Salvador Fernández Beltrán D.J.C. (born at

Matanzas Matanzas (Cuban ; ) is the capital of the Cuban province of Matanzas Province, Matanzas. Known for its poets, culture, and Afro-American religions, Afro-Cuban folklore, it is located on the northern shore of the island of Cuba, on the Bay of Mat ...

Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...

– 1987 in

Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...

) was among the first in

the Americas The Americas, sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North America and South America.'' Webster's New World College Dictionary'', 2010 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio. When viewed as a sin ...

to receive

Wood Badge Wood Badge is a Scout leader training program, first implemented by The Scout Association, The Boy Scouts Association in the United Kingdom in 1919 and subsequently adopted, with variations, by some other Scout organizations. Wood Badge Course ...

training, at

Gilwell Park Gilwell Park is The Scout Association's principal camp site and Scout Activity Centre, activity centre in the United Kingdom. It is a site, located in Essex in the Sewardstonebury area of Waltham Abbey within Epping Forest near the border with ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. He was the first to receive honorary appointment as Deputy Camp Chief of Gilwell. With this influence, the Scouts of Cuba began to use short trousers like those worn by the English. Fernandez Beltrán was known for his work within the Scouts of Cuba, but served

World Scouting Scouting or the Scout Movement is a youth social movement, movement which became popularly established in the first decade of the twentieth century. It follows the Scout method of informal education with an emphasis on practical outdoor activi ...

in several capacities. With the support of the

Boy Scouts of America Scouting America is the largest scouting organization and one of the largest List of youth organizations, youth organizations in the United States, with over 1 million youth, including nearly 200,000 female participants. Founded as the Boy Sco ...

, he was appointed the International Bureau's Traveling Commissioner for Latin America in November 1947, the first professional Scout executive, whose operations center was first in

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

and then in Cuba. He later served as General Secretary of the ''Inter-American Advisory Committee'', assisting in the creation of the InterAmerican Scout Office, the divisional office of the World Scout Bureau of the

World Organization of the Scout Movement The World Organization of the Scout Movement (WOSM ) is the largest and, after the Order of World Scouts (formed in 1911), is the second-oldest international organization in the Scout Movement, having been established in 1922. It has 176 members. ...

, founded and maintained with headquarters in

Havana Havana (; ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.J. S. Wilson Colonel John Skinner "Belge" Wilson (1888–1969) was a Scottish scouting luminary and friend and contemporary of Robert Baden-Powell, 1st Baron Baden-Powell, General Baden-Powell, recruited by him to head the World Organization of the Scout M ...

took a six-week tour of the Americas, for assessment and planning, covering 23,000 miles and 110 hours of flying time. In 1955 he held the first Wood Badge training in Venezuela. At the beginning of the 1960s Fernandez Beltrán was appointed to the office of Deputy Secretary of the World Organization of the Scout Movement in

Geneva, Switzerland Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the capital of the Republic and Ca ...

. Fernández Beltrán was awarded the

Bronze Wolf The Bronze Wolf Award is an award presented by the World Organization of the Scout Movement for outstanding service by an individual to the Scout Movement. Just over 400 people have received the Bronze Wolf since its creation in 1935. WOSM has r ...

, the only distinction of the

, awarded by the

World Scout Committee The World Organization of the Scout Movement (WOSM ) is the largest and, after the Order of World Scouts (formed in 1911), is the second-oldest international organization in the Scout Movement, having been established in 1922. It has 176 members. ...

for exceptional services to world Scouting, in 1957. He retired to Venezuela where he died in 1987.

Published works

*RSA. EL GRUPO SCOUT, Mexico, Scout Interamericana, April 1964, Escultismo, publicaciones periodicas

References

* ''Scouting Round the World'', John S. Wilson, first edition, Blandford Press 1959 p. 135 233-235 240 275 282-283

External links

*http://ve.scouts-es.net/recursosadultos/galeria.html *https://web.archive.org/web/20091027121211/http://www.geocities.com/valerina_scout/scoutar/historia.html World Scout Committee members Scouting pioneers Year of birth missing 1987 deaths Recipients of the Bronze Wolf Award Scouting and Guiding in Cuba {{Scout-bio-stub