The Boy Scouts of America’s national board last week elected two new volunteers to join our National Key 3. Jim Turley, the former chairman and CEO of Ernst & Young who has served as a Scouting volunteer for nearly 25 years, has been elected national chair. Ellie Morrison, an assistant Scoutmaster from Waco who has...

When a young person joins the Boy Scouts of America, one of the first things he or she learns is the Scout Oath, and every member starts the Oath the same way: “On my honor I will do my best to do my duty to God …” The wording was not created at random. Duty...

The wait is over, and we now know what we’ll call the program for 11- to 17-year-old youth when girls can begin joining during the scheduled launch on Feb. 1, 2019. Let’s hear it for Scouts BSA! Boys and girls who are part of Scouts BSA will be known as Scouts. Just as before, these...

April 6, 2018 Dear Scouts and Scouters: Last month, we first told you about our ongoing discussions with the Lancaster County Conservancy to preserve Wizard Ranch for future generations of Scouts and the public through a potential sale of the property to the Conservancy.  An important element of this proposal was that the Council would...

The New Birth of Freedom Council is currently working with the Lancaster County Conservancy on a planned sale of Wizard Ranch to the Conservancy that would convey ownership of the property to the Conservancy but still preserve Wizard Ranch for use by future generations of Scouts and the general public....

On the heels of a successful pilot that introduced new families to Scouting and raised retention rates, Lions, the BSA’s Cub Scout program for kindergarten-age youth, will become an official part of Cub Scouting this year. The decision was made official after a vote this week by the BSA’s volunteer-led National Executive Board....

As you know, the National Executive Board of the Boy Scouts of America recently made a unanimous decision to welcome girls to our iconic programs, based on feedback from the Scouting community and an understanding that the character and leadership qualities our programs develop, grounded in the Scout Oath and Law, are as relevant and...

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania has changed its provider for FBI fingerprint-based background checks, as of November 28, 2017. Under PA law, all registered adult volunteers in Scouting in PA are required to provide three PA-mandated background clearances prior to beginning their volunteer service, including either the FBI Fingerprint Based Criminal History Clearance (for those who...

After the BSA Board of Directors’ historic decision to welcome girls into Scouting, many in the Scouting community had just one question: When can my daughter sign up? Other Scouters had more specific questions about the reasons for the move, implementation and rollout plan. On Oct. 30, Bryan Wendell, Senior Editor of Boys’ Life, ...

October is National Bullying Prevention Month and all of us in leadership roles in Scouting can help prevent, recognize and report bullying as we work to make Scouting a safe place for all. This month, the “Bryan on Scouting” blog has shared four important stories on how all leaders can be more vigilant about preventing...