By Mike Goodson
Staff Correspondent
The Greater Alabama Council of The Boy Scouts of America held its annual American Values Dinner on June 24 at the Gadsden Museum of Art.
Three local citizens were recognized for their contributions to scouting – Heather New, Wilbur, “Bubba” Masters and Rodney Passmore.
The event’s keynote speaker was former University of Alabama quarterback John Parker Wilson, who spoke of his days playing for the Crimson Tide.
After leading Hoover High School to Class 6A state football titles in 2002 and 2003, Wilson signed a scholarship with Alabama. He saw limited playing time during his freshman season while backing up starter and Rainbow City native Brodie Croyle.
Wilson started all 12 games for UA in 2006 and 13 games in 2007. In his senior season in 2008, Wilson was again the starting quarterback. After finishing the regular season at 12–0, top-ranked Alabama eventually lost to No. 2 Florida in the SEC Championship Game. When his career at Alabama ended, Wilson held every significant passing record in school history. Wilson also spoke briefly of his playing days in the NFL.
After Wilson concluded his talk he opened the floor for questions. This gave several of the younger scouts a chance to talk to a former major college and NFL quarterback. Following Wilson’s talk, a time was given when attendees were allowed to support the Boy Scouts. This function underwrites the cost of many of the upcoming Boy Scout functions for the year.
