Scouting, Volume 68, Number 1, January-February 1980 Page: 49
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Man
with a
Mission
BY WILLIAM SIMON
Photos by Matt Bradley
If you think that close-knit families,
community service, and helping
others are ideals found only in Nor-
man Rockwell paintings, then take a
look at Ernest Keyes, committee chairman
ofTroop 372 in Grenada, Miss. You might
just become a born-again believer in the
"old values" and what they can still
accomplish.
Keyes is just one of many. There's an
entire community that shares his beliefs.
And the heart and soul of that community
is the First New Hope Baptist Church.
That was the birthplace of 372, the first black troop in Grenada,
and Ernest Keyes's involvement with the Scouting movement 18
years ago. "Rev. C. C. Coleman had just become our new
pastor," Keyes recalls. "He was from Tupelo where he had been
a member of the Scout council's executive board. That man
loved Scouting. He was the one who wanted the church to
charter a troop. So, he started a one-man crusade by telling the
parents what it means for the boys to be involved in Scouting.
His excitement motivated us."
Just how contagious that enthusiasm was, Keyes soon found
out after the Rev. Coleman asked him to become troop com-
mittee chairman. That was almost two decades ago and, still
committee chairman, Keyes's respect for Scouting has only
grown.
During those years, Ernest Keyes made a dramatic shift in
careers, from junior high school principal to banker. But he's
never changed his opinion about helping others. Despite the tens
of thousands of dollars he handles as a loan officer for The
Grenada Bank, the most satisfying and most important invest-
ments Keyes makes are the personal ones of time and energy that
he spends on community service.
No small investment, as it turns out. In addition to troop
committee chairman, Keyes is a member of the advisory
committee for mental health and retardation, a board member of
(Left) The Scouts at New Hope Baptist Church's Troop 372 try out
their first aid skills with a big assist from their friend Ernest Keyes.
Scouting January/February 1980
During 18 years as
Troop 372's chairman,
Ernest Keyes has never
forgotten that a quality
program takes quality
people to run it.
the Community Services Administra-
tion, and in his church, chairman of
the deacon board, Sunday school
superintendent, and church treasurer.
It makes for a hectic life, with some-
times as many as three meetings an
evening. But for Keyes it means more
than merely doing his "civic duty."
His enthusiasm for community work
provides the kind of pleasure that
other middle-age men find in bass
fishing or bowling. One of the
proudest tributes to his "hobby" of
helping others hangs on the den wall at home — a gold plaque
with the following inscription: "Religious Award, Presented to
Ernest Keyes for 45 years of Christian Service."
If helping others is satisfying, then helping youngsters in
Scouting provides a special satisfaction. And it's one he's been
particularly successful with. "The troop committee," says
District Executive Dean Hancock, who works closely with Keyes
and his fellow Scouters, "is strongest in getting the community
behind it and getting the boys involved in Scouting. One reason
it's been so successful is that the most respected men in the
community work with the troop.
"Troop 372 goes after a quality Scouting program and has for
years and years. It realized long ago that a quality program takes
quality people to run it."
That's a source of strength that brings quick praise from
Keyes. "We've got excellent committee members," he says.
"They're interested in the boys and they want to help. And as far
as a Scoutmaster, I don't think we could find one more dedicated
than Dunston Harbin. Whatever he needs, he just has to name it
and we'll get it."
Earl Ammons, also a 17-year veteran of the troop committee
agrees. "Dunston is going to meet with those boys on Tuesday
night come hell or high water. I don't think there's any human
being that loves children more than Dunston Harbin. I tell you, if
everybody was like him, you could burn down all the jails; the
lawyers wouldn't have any jobs, and we wouldn't need any
police." (continued on page 64)
49
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Boy Scouts of America. Scouting, Volume 68, Number 1, January-February 1980, periodical, January 1980; Irving, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth353538/m1/49/: accessed April 23, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Boy Scouts of America National Scouting Museum.