Allen Andrew Hernandez, son of Theresa Willis (who is Charles and Peggy Parkes' second daughter) received the Boy Scout Medal of Merit presented by the National Court of Honor on Wednesday, April 17, 2008 in Phoenix for action taken in August 2007, when he was still a Cub Scout. Only an average of 91 of these medals are awarded each year in the whole United States, so it was quite the honor. Allen joked about how it was the first award he recieved as a Boy Scout and it was the biggest.
Here is the story of what happened from mom's point of view...
Sunday morning, August 12, 2007 at approximately 9:00 AM I was preparing my family to drive to church. Allen, a Webelos Scout at the time, had strapped Charlie into his car seat in the back seat of the truck and gotten into the front seat and fastened his seat belt. I got into the driver’s seat, started the engine and put the truck into reverse and was about to back down the driveway when I realized that I had forgotten to give Charlie his medicine. So I put the truck in what I thought was park and got out. As soon as I was out I realized that the truck was moving backwards so I tried to throw my leg back in and reach the break, but being pregnant with Shaelynn at the time and off balance I slipped and fell backwards. I managed to get out of the way of the tire and the open door, which was crunched into the front fender by the support post of the covered driveway. The truck drove itself backwards down our incline driveway toward the street. As I got to my feet I noticed that a car was coming up the street toward my out-of-control truck. Just as the back of the truck had begun to enter the street it came to a sudden stop. I made my way toward the door of the truck. When I got there I found Allen on the floor of the cab pressing on the brake pedal with his hands and upper body, his feet still on the passenger side. He held the brake until I was able to get into the truck and move it back up the driveway.
Allen was able to use his Webelos Readyman training to stay calm and think quickly about what needed to be done. He was then strong enough to act quickly to save further damage to the vehicle and possibly the lives of himself, his younger brother, and the driver of the oncoming car. Allen was a responsible Cub Scout for making sure his brother was properly belted into his car seat. He also demonstrated how to be a smart and safe passenger by securing his own safety belt.
GOOD JOB ALLEN!!!
YOU ARE MY HERO!!!
Starr Ollerton was my assistant and the camp nurse.
My daughter, Cylena, was the camp cook. She did four 19 hour days in a row. What a woman!
The girls built 11 picnic tables for Camp Silver Creek as a service project. A lot of girls were turned on to using power tools!
We made some really fun crafts. 
We learned how to build and cook on rocket burners.
When the girls performed a service for someone, they recieved a (paper) baseball. They could trade in their baseballs for a treat at the concession stand.
One day, for a treat, we had cotton candy. After the "World Series of Camping Skills," we had sno cones (no pic).
On the last night, we had our traditional fireside and testimony meeting. 
