City Treasurer Ronald H. Williams Sr. on Wednesday became only the third regional recipient of the Outstanding Eagle Scout Award during a breakfast at the Hilton Garden Inn.

“This has been a bit surreal,” Williams said in accepting the award. “It’s been an incredible experience to be on this side of it.”

The award is the second-highest award that can be given by the Boy Scouts of America to an adult who became an Eagle Scout as a youth.

It is given on a regional basis, said Dean Gould, Colonial Trail District chairman. The district can give up to two per year but has given only three total since the award was instituted four years ago, Gould said.

Gould secretly worked with Williams’ wife, Karen Williams, to gather the information necessary to honor Ron Williams. The honoree was surprised when he showed up to Wednesday’s 2016 Friends of Scouting Hometown Heroes Community Breakfast.

“This is an incredible, incredible honor,” Williams said. “I want to give thanks to God, from whom all blessings flow, and to my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.”

Gould listed Williams’ accomplishments, including more than $300,000 raised through his annual United Way golf tournament.

“It’s an opportunity for me to give back to the community that I love, that I grew up in,” Williams said, honoring the many organizations that have received proceeds from the tournament. “Because they do what I do is the reason I do what I do.”

Williams became an Eagle Scout in 1963 in Troop 1 of Main Street United Methodist Church, where he remains a member today. The troop has existed for 93 years.

“I’m so proud to be part of the legacy,” Williams said.

“Ron is a great supporter of Scouting and of his community and of his church,” Gould said, adding that Williams’ contributions go above and beyond the city level, making him eligible for the award. “He exemplifies everything that we want our youth to become.”

Also at the breakfast, Delegate Chris Jones presented Williams with a resolution passed in this year’s General Assembly session commemorating the life of Williams’ mother, Antoinette Williams, who died in January.

“For those of you that knew his mother, you know where he gets his drive from, his faith and his commitment to family,” Jones said.