On September 13, 2020, we suffered the tragic death of our son, Austin Best. Austin was a high achieving student at Maryville Junior High. His favorite subject was history, and his career goal was to be a physician. He loved the outdoors where he spent hours in the water at beaches, rivers and creeks surfing, knee boarding, tubing and skiing. In the summer of 2020, he became a farmer, growing sweet corn and peppers to save money for a Tennessee boy’s dream – a truck. Other outdoor activities were deer and dove hunting. When not outside he made knives, worked out with weights, and played Xbox with his friends.

Despite the joy he found in these things, his favorite activity was scouting. On July 16, 2019, he earned the rank of Eagle Scout. During his scouting years, he held the positions of Quartermaster, Troop Guide and Assistant Senior Patrol Lead. He earned forty-eight merit badges which well exceeded the requirement for the Eagle rank, and he was a member of the Order of the Arrow. He saw scouting as a way to build character and help others through such service as feeding the hungry and helping senior citizens. His Eagle project was on the grounds of a senior living facility. Having experienced many of his own trips to Camp Buck Tom’s, Austin noticed that some of his fellow scouts could not afford camp. He asked to use his birthday and Christmas money to pay their way. Thus, awareness of the needs of others found roots in his religious beliefs. He was baptized as a member of Fairview United Methodist church on May 5, 2018.

Through the heartbreak of losing our son, we have established the Austin Best Scout Fund at Troop 88 sponsored by New Providence Presbyterian Church in Maryville. In addition to memorial donations to this fund, we have plans to help sustain and broaden the fund to give scouting opportunities to those who can’t afford to participate. This fund honors what the accomplishment, fellowship and mentors of scouting meant to Austin.

In the book of Isaiah, God declares, “I am about to do a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?” The memory of Austin’s smiles, friendliness to others, and the joys he experienced will always be with us. Through the Austin Best Scout Fund, God is doing a new thing. As we mourn his death in this way, we can “perceive it.”