Scouts honor Tallahassee luminaries Al Lawson, Beth and Lawton Langford

The Suwannee River Area Council along with a standing-room-only crowd paid tribute to three of the region’s finest public servants — Congressman Al Lawson and Beth and Lawton Langford — at this year’s Golden Eagle Dinner at FSU’s Dunlap Champions Club in May. 

Established in 2003, the event brings together top business, civic, and political leaders to honor outstanding members of our community and to support scouting. 

This year, guests enjoyed entertaining award presentations by Bill Montford, Rick Grant, Ben Watkins and Molly Thornal who introduced the honorees. All three of these individuals represent the philanthropic effort that emerges from interrelationships among committed corporate, community, and government leaders. 

Congressman Al Lawson was born in Midway Florida, starred in basketball at FAMU, had a brief stint with the Indiana Pacers and Atlanta Hawks, and returned home to coach at FSU and earn a master’s degree in public administration.

As a fierce fighter for us in North Florida, Al served in the Florida Legislature for 28 years where he was known as the “Dean of the Senate.” Since 2016, he has represented Florida’s District 5 in the U.S. Congress.

Beth and Lawton Langford met during an FSU intramural softball game in 1980 and have been a force in our region ever since. They have both carried on the legacy of Lawton’s father, who in his own right was a community giant.

Servant Leadership is a part of their DNA and the list of organizations, boards and charities they both serve on and support would easily fill this page. In conjunction with their Golden Eagle Award, they pledged $50,000 to help fund a new program designed to bring scouting to underserved youth on Tallahassee’s southside.

The annual Golden Eagle Dinner is the single largest fundraising event that supports the scouting programs in Leon and 13 surrounding counties. All proceeds benefit the Suwannee River Area Council, Boy Scouts of America.

The event is organized by a team of volunteers who help identify and recruit corporate sponsors, volunteers, attendees, and donors. 2022 co-chairs were Rick Grant, Ben Watkins, and Bill Montford. 

The 2022 dinner set an all-time record not only in attendance but also in money raised. It far exceeded its goal by raising over $280,000. 

Past Golden Eagle awards have gone to such noted community and state servant leaders as Althemese Barnes, Barney Bishop, Rick & Martha Barnett, Alan and Janegale Boyd, Jeb Bush, Larry Campbell, Steve Evans, Bill & Kathy Atkins Gunter, Toni Jennings, Rick Kearney, Walt McNeil, Willie Meggs, Robert Milligan, Bill Montford, Frank & Beth Moor, Mark O’Bryant, Pat Thomas, Marjorie Turnbull, Ray Solomon, Frank Shaw Jr., and T.K. Wetherell.

The Suwannee River Area Council serves more than 1,100 youth and over 500 registered volunteers in 13 counties throughout our area. Since our last Golden Eagle Event, 41 young men and women earned the rank of Eagle Scout and over 20,000 pounds of food was collected during our Scouting for Food drive.

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