12/15/2018
MESSAGE FROM COUNCIL LEADERSHIP...
Scout Leaders, Parents and Friends of Scouting,
By now, we are sure all of you have seen or heard about the media attention the Boy Scouts of America has received this past week. We wanted to take this opportunity to give you an update on the state of the Daniel Boone Council in light of the recent Wall Street Journal article implying the BSA would be filing for bankruptcy and the Chief Scout Executives email about youth protection.
First off, let us reinforce that our National organization has not made any decisions, but are looking at all options for a financial restructure to protect their assets from future litigation after past youth protection issues. Our Chief Scout Executive, Michael Surbaugh, stated in his recent email, “To do so in perpetuity, we are working with experts to explore all options available to ensure that the local and national programming of the Boy Scouts of America continues uninterrupted.”
Whatever the National organization chooses to do, or not to do, we can assure each of you, it will not affect the Daniel Boone Council’s service to you, your Scouts or our local assets. Your local contributions of time, talent and treasure are, and will always remain, local, supporting our efforts in Western North Carolina.
Daniel Boone Council is in the strongest position in our history… membership is up, programs are strong, our financial stability is solid, we have one of the best camps in the country and we have some of the finest volunteer leadership in the BSA, at the unit, district and council levels. This is reinforced by the fact that we will be ending this year as a Gold rated council in the BSA’s Journey to Excellence program, with 3 Gold and 2 Silver rated districts.
Our Council is an independent not-for-profit organization that is incorporated locally. We own and control our camps, council service center, bank funds and investments. The nature of the relationship between our council and the national BSA organization is that we are the holder of a charter to conduct the Boy Scouts of America programs in our defined area.
Our Council receives no funding from the national organization; in fact, we pay fees to national BSA as a part of our charter agreement and for specific services. Councils receive value back from the national organization, but we operate as a financially independent not-for-profit organization.
Friends of Scouting (FOS) and other financial contributions to our Council stay in our Council. Contributions to our Council go to support delivery of our own Council’s program and services to our own Scouts. We partner with the national organization for shared services, including several insurance programs, services for IT, and expertise related to camping, youth protection and so on.
It is also important to understand that the structure of BSA Asset Management is specifically designed to ensure that the investments in our Council Endowment fund remain ours. They are ours regardless of what happens to the national organization. The same is true for our other council assets.
Future of the Boy Scouts of America: We have an important duty, and an incredible opportunity, to continue to focus as an organization on preparing our youth for their futures through our nation’s foremost program of character development and values-based leadership training.
As an organization, our focus must continue to be:
1. Build upon the momentum we have already experienced this year with new members,
2. Plan and implement a successful launch of Scouts BSA to welcome boys and girls into the program in February, and
3. Support our fundraising efforts to ensure our continued ability to deliver strong Scouting programs to our communities
We want to thank all of you for your dedication to Scouting, and especially, the Daniel Boone Council. These are exciting times of our local council and we do not want the affairs of our National organization to disrupt the positive momentum we have all had a part in creating this year.
The Scouting program has been around for over 100 years and will be around for another 100 years. Your investments in the Daniel Boone Council are greatly appreciated and will always remain local to positively impact the young men and women we serve. Our council assets are safe and are not in jeopardy regardless of what National decides to do.
Thank you again to each of you for your tremendous dedication to Scouting and the Daniel Boone Council. The leadership of the council greatly appreciates your contributions of time, talent and treasure.
Have a wonderful Holiday Season!
Yours in Service to Scouting,
Greg Hutchins
Council President
Andy Romagnuolo
Council Commissioner
Joshua Christ
Scout Executive
