William Serbus, a junior at Kimball Area High School, received third place in the State of Minnesota for Scout of the Year.
Scout of the Year is awarded through local V.F.W. chapters that recognize individuals who are Eagle Scouts, Girl Scout Gold Award recipients, Venture Summit Award recipients, or Sea Scout Quartermasters who have risen above their peers in exemplifying the qualities of that rank. They also must demonstrate exemplary citizenship in school, scouting, and the community.
Serbus filled out a lengthy application and provided a school résumé that got sent to the local V.F.W. Scouting Committee. Our local V.F.W. Scouting Committee is run through the Wat-Kim-Valley V.F.W. Post #5460. They chose Serbus’s application as the winner at the local level. As such, he received a scholarship, and his application was passed up to compete at the district level where his application also won, earning him another scholarship, and his application was passed up to the state level of the V.F.W. to compete against applicants from across the state.
At the state of Minnesota level, they award scholarships to the top three winners. Like at the lower levels, these winners can be from among Eagle Scouts, Girl Scout Gold Award recipients, Venture Summit Award recipients, or Sea Scout Quartermasters, but only three scholarships in total are awarded.
Serbus’s application and résumé was voted on by the Minnesota V.F.W. to receive third place and a $1,000 national scholarship qualifying him for Scout of the Year.
The congratulatory letter from the Minnesota V.F.W. read as follows:
“Dear William, It is with great honor that we deliver this Great News! Recently, our Scouting Committee completed the judging of the contest applications. Although every applicant was deserving of this prestigious award, the committee found your résumé and background information to be outstanding; therefore, has named you as the third-place Scout of the Year recipient for the Veterans of Foreign Wars (V.F.W.) Department of Minnesota. Again, congratulations. With outstanding students such as yourself, the future of our country is in very capable hands.”
Serbus’s Eagle Scout project was a double-sided sign for the Kimball Fire Department.
This is the first time a Scout from our district has received this award. The judging is based on school and activity awards, and participation records, including academic achievements, offices, and positions held at school, and honors received. It is also based on scouting records, community service, and five letters of recommendation. Serbus is involved in football, wrestling, baseball, trap shooting, FFA, Arts Club, and National Honor Society. He was also the recipient of Beck’s Player with Heart for Minnesota, Kimball Legion Boys State Representative, and ExCEL winner (Excellence in Community, Education, and Leadership), and heearned his FFA State Degree.
William is the son of Matt and Carly Serbus, grandson of Frank and Cathy Schiefelbein III and Dotte and the late Dennis Serbus, and great-grandson of Frosty and the late Frank Schiefelbein Jr., all of Kimball.
Submitted by Carly Serbus