award from the

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National Jewish Committee. He was married to the late Mary Keegan, and has two children,

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Arthur Keegan Jr., and Eleanor Pierannunzi; now, therefore be it

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     RESOLVED, That this House of Representatives of the State of Rhode Island and

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Providence Plantations hereby honors Arthur Keegan for his 76 years of inspired service to the

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Boy Scouts of America and congratulates him for receiving the "Good Scout Award"; and be it

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further

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     RESOLVED, That the Secretary of State be and hereby is authorized and directed to

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transmit a duly certified copy of this resolution to Arthur Keegan.

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LC005663

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