About

The most important things to me are my family and the people that I work with. I have been fortunate to have worked with Scouters in five councils in all four regions of the Boy Scouts of America.

I started in Cub Scouts in Leawood, Kansas with my mom as my Den Mother. Dad served as Webelos Leader. I joined Boy Scout Troop 83 in Kansas City, Missouri achieving the rank of Eagle Scout.

I will never forget my first summer camp. I started out as many boys do, missing my mother, and ended the session planning with my tent mate to be on camp staff and joining Mic-O-Say when I was old enough. Many years later, I can look back on that formative experience as the reason that I am where I am today. Tom and I were on camp staff together for five summers. I always left camp looking forward to the next summer.

I served on the camp staff in Kansas City for twelve summers, the last three as Camp Director. That last summer David Ross, the Scout Executive in Kansas City, asked me to become a District Executive. I think he knew I was getting married, but he had no idea that I was moving to Syracuse, New York where my soon to be wife was in graduate school. I was ready to be a high school chemistry teacher in Kansas, but learned that to teach in New York State, I would need to take at least another semester of school. Since I didn’t want two students in our new household, I contacted the local council to see if they needed any help. Two weeks later, I was a new Exploring Executive. I really enjoyed working with a great team in Syracuse, and the best part was I got to spend my summers in the Adirondacks at camp. I learned the value of working with a strong committee and commissioner staff from the great volunteers of my first district, Ontario District. We had so much fun getting youth in the program, putting on camporees and Klondikes; really just being Scouts together.

Beth’s post-doctoral studies took us to sunny Southern California where I went to work for Orange County Council. I moved into a full time program role during my tenure in Orange County. I learned budget building and management from those experiences, but the biggest thing that I learned was the importance of being innovative. Our Scout Executive, Kent Gibbs, was never afraid to try new things. You had to present a solid plan, but with that plan we would be encouraged to try new things. This attitude led me to the develop our Junior ROTC/Explorer Camp, a high adventure program on Catalina Island and help plan an outdoor education camp. For seven of my eight years there I got to work with the same board member in several different roles. Steve Bradley really taught me how to build consensus in volunteer committees even as we took on potentially thorny issues. Together we turned our Boy Scout Camp committee from a group that bemoaned what couldn’t be done into a high functioning team that seemingly could do anything. I also had my first stint as Lodge Staff Adviser in Orange County.

Just as we were getting ready to have our first son, Circle Ten Council came into our lives. The Scout Executive, Gene Stone, decided to hold a competitive interview to fill the Director of Camping position. Once again I found myself working directly with one board member as staff adviser to him in several roles. Matt Walker and I worked on the camping committee, the Order of the Arrow, and Commissioners together. The council had a long standing issue of not enough commissioners when Matt and I came on the scene together. We held recruitment evenings where we helped the district commissioners identify prospective commissioners and make calls to get the recruitment going. We improved our commissioner ratio from 5.0 to below 3.8.

Our move to Buffalo and the Greater Niagara Frontier Council was timed perfectly for our two school aged sons. They settled into a wonderful Cub Scout Pack, and have now both moved into Troop 285. It has been invaluable for me to see Scouting through the eyes of a parent and unit level volunteer. Professionally, I have benefited from an outstanding board and staff team. Our board is very active and engaged. Their generosity of time, talent and treasure is amazing. Michael Meyers, the council president when I was hired, has been a great mentor for me. He is an Eagle Scout who provides outstanding leadership without ego. As with the other councils that I have served, when my time comes to leave here, I will leave having made so many new friends.