CBC Awarded For 30 Years In Scouting

This year marked 30 years of association with the Boy Scouts for Capitol Broadcasting Company. Recently, members of the Post 5 Explorer Post presented Jim Goodmon with a plaque citing CBC’s dedication to scouting. Post 5 holds the honor as the longest running continuous career development unit in the country.

Post 5 is a member of the Learning for Life program, a subsidiary of the Boy Scouts of America, and is associated with the Occoneechee Council of Boy Scouts here in Raleigh. Youth between the ages of 14-20 are eligible to participate in Post 5 to learn about broadcasting.

The Boy Scouts of America established the Explorer program to give teens, both male and female, a chance to explore different areas of career interest. Community corporations sponsor Explorer Posts and help develop leadership and responsibility. At WRAL-TV, the Explorers focus on photography, broadcasting, writing, editing, and production. Since 1970, they’ve been gaining experience in television and web publishing and work with professionals in the industry as well as getting hands-on experience with

Post 5 Members presented CBC’s award to CBC President & CEO Jim Goodmon. (left to right) FOX50’s Paul Pope, Post 5 President Daniel Hong District Exploring Exeuctive Patrick Hefferan, Goodmon, WRAL-TV’s Clarence Williams.

professional equipment. You can check out their work through the WRAL online site at: wral-tv.com/post5.

Originally, Post 5 focused on scouting and consisted of an all-male membership. During the mid-70’s, the Post began producing documentaries and then began producing “Post 5 Reports,” a short-lived 30-minute interview program, in 1979. As local high schools began teaching classes in broadcasting, Post 5 became increasingly popular. The membership has since opened to females.

Hundreds of students moved from their Post 5 experience to careers in broadcasting. Several of those are right here at WRAL, including chief photographer Richard Adkins, producer/photographer Rick Armstrong, master control operator Tommie Bland and director Dave Henderson.

Jim Goodmon, recipient of several individual awards from the Occoneechee Council, actually co-founded Post 5 when he was still Operations Manager at WRAL-TV. Powell Kidd, at that time an engineer at the station, was his co-founder. Clarence Williams now serves as the senior adviser to the group, along with Paul Pope, who also manages the FOX 50 Post.

The Occoneechee Council bestowed Goodmon with the Distinguished Citizen Award on May 25, 1994, the highest honor the Boy Scouts can give. Former President George Bush and President Bill Clinton sent Goodmon letters of recognition on the occasion. Goodmon also received the Spirit of Scouting Award in 1998. Paul Pope holds his share of Boy Scout awards as well; he has the Whitney Young award and the Silver Beaver Award, two of the other most prestigious awards. Clarence Williams recently received recognition for this extraordinary dedication and commitment to Post 5, having served as its leader for eight years now.