GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — Storm Team 8 Chief Meteorologist Bill Steffen received special recognition at a Boy Scouts Building Character Celebration Thursday.

Steffen received a National Outstanding Eagle Scout of the Year award — a lifetime achievement award.

The event, hosted by the America Michigan Crossroads Council, honored the 2020 Eagle Scout and Summit Award Class. Holland native David Ellis also received a lifetime achievement award.

The ceremony included a keynote address from Rep. Peter Meijer, R-Grand Rapids.

“If you have had half of as much fun in scouts as I’ve had, this will be a lifetime of thrilling memories for you. And I encourage all of you scouts to stay with scouting. I have been a registered member of scouts for 59 years, so that’s a long time,” Steffen said after receiving the award. “I have never left scouting. I think the values that you have learned in scouting, the skills you learned in scouting, will stay with you forever.”

Steffen has been forecasting the weather in West Michigan since 1974. He joined WOOD TV8 in 2001. In addition to being a fan favorite on TV, he writes Bill’s Blog on woodtv.com and has been honored with several broadcast awards. He is active in the community, including with the Gerald R. Ford Council of Boy Scouts. A Chicago native, he and his wife have long lived in the Grand Rapids area.

Ellis is an executive at Gentex and serves on the President Ford Field Service Council and Michigan Crossroads Council. He is also a member of the Holland After Hours Rotary Club.