The new president of the Boy Scouts of America plans to reverse declining membership and improve safety programs as the organization emerges from bankruptcy following a sexual abuse scandal.
Roger Krone, a retired businessman and Eagle Scout, was named Friday as the new chief executive of the 113-year-old youth organization, replacing the retired Roger Mosby as top administrator.
A federal judge in March upheld a $2.4 billion bankruptcy plan for the Irving, Texas-based organization, allowing it to continue operating while compensating more than 80,000 men who filed lawsuits saying they were sexually abused while under surveillance.
The trust recently began paying claimants who chose the fastest amount of $3,500, the organization said in an email to The Associated Press.
Others must complete a questionnaire and submit supporting documentation, and only a few payments are made in the process.
Several local Boy Scout councils have sold about 15 properties to meet their trust obligations, the email said.
“Scouts are safer today than they’ve ever been,” Krone told the AP by phone from his home in Annapolis, Maryland.
Steps taken in the past to keep parents of their children safe include training for adults and making sure Scouts are never alone with just one adult.
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“And under my leadership, we will continue to grow and improve our program so that we have the safest youth program that we possibly can have,” he said.
Krone recently retired as president of Leidos, a $15 billion defense, aerospace and information technology company based in Virginia.
With an extensive background in engineering and aerospace, he previously served as president of space networks and systems at Boeing Co.
“I see my business experience, what I’ve done in corporate America, really complements the strengths that scouts have today,” he said, adding they don’t need it to lead classes in crafts or build fires.
“They need me to coordinate the organization after the bankruptcy and drive a roadmap to build future prospects.”
Membership in Cub Scouts and the organization’s primary Scouting declined from 1.97 million in 2019 to about 762,000 in 2021.
Last year, membership was just over 1 million, the organization said.
Finances slumped with membership, with net revenue of $319 million in 2019 falling to nearly $188 million last year.
Among the reasons cited for dropping memberships are allegations of sexual assault, competition from sports leagues, technology and video games, and the pandemic.
Scouting needs to be relevant for today’s kids, but Krone said the opportunity to get outside — to have Scouts go boating or canoeing, go hiking, mountain climbing, rappelling or spelunking — has universal appeal.
“This means we have to meet the children where they are,” he said.
“Get them off the couch, get them off their small screen devices, get them outside.”
He predicts that within five years, the Boy Scouts of America will double its current size, their high adventure camps – where they go sailing in Florida, mountain climbing in the Rockies or ziplining in West Virginia – will be expanded, and scouting will be relevant to teenagers.
“There are no entry requirements,” he said.
“We want everyone to participate.”
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
