Alvin Townley spent a year traveling
throughout the country to
explore the legacy of
America's Eagle Scouts. In
thousands of miles of
travel, he met with Eagles
from all walks of life. The
result was Legacy of
Honor, a uniquely
powerful narrative of
character and virtue in
American life.
Alvin's journey truly began
years ago in Atlanta,
Georgia, where he followed
the Scouting path of his
grandfather and father and
earned his Eagle Scout rank
with Troop 103. He is a
Brotherhood Member of the
Order of the Arrow and has
hiked the Rocky Mountains at
Philmont Scout Ranch, canoed
the Canadian backcountry at
the Northern Tier Canoe
Base, and sailed the Keys at
the Florida Sea Base.
The author graduated from Washington and
Lee University in Lexington,
Virginia. He has interned in
the U.S. House of
Representatives, served on
the executive staff of an
international consulting
firm, and worked for his
alma mater, where he built
relationships with alumni
across the country and
spoke to classes on
corporate strategy and
ethics. Finally, Alvin sold his home and left his job to set out
across the nation and
discover the legacy of
America's Eagle Scouts.
Along the way, he captured
the personal stories of
Eagle Scouts including J.W.
Marriott, Jr., Ross Perot,
Bill Gates, Sr., Michael
Bloomberg, Bill Bradley,
Supreme Court Justice
Stephen Breyer, Treasury
Secretary Hank Paulson,
Defense Secretary Robert
Gates, and Jim Lovell of
Apollo 13. He also heard the
stories of a Tuskegee
Airman, a POW from Vietnam,
a September 11 NYPD hero, a
crew of Hurricane Katrina
relief workers, and a host
of others. The result was
Legacy of Honor,
published in 2007 by Thomas
Dunne Books, an imprint of
St. Martin's Press. 
