Hank Jones, former superintendent of Troy City Schools, was recognized Thursday as the guest of honor at the Troy Boy Scout Golden Eagle Dinner, the annual fundraiser for Boy Scouts in this district.

“You just can’t say enough about Hank Jones,” said Donna Horn, chairman of the dinner. “He just went over and beyond. Every child and parent was treated as an individual person, not as part of the school.”

Jones began his career in education in Troy at Elm Street Elementary and ended as superintendent at Troy City Schools, retiring in 2003. He continued to have a part in education, but he was not longer with Troy City Schools.

“I think children have a very special place,” Jones said. “It’s always been fun to go into schools, whether it was where I was teaching, principal or superintendent, to watch what they are doing, observe and interact with them. I’ve been blessed to be able to have those kinds of interactions for a long time.”

Jones said that it was an honor to be recognized at the Troy Boy Scout Golden Eagle Dinner.

“The scouts have a special place because so many scouts have done so many projects for Troy City Schools, and as principal, it was fun listening to them explain what they wanted to do and watch them do it. It was always a project that would be an improvement to my school,” Jones said. “That was important to me.”

One Eagle Scout shared his project that gave him his Eagle Merit Badge, hoping to inspire the Boy Scouts present at the dinner.

Joel Kervin, a sophomore at Troy University became an Eagle Scout in March 2014 after he built a playground of Oak Grove United Methodist Church.

“It’s cool to see something that is still used today,” Kervin said. “Kids play on it every Sunday. Hopefully I’ve inspired [other Scouts] to give back to the community like they give back to us.”

Kervin has been involved in Scouts since he was a Cub Scout in the first grade. He said that he learned much more than outdoor things. He learned a lot about himself, responsibility and growing up.

“It just gave us a good foundation to build off of and become men,” he said.

He said it was good to see so many people come to the dinner to support the Scouts.

Before the dinner, Horn said the goal of the dinner was to raise $23,000 for the Scouts. When the dinner concluded, the funds raised totaled at $25,500.