The East Carolina Council of the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) dedicated the former Camp Bonner on the south side of Pamlico River to be named Camp Boddie.
Speakers at the June 17 dedication included James A. Hackney III of Washington; Herman E. Gaskins Jr. of Washington; William G. Daughtridge Jr. of Rocky Mount and Benjamin E. Moore Jr. of Rocky Mount.
Bus tours of the camp were provided as well as lunch in the dining hall.
The camp is located on Blounts Bay on the Pamlico River, just 10 miles from Chocowinity and first opened in 1968 as Camp Bonner.
Nick and Mayo Boddie serve as vice chairman and chairman of Boddie-Noell Enterprises, which operates the largest Hardee’s chain in the United States with 338 stores and employs more than 12,000 employees.
In 1989, the Boddies founded the Hardee’s Classic BSA Golf Tournament to benefit East Carolina Council, BSA. The annual benefit has raised more than $2.4 million with the help of their many business partners.
When the camp dining hall burned down in 1995, the Boddies established a temporary dining hall in the reception center. They made a major gift to the new dining hall, resulting in the Boddie Family Dining Hall.
Mayo and Nick Boddie served as co-chairmen of the Camp Bonner capital campaign and contributed a pacesetter gift which insured the success of the campaign.
Both have earned their church’s adult God & Country Recognition, Silver Beaver Award, served on the council’s executive board and grew up in Scouting in Troop 11 in Rocky Mount.
Nick Boddie served as council president and has been recognized with the Distinguished Eagle Scout Award, Silver Antelope Award and Eagle Scout Award. Mayo Boddie has served as council vice president of finance. Bill Boddie, son of Mayo Boddie, also serves on the council executive board and is the chairman of the Board Development Committee.
The council decided to rename the camp to eliminate the mix up that often occurred resulting in parents and leaders ending up on the wrong side of the river.
Herbert C. Bonner gave the property on the north side of the river that’s now used as the Council Camporee site and a Cub Scout Camp but had no involvement in the camp on the south side of Pamlico River.
The north river property will remain the Herbert C. Bonner Scout Reservation.