Local Home Builder Receives Prestigious “North Star Award” for Service to Scouting

Virginia Beach, Va. – Tara Preston, president and owner of Preston Homes, Inc. and an active member of the Chesapeake Rotary Club, has received Scouting America’s North Star Award.

Ms. Preston, her company, and contractor connections have served the youth of Tidewater Council by being instrumental in constructing the new Fred W. Beazley Aquatics Center at Pipsico Scout Reservation in Surry County, Virginia. Her efforts have defrayed costs and moved a project along in ways that minimized disruption to camp operations.

Her team converted an old pool center with open changing rooms and showers and inadequate office space into a facility that allows better service to Scouts. The new Camp Lions Aquatic Center has individual shower rooms, changing stalls, and new office space to deliver a formidable Aquatics program at Pipsico Scout Reservation. The Fred Beazley Aquatics Center will serve more than 1,000 Scouts and Scouters each summer in addition to year-round programming.

The North Star Award is a high-level award for non-registered volunteers who have made a significant contribution to Scouting. Tidewater Council presents the award on behalf of the Scouting America National Court of Honor. This award is on the same level as Scouting America’s Silver Beaver Award, which recognizes registered Scouters for their distinguished service. The North Star Award’s purpose is to recognize non-Scouters.

Preston received the North Star Award at the ribbon-cutting of the Beazley Aquatic Center on October 2, 2025.

About Scouting America Tidewater Council

Established in 1911, Tidewater Council is the fifth oldest Scouting America council in the United States. Today, the council serves approximately 4,000 youth and 1,700 adult volunteers in the Virginia cities of Chesapeake, Norfolk, Portsmouth, and Virginia Beach, and the North Carolina counties of Camden, Chowan, Currituck, Dare, Gates, Pasquotank, and Perquimans. To learn more about Tidewater Council or to sign your child up for Scouting, visit TidewaterBSA.com, email james.parnell@scouting.org, or call 757-497-2688.

About Scouting America

Scouting America provides the nation’s foremost youth program of character development and values-based leadership training, which helps young people be “Prepared. For Life.^®”

Scouting America welcomes all of America’s youth into its programs. Scouting aims to give them fantastic experiences in the outdoors, and elsewhere, where they can grow in a safe environment. More than 130 million Americans have participated in Scouting’s programs since its founding in the United States in 1910. Today, more than one million youth are served by 477,000 dedicated adult volunteers in local councils nationwide.

To learn more about Scouting America’s mission, visit Scouting.org.