Parts excerpted from the Western Region Mustang:
Congratulations to John "Jack" Hess, a past Western Region Chairman, for being honored with the Distinguished Eagle Scout Award. On November 7, the Longs Peak Council hosted the ceremony to honor Mr. Hess for his outstanding achievement, both in and out of Scouting. Jack earned his B.S. in Geosciences from Pennsylvania State University before completing his PhD in Geology in 1974. He has served as the Executive Director of the Division of Hydrologic Sciences, the Vice President for Academic Affairs at the Desert Research Institute, and a Congressional Science fellow to Senator Harry Reid. He currently sits as the Executive Director of the Geological Society of America (GSA) and is a fellow of the National Speleological Society and Cave Research Foundation.
Jack became an Eagle Scout in 1966 and was recognized with the Vigil Honor in 1967. Jack earned his Woodbadge beads in 1987 and was recognized with the Silver Beaver Award in 1988 by the Boulder Dam Area Council. He has served as a chapter and lodge adviser, the W4C Section associate and section adviser, the Area W4 adviser, and was the OA Western Region chairman. Jack served as an incident commander for ArrowCorp5 and SummitCorp projects, served on BSA Jamboree Staff in 2010 and 2013, and was recognized with the OA Distinguished Service Award in 1998 and the Silver Antelope in 2000. Jack currently sits as a member of the national Order of the Arrow committee, the Western Region board, and a member of the BSA National Council. Congratulations Jack!