Scout Executive’s Blog

Dear New Birth of Freedom Council Scouting Family, As you likely already know, Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf has directed all “non-life-sustaining” businesses to close to help stop the spread of the COVID-19 virus.  In accordance with that directive, the Mechanicsburg and York Service Centers and Scout Shops will remain closed indefinitely until Gov. Wolf rescinds...

Dear Scouting Families, On Monday, March 16, Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf directed that all non-essential businesses close for at least the next two weeks to limit the spread of the COVID-19 virus through personal contact and on surfaces. To do our part in this effort, we are closing both the Mechanicsburg and York Services, including...

Dear New Birth of Freedom Council Scouting Family, As always, your safety and the safety of all our members, volunteers, and employees are our top priority. We know there are questions and concerns about how COVID-19, commonly known as the coronavirus, that will affect local Scouting programs in the New Birth of Freedom Council. Please...

Dear New Birth of Freedom Scouting Family, Today, the national organization of the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy to achieve two key objectives: equitably compensate victims who were harmed during their time in Scouting and continue to carry out Scouting’s mission for years to come. I want to highlight important...

To the New Birth of Freedom Council Scouting Family, Our Council heard from parents within one of our troops who expressed concerns about the Council’s management of state-mandated adult background clearances, and we took this concern seriously and actively worked to resolve the problem. As a recent news article from The York Dispatch has brought...

To the New Birth of Freedom Council Scouting Family, Earlier this week, I was incredibly saddened to hear the news that Jack Carr, former Scout Executive of the Keystone Area Council and the first Director of Development for the New Birth of Freedom Council, has recently been diagnosed with Stage 4 pancreatic cancer.   Jack,...

May 1, 2019 Fellow Scouters, Given the news coverage last week regarding the Boy Scouts of America’s efforts to protect our youth members from all forms of abuse, I wanted to share some information on this critical responsibility that may help you address concerns or questions that you or others may have.  First, nothing is...

By now, many of you have probably seen or heard the recent news reports speculating that the National Council of the Boy Scouts of America (“National BSA”) is considering filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, which allows reorganization under the bankruptcy laws of the United States. National BSA has shared with all local councils that...

  Our new 38′ climbing tower at Camp Tuckahoe is now in use by our Webelos Scout campers and the 700′ zip line across Memory Lake will make its debut in less than two weeks when Boy Scout sessions get underway.  Personally, I think our Scouts are going to love these two new program features...

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...