Boy Scouting celebrates its 100th anniversary in America this year, and Douglasville pack trainer Russell Turner has participated most of those years. This month marks Turner’s 65th year in Scouting.

“Scouting trains a boy in his future endeavors,” Turner said. “It gives him an idea what kind of work he wants to do. I wanted to build. I ended up in engineering, building bridges for the state.”

Now Turner works with first-grade boys and their parents in Pack 626 at Bright Star United Methodist Church.

“To me, he’s a genuine example of what we all ought to be about,” said Charles Hanna, a fellow Scouting volunteer. “Russell Turner has served, I guess, on every type of leadership program there is: instruction, youth protection. He’s one of the most active people I know of. He’s a member of the Friends of Sweetwater Creek State Park, very active with those folks for a number of years. He was an active proponent of Angel Food Ministries; he got the Scouts involved. We used to go help on distribution day so my Scouts could get some service time.”

Turner has become local Scouting’s go-to man.

“He came to my rescue at Pack 900,” Hanna said. “We were needing somebody to work with the little guys, the Tiger Cubs. I lassoed him into that. He’s become somewhat the mainstay. Most of the boys in Scouting in Douglas County had a lot of contact with Russell Turner.”

Hanna related that Turner joined the Boy Scouts in Macon at age 12.

“Even in Korea he was an active member in Scouting, when he was in the Army. He was active at whatever base he got stationed at,” Hanna said. “He’s the kind of quiet guy that plugs away on behalf of our kids for years — 65 of them.”