Charting the Road to Tomorrow
By Jon C. Halter
Photographs by John R. Fulton Jr., Michael Roytek, and Roger Morgan
A new five-year plan, introduced at the BSA National Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C., provides local councils with strategies and tools to bring a better Scouting program to more eligible youth than ever.
- Speakers Highlight Scouting's Core Values
- William F. (Rick) Cronk Is New BSA President
- Silver Buffalo Awards
- "When Tradition Meets Tomorrow"
More than 3,000 Scouters and spouses came to Washington, D.C., in late May for the 87th National Annual Meeting of the Boy Scouts of America, the largest turnout at a BSA national meeting in a decade.
From the meeting at the Wardman Park Marriott Hotel, many who attended made the four-mile trip to the National Mall to visit some of the many memorials, museums, and government buildings in the heart of the nation's capital.
Many attractions on and near the mall highlight the nation's past, such as the Declaration of Independence at the National Archives and the original 1903 Wright Brothers Flyer at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum.
 Scouts and Scouters from the host National Capital Area Council who welcomed BSA Scouters to the National Annual Meeting include, from left, Scouts Reed Diskey, Troop 439, and Christopher May, Troop 944; Cub Scout Jared Robinson, Pack 122; Scouters Conrad May, Troop 944, and Paulette Stannard, Pack 122; and Venturer Jackie Wilburn, Crew 439. |
Along with viewing artifacts and monuments, visitors could also glimpse a bit of America's future—the countless groups of students on end-of-school-year trips that crowded every area of the mall.
For nearly 100 years, as the nation's foremost youth program of character development and values-based leadership training, Scouting has helped prepare such young people for the future.
And with the introduction at the Tuesday-through-Saturday gathering of the new BSA Strategic Plan 2006-2010, Scouters learned about the goals, action plans, and tactics to prepare for the beginning of Scouting's next 100 years. (See "When Tradition Meets Tomorrow".)
The plan "reflects the efforts and input of national committees, local council volunteers and professionals, and many hours of staff time to narrow down the most important issues," BSA executive vice president (and incoming BSA national president) William F. (Rick) Cronk told Scouters at the annual business meeting on Friday.
"This plan is a road map for local councils and serves as the primary tool to ensure that all eligible youth have the opportunity to be a part of the greatest youth program in the country."
A year in review
In a business meeting report, John C. Cushman III, who was ending his two-year term as BSA national president, reviewed Scouting's highlights for 2005.
The year included "strong programs, solid financial growth, and a tremendous vote of confidence in Scouting from our friends in Congress," he observed.
Congressional passage in December of the "Support Our Scouts Act of 2005" allows Scouting "equal access to governmental facilities at all levels," Cushman said. "That includes public lands, parks, and military installations."
He added that "one of the benefits of the process was to realize the almost universal support that Scouting has in Congress."
Cushman reported that 2005 was also "a terrific program year, both nationally and locally." Highlights included the second-highest number of Eagle Scouts (49,895) in one year and the best attendance ever at BSA high adventure bases in a jamboree year.
The 2005 "Race To Cub Scouting" recruitment drive—a collaborative effort with the Chevrolet Division of General Motors and local dealerships that is being continued in 2006—was highly successful, Cushman noted. "We had 529,757 new Cub Scouts and 2,677 new Cub Scout packs. Also, 109 local councils achieved year-end growth in Cub Scouting."
 Scouters shared National Mall landmarks, like the Washington Monument, with student groups on end-of-school-year trips. |
Local councils "also had a banner 2005 fiscal year." Total income from all sources to local councils was almost $663 million, an increase of more than 8 percent over 2004, while investment income from local council endowment funds was up almost 17 percent. And, "for the first time in history, both total local council capital assets and total local endowments assets topped $1 billion."
Cushman also announced an expanded role for the National BSA Foundation, which since 1996 has "helped donors make major gifts to local councils." Through the new Scout Philanthropy Society, the foundation "will also seek large gifts from individuals, corporations, and foundations who have interest in funding Scouting programs and initiatives in several councils, regionally and/or nationally."
Sharing ideas, information
In a workshop on Thursday, Scouters learned more details about successful 2005 Race to Cub Scouting campaigns in the Calcasieu Area Council (Lake Charles, La.) and the Jersey Shore Council (Toms River, N.J.).
That session was one of 24 elective workshops covering a variety of topics, such as Boy Scout growth and retention, popcorn and other product sales, great Friends of Scouting campaigns, council Web sites, effective commissioner service, BSA and the United Way, disaster recovery and business continuation, funding Learning for Life, Scoutreach, international Scouting, Scouting and the Knights of Columbus, Scouting and the Methodist Church, Good Turn for America, and more.
In the exhibit area, Scouters visited with representatives from the National Council and other sources to learn about all areas of Scouting. Displays included the latest merchandise from the Supply Group; details on Cub Scouting, Boy Scouting, Venturing, high adventure programs, and international Scouting; opportunities for participation in Good Turn for America; resources available from Risk Management, Health and Safety, Scoutreach, Relationships, and Finance Support; the National Scouting Museum; and a sampling of the latest features from Boys' Life.
Heroes for today
Scouters at the national meeting honored a variety of modern heroes, described at the "In Honor of Everyday Heroes" Leadership Luncheon on Friday as "those among us who exemplify the best of the human spirit and who have dedicated themselves both to personal and community achievements."
 Roy L. Williams |
Among the luncheon's honored guests were seven former Scouts or current Scouters now serving in the military. The seven had been wounded in action and were recuperating at Washington's Walter Reed Army Medical Center.
Also honored were Scout Kevin Stephan, 17, of Buffalo, N.Y., recipient of a BSA Medal of Merit for lifesaving action, and the Rev. Jimmie James, founder and pastor of the nondenominational Greater Things Ministries in Seattle, a Scouter who was instrumental in the formation and operation of a unique pack and troop whose members—sons visiting their incarcerated mothers—meet monthly in a state correctional facility.
Leadership Luncheon honorees also included the five winners of the national Young American Awards, which recognize young people for service, character, and accomplishment (see sidebar).
Another modern-day hero, honored at the Americanism "Duty to Country" Breakfast on Friday, was Eagle Scout Greg Sweeney, 18, of Wilmington, Del., who started a Cub Scout pack for homeless boys. (Read more about the Seattle and Wilmington programs in the News Briefs section of this issue.)
What we do
Heroes were also on display at the recognition banquet, the meeting's Friday closing event, which spotlighted nine of the 11 recipients of the Silver Buffalo Award, the BSA's highest honor for distinguished service to youth at the national level (see sidebar).
In his closing remarks at the business meeting earlier that day, Chief Scout Executive Roy L. Williams, in recalling the influence of one of his own personal heroes (Ralph Sawyers, his Scoutmaster when Williams was a Boy Scout in Dallas, Tex., in the 1950's), noted how one person can have a significant impact on a young person's life.
Williams then read a letter from an Eagle Scout's mother, in which she thanked the BSA for being "one of the most inviting, caring, giving, yet disciplined organizations for helping our [son] grow into the young man he is today."
"This is why we do what we do," Williams reminded the assembled Scouters.
With the new 2006-2010 Strategic Plan as "our bridge to the future," Scouting "must reach out to every eligible child who wants to be a Scout," he said.
"Our time is now and with new commitment, we march forward."
Jon C. Halter is the editor of Scouting magazine.
Speakers Highlight Scouting's Core ValuesGuest speakers at the National Annual Meeting focused on the values and skills that the Scouting program aims to instill in young people, such as character, leadership, citizenship, and service. (Three speakers—Rabbi Peter E. Hyman, Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld, and U.S. Surgeon General Richard H. Carmona—were honored with the Silver Buffalo Award, the BSA's highest award for distinguished service on a national level.) The Duty to God Breakfast on Thursday, the meeting's official opening event, celebrated the 80th anniversary of the National Jewish Committee on Scouting. The guest speaker, Rabbi Peter E. Hyman of Temple Sholom, Broomall, Pa., has been a member of that committee since 1983. He is an Eagle Scout, a longtime Philmont and world and national jamboree chaplain, and was one of nine distinguished Scouters who received the Silver Buffalo Award at the Friday closing banquet. In addressing the nature of character, Rabbi Hyman pointed out that "the words 'Character Counts' comprise more than a slogan, more than a clever catchphrase, more than a throwaway epithet. 'Character Counts' is the very definition of who we [in Scouting] are, the summation of what we believe, and the foundation upon which our teachings rest."
Good character "is an achievement and not a gift," he noted; it requires "perseverance, courage, integrity, fidelity, honesty, and strength." Rabbi Hyman recalled the awful moment at the 2005 National Scout Jamboree when four volunteer Scouters were killed in an electrical accident and all chaplains were immediately called to the scene to minister to the needs of "the stunned and dazed who had witnessed the horrific." The Scouts and Scouters at the scene were "in the midst of a terrible storm...a faith-shaking tempest" but "God's voice was heard...in the soft, gentle, sensitive whispers of men and women of character—knights of faith who brought compassion, caring, wisdom, calm, kindness, and countenance to a maddening moment of outrageous fortune." The jamboree's weekend religious services a few days later saw an outpouring of ecumenical coming together, he recalled. Every worship service was attended by "Scouts and leaders not from those faith communities....All were in uniform, and all were seeking God." The 12th point of the Scout Law, a Scout is reverent, "is not just about theology," Rabbi Hyman observed. "It is also about community—we are a community united by a set of values reflected on a breathtaking sea of diversity, and those values reveal our character." * * * On Friday, Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld, a Distinguished Eagle Scout, was presented with the Silver Buffalo Award at the Americanism "Duty to Country" Breakfast, hosted by the National Eagle Scout Association (NESA).
In his remarks, Secretary Rumsfeld noted that "one of the great values of the Scouting program is that it prepares young people to make correct choices. In choosing to put on the Scout uniform, young people indicate that they value honor and duty to God and country, [and] they willingly accept their duty to help other people at all times. "These are important values; they help young people to have the courage to make right choices when faced with difficult decisions later in their lives." He recalled an experience while growing up during World War II that played a role in the development of his character. At age 12, he had written to his father, who was serving on an aircraft carrier in the Pacific, that he wanted to quit Scouting. "He wrote back, said: 'Fine, son. Use your own judgment. Go ahead, it's your call. After all, quitting is easy. You can quit one thing and then you can quit another, and pretty soon you're a quitter. And you will have defined yourself not by what you've done or what you've accomplished in life but by your decisions not to finish what you start.'" "Well, at age 12, I got the message," Rumsfeld remembered. "And I stayed in Scouting, and it was one of the best decisions I've made." He thanked the Scouters at the national meeting and across the nation for their service to youth "as mentors, as leaders, as role models—and although [your] impact [on youth] may seldom be immediately obvious, the value of your service is seen over many years in ways that you'll never even notice." Scout leaders "should know in your hearts and souls that over the decades ahead, those young people's lives you touch will be better for what you do for them." * * * A Silver Buffalo Award was presented at Friday's Leadership Luncheon, to Vice Admiral Richard H. Carmona, M.D., the United States surgeon general, who also serves as honorary chairman of the BSA's Good Turn for America service initiative.
Although he grew up in New York City in a poor family that was sometimes homeless and he dropped out of high school to join the Army, Carmona said that "my memories [of growing up] are actually very positive; I don't have any regrets, because all of those experiences have made me a better person." He went on to graduate from college and later earn a medical degree, at which time he was named top graduate in his medical school class. He now realizes that "the only difference between a person that succeeds and one who fails is that the one who succeeds gets up one more time. Life's not easy, but you've got to keep coming back; it is important [that] you stay in the fight." Carmona cited similarities in the leadership aspects of his job as surgeon general and the role of a volunteer Scout leader. For both, leadership means accepting "that you have the responsibility to serve others and [knowing that] their destiny is in your hands and every day you must serve in that position with great integrity...[which] is simply defined as doing the right thing when no one else is watching." The Scouter's role also includes mentorship—"not forgetting to fill the pipeline behind you with young men who are going to be tomorrow's leaders." And stewardship—"having pride in your organization and making sure that you project that pride and everybody knows...when you say 'Boy Scouts' there's this vision...of professionalism, integrity, of dignity, of self sacrifice, of community service...that tells the world: 'Here's excellence.'" He reminded Scouters that "one person can make a difference" and urged them to "keep your goals [and] ideals just out of your reach. Never become complacent; always keep reaching. And keep your integrity above reproach." |
William F. (Rick) Cronk Is New BSA PresidentThe National Annual Meeting's closing banquet featured a tribute to outgoing BSA President John C. Cushman III and a welcome to new President William F. (Rick) Cronk.
Chief Scout Executive Roy L. Williams praised Cushman as "one of our most ardent ambassadors and champions of Scouting" who, during his two-year term as BSA president, "has raised the organizational bar, and, to the credit of all of you, we are in a strong position to continue to bring the best youth program in the nation to more youth." In his farewell remarks, Cushman observed that "two years have gone by all too quickly, but the memories will last a lifetime." He thanked BSA Scouters—volunteer and professional—"who represent the tremendous passion which [we] all share regarding the Boy Scouts of America." His many travels as BSA president convinced him that "the Scouting flame burns bright across this great land," Cushman concluded. "The words of the Scout Oath and Law remain unchanged—and represent a powerful standard for young people around America. They represent a strong commitment to family values rooted in the concept that 'Character Counts.'" MEET THE NEW PRESIDENTThe retired president of Dreyer's Grand Ice Cream, Rick Cronk is a longtime Scouting volunteer. A recipient of the Silver Buffalo Award in 2001, he has served as district chairman and area president as well as national commissioner and, most recently, executive vice president. Since September 2005, he has served as chairman of the World Scout Foundation.
"I am indeed humbled and honored to have been elected to serve as the next president of the Boy Scouts of America," Cronk told the banquet audience, encouraging them "never to forget the rich heritage Scouting has [woven into] the fabric of American history—and the need for that heritage to grow and to prosper even more boldly over the next 100 years." In expressing his appreciation for Scouting's volunteer and professional leaders, he noted that "with one adult volunteer for every three children in the Scouting program, there is simply no youth movement in the world that invokes such committed leadership and mentoring." As the BSA approaches its 100th anniversary, Scouting must continue to offer an attractive program "that is relevant to kids today...," Cronk said. "But we should be more stalwart than those proverbial reeds blowing in the wind that seem to move at a moment's notice in response to the constantly shifting ways of social change and conflicting points of view. "Let us define who we are and work hard to deliver the most stimulating Scouting program to as many young people as we can possibly reach." He said he was "most poignantly reminded of the values of Scouting every time I attend an Eagle Scout court of honor...that the essence of Scouting has not changed in 96 years." At age 11, a boy might become a Scout because he sees Scouting as a ticket to adventure, Cronk noted. But by the time he is 16 or 17, "he has learned to set goals for himself and to achieve those goals. And when [he] stands up to recite the Scout Oath and Scout Law, they are more—much more—than a random collection of words simply committed to memory...they now represent values that are important to him and fundamental to the way he defines his life...a source of confidence and structure that will guide him in making ethical decisions for the rest of his life, even when no one else is around or when no one is paying attention." An Eagle Scout realizes that Scouting has proved to be "every bit as much fun as was promised," but he also appreciates that the experience has given him "something far more important," Cronk said. He has learned about "values and character and self-esteem, and...about leadership and responsibility...about self-respect, and knowing when to lead and when to follow." And providing that type of experience is "what all of you and your 1.2 million fellow professionals and volunteers are doing for four and a half million Scouts in America." |
Silver Buffalo AwardsThe BSA honors adult leaders and young people for high achievement and service.
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"When Tradition Meets Tomorrow"Culminating in the BSA's centennial year, the 2006-2010 Strategic Plan is designed to help Scouting meet the changing needs of a changing society, bridging the gap between an honored past and a dynamic future. 
"2010: When Tradition Meets Tomorrow" is a set of strategies, tactics, and goals that emphasize that Scouting's mission and principles have not changed, but its methods must adapt to meet the needs of time. The plan serves as a road map for local councils to develop their own strategic plans and will prepare Scouting for a second 100 years of continuing to help define the fabric of American culture. The plan is based on five pillars, supported by specific, measurable goals:
While many tactics will be initiated immediately and implemented throughout the plan's five years, one pillar will be highlighted each year:
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September 2006 Table of Contents
Copyright © 2006 by the Boy Scouts of America. All rights thereunder reserved; anything appearing in Scouting magazine or on its Web site may not be reprinted either wholly or in part without written permission. Because of freedom given authors, opinions may not reflect official concurrence.