Rep. Patt Maney receives Eagle Scouts’ highest honor
'I am deeply humbled to receive this award and profess that the service continues; for my community, for my country, as long as the good Lord affords!'
Florida State Rep. Patt Maney, right, pictured with his wife, Caroline Maney, and former Okaloosa County Court Head of Maintenance William James, who started the award nomination process in 2017. “I’ve lived many blessed years, devoted my entire life to service, and this may be my highest honor,” Maney said when receiving the Distinguished Eagle Scout Award.
Republican Rep. Patt Maney, a retired brigadier general and former Okaloosa County judge, received the Distinguished Eagle Scout Award (DESA) during a National Eagle Scout Association (NESA) court of honor, hosted by Scouting America’s Gulf Coast Council.
The DESA is NESA’s highest honor for Eagle Scouts and, out of 2.7 million Eagle Scout recipients, has only been awarded to an estimated 2,500 individuals in 55 years.
The DESA was established in 1969 by the National Eagle Scout Association to recognize Eagle Scouts who achieve extraordinary national-level recognition, fame, or eminence within their profession and/or service to the nation and have a strong record of voluntary service to their community. Awardees are chosen by a committee of former award recipients, to include Neil Armstrong (1973), Steven Spielberg (1987), as well as Ft. Walton Beach native and U.S. Air Force astronaut Dick Covey (2005).
“I’ve lived many blessed years, devoted my entire life to service, and this may be my highest honor,” Maney said. “Though I seldom toot my own horn, service above self has defined every one of my life’s endeavors, whether on the battlefield, the judicial bench or the Florida House floor. My parents and church taught me to leave my community a better place than when I joined it. I am deeply humbled to receive this award and profess that the service continues; for my community, for my country, as long as the good Lord affords!”
Stringent DESA nomination criteria begin with a minimum of 25 years “Time in Service” from the official record date an Eagle Scout rank is earned. The nomination must state specific reasons with supporting facts, such as how the nominee has received extraordinary national-level recognition, fame, or eminence within a specific profession.
Born in Lexington, Kentucky, Maney’s life has centered on service to his country and his community. In addition to achieving his Eagle Scout Award in 1965 as part of Troop 89, Maney also received the British Duke of Edinburgh Gold Award in his youth. He later attended and graduated the University of Kentucky where he served as president of the College Republican Club and then commissioned into the U.S. Army Reserve in 1970 as an Army infantry second lieutenant. Upon completion of his initial active duty, Maney graduated from the University of Louisville Brandeis School of Law and later earned a Masters of International Relations from Troy State University.
He served his country honorably for over 36 years in areas such as Panama, Haiti, Bosnia, and Afghanistan, and retired at the rank of brigadier general. While serving in the U.S. Army Reserve, Maney established a private law practice representing working families in the Florida Panhandle and later served for 29 years as an Okaloosa County court judge. Maney currently serves in the Florida House of Representatives serving District 4 in Okaloosa County.
