Public Notice Detail

ST. PAUL, Minn. (June 13, 2000) – Ramsey County District Court Judge John Van de North, Jr., will receive the Bill Spurgeon Award from the Boy Scouts of America at a noon ceremony Wednesday at the St. Paul Radisson Hotel.

The award recognizes Judge Van de North’s work with young people, particularly those who participate in the Boy Scouts Exploring program at Briggs and Morgan in Minneapolis. Van de North started the program six years ago when he practiced law at the firm.

Van de North said he was pleasantly surprised to learn of his award and said he’s thankful that the Indianhead Scouting Board supports programs that give students good career advice. “Anything we can do to help young people achieve their highest goals is wonderful,” Van de North said. “We, as adults, must support our future leaders in their endeavors.”

Exploring matches boys and girls, ages 14 to 21, with adult mentors who give students hands-on experiences in the mentors’ careers and opportunities to learn about career options. More than 5,000 students and their mentors meet twice a month throughout the year.

The Briggs and Morgan Exploring program exposes students to the variety of law careers that are available in the workforce.

“The program either reinforces the inklings kids have toward law or it disabuses them of the false notions they have about the practice of law,” Van de North said. “Students need to see that there’s a lot of nitty-gritty hard work done by lawyers and it’s work that is vital to protecting our rights as citizens.”

A former Boy Scout and Explorer himself, Van de North said the programs helped him in his career. He has served as a Boy Scout counselor, teaches elementary school students through the Junior Achievement program at Dayton’s Bluff School in St. Paul, and mentors students in a reading and writing program at Humboldt Junior High School in St. Paul. This week he spoke to participants in the American Legion Auxiliary Girl’s State Program at Bethel College in St. Paul.

Judge Van de North said he enjoys working with all of these age groups and urges others to get involved with youth mentoring.

Named for William H. Spurgeon, III, a California business leader, lifelong member of the Boy Scouts of America and founder of the Exploring program, the annual award recognizes eight recipients for their contributions to helping young people explore vocations.