The Villages 2017 Golden Eagle Dinner honored retired Sumter County Sheriff’s Office Lt. Nehemiah Wolfe and The Villages Regional Hospital Auxiliary Foundation at their annual dinner Tuesday night at Rohan Recreation Center. The event also raised $40,000 for the Central Florida and Greater Tampa Councils of the Boy Scouts of America.
Wolfe was the individual honoree for all he did in his 30 years in law enforcement for youth and The Villages community and all that he still does today. One of his great passions while with the sheriff’s office was educating young people about law enforcement. He supported the D.A.R.E. program and was instrumental in incorporating the G.R.E.A.T. program, Gang Resistance Education and Training.
One of Wolfe’s former high school teachers, Bill Hayes, who encouraged Wolfe to join law enforcement when he was a young man, was in the audience to see him accept the award. They have remained close through the years, and Hayes is a devoted member of the Central Florida Boy Scout Council.
“The Boy Scouts are near and dear to my heart,” said Wolfe. “The Boy Scouts offer youth good morals and values while growing up.. Scouting offers youth a code of conduct that will have an impact on their entire lives and the contributions they will make to society.”
The community honoree was The Villages Regional Hospital Auxiliary Foundation. The award was accepted by Foundation Executive Director Dick Campbell and Board President David Gardner. They were honored for the impact they have had in The Villages by raising money to improve patient services at the hospital and the over $100,000 awarded annually in scholarships for students entering the medical field.
Boy Scouts of America, Central Florida Council, Scout Executive Eric Magendantz thanked the audience for the amount of money raised, the most ever at the annual dinner, telling the audience “One of the best things about the scouts is that it allows kids to practice being an adult before they become adults. They have a safe place to make mistakes and learn.”
