NORWICH – The Baden-Powell Council of the Boy Scouts of America will honor lifetime Norwich resident Tom Morrone on Thursday. Morrone will be given the Distinguished Citizen of the Year award for a lifetime spent in service to his community.

The Distinguished Citizen of the Year award has been given out yearly since 1986. “When it was originally conceived, the point was to recognize members of the community who had done outstanding work for the greater Norwich area and across Chenango County,” said Chris Wilkinson, the district executive for the Baden-Powell Council.

According to Wilkinson, there is no set criteria for choosing award recipients. A committee, made up of past recipients and community members, nominates several individuals, and the committee then votes on which nominee is most worthy.