Former scouts, and supporters of Scouting America enjoyed an early breakfast Monday as the Choctaw Area Council kicked off its 2025 fundraising campaign Tuesday with the 17th annual Eagle Club Recognition Breakfast at Faith Baptist Church in Meridian.

 

The breakfast, held each year to recognize contributors of $250 or more to the Choctaw Area Council, serves as a celebration of local scouting and launches the organization’s fundraising efforts for the year.

 

James Hulgan, executive and CEO of the Choctaw Area Council, which includes Newton, Neshoba, Kemper, Lauderdale and Clarke counties, as well as Butler County, Alabama, said 2024 was an exciting year in scouting, and 2025 is looking like it too will be busy.

 

“It is a remarkable event for us to be here today, to see all these business leaders here to come together to support scouting,” he said. “Scouting is not just another thing to do. We’re instilling the values into our youth of leadership, outdoor education, adventure and all those things.”

 

Scouting teaches young people to be productive citizens, Hulgan said, and even simple events, such as the upcoming Pinewood Derby, can have a lasting impact on someone’s life. Scouts also work to give back to the community, providing roughly 12,000 hours of community service to the area over the past year. The economic impact of that service is more than $120,000, he said.

 

“You just never know where it’s going to take us,” he said. “You know, this program goes way beyond the track, offering all kinds of service hours to young people in our community.”

 

In the upcoming year, the Choctaw Area Council is working to organize two new venture crews, which are for scouts ages 14-20 who want to participate in more things throughout the community. The council is also working to reopen Binachi Shooting Sports, which has been closed for work. The range is expected to reopen with new machines on March 1.

 

“As we reflect on the achievements of our young scouts, you can’t forget the essence of scouting and what it does for young people, the guiding journey that allows them to fulfill things they may not be able to fulfill in their daily lives,” he said. “I know that as myself growing up and scouting, I had the opportunity to get a lot of things that I would have never gotten in general life.”

 

Serving as keynote speaker for Tuesday’s breakfast was retired Chief Warrant Officer Michael J. Durant. A black hawk helicopter pilot, Durant was part of a U.S. operation in Somalia in 1993 when his helicopter was shot down and overrun by hostile forces. The only surviving member of his crew, he was held captive for 11 days.

 

Durant’s story has since been shared in the book “Black Hawk Down,” by Mark Bounds, and the 2001 film with the same name.

 

In sharing his story, Durant pointed to key lessons about leadership that apply to both military and business situations. Leadership is about responsibility, he said, and taking responsibility for actions. Leadership is also understanding that there are key people or tasks in the workflow that must be successful for everything else to function, he said.

 

In his case, Durant said a request was made for armored carriers, an AC-130 gunship and a tank to assist with the mission, all of which were denied.

 

“When you have people in harm’s way, putting their lives on the line, and you make decisions based on political implications, that’s just wrong,” he said. “We can not allow that to happen.”

 

In the more than 30 years since his time as a prisoner in Somalia, Durant has gone on to be a leader in business, helped educate military pilots about helicopter maneuvering, published a book and more. It took several years, he said, to come to terms with what had happened, but he has since accepted it as God’s will.

 

“I’m truly blessed to be where I am today. I have 30 extra years of a life that I never thought I would see, and I appreciate the opportunity to represent our military and certainly Task Force Ranger to share this story,” he said.