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Austin Best Scout Fund honors Co-op leader’s son
AgCentral Cooperative Chief Operations Officer Brent Best and wife Terri suffered the untimely death of their son, Austin, 14, on Sept. 13, 2020. The couple has established the Austin Best Scout Fund at Troop 88 sponsored by New Providence Presbyterian Church in Maryville to honor his memory.
Austin was a high-achieving student at Maryville Junior High. His favorite subject was history, and his dream was to become a physician. He loved the outdoors and spent hours in the water at beaches, rivers, and creeks where he enjoyed surfing, knee boarding, tubing, and skiing. In the summer of 2020, he tried his hand at farming, growing sweet corn and peppers to save money for a pickup truck. He also enjoyed outdoor activities like deer and dove hunting. When not outside, Austin made knives, worked out with weights, and played Xbox with his friends.
Though he found joy in these things, Brent and Terri say his favorite activity was scouting. He earned the rank of Eagle Scout on July 16, 2019. As a scout, he held the positions of Quartermaster, Troop Guide, and Assistant Senior Patrol Lead. He earned 48 merit badges, which well-exceeded the requirement for the Eagle rank, and he was a member of the Order of the Arrow. Austin recognized scouting as a means to build character and help others through service such as feeding the hungry and helping senior citizens. In fact, his Eagle project was on the grounds of a senior living facility.
During his many trips to Camp Buck Tom’s on the banks of Watt’s Barr Lake in Roane County, Austin noticed some of his fellow scouts could not afford camp. He asked to use his birthday and Christmas money to pay their way. This awareness of the needs of others was rooted in his religious beliefs. He was baptized as a member of Fairview United Methodist church on May 5, 2018.
“Through memorial donations to the Austin Best Scout Fund, we hope to provide scouting opportunities to those who can’t afford to participate,” says Brent. “We want this fund to honor what the accomplishment, fellowship, and mentors of scouting meant to Austin.”
In addition to providing opportunities for those scouts, the fund will also be used to purchase adequate, up-to-date camping gear to ensure a safe and fun scouting opportunity, Brent adds. Propane lanterns, cooking equipment, backpacks, canoe trailers, camp tables, and more are among the items Brent hopes to provide
“In the book of Isaiah, God declares, ‘I am about to do a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?’” says Brent. “The memory of Austin’s smiles, friendliness to others, and the joys he experienced will always be with us. Through the Austin Best Scout Fund, God is doing a new thing. As we mourn his death in this way, we can ‘perceive it.’”
Visit https://www.austinbestsf.org/our-purpose to learn about the fund and make donations.
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