Latest news with #RogerKrone
Yahoo
10-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Boy Scouts of America rebrands to ‘Scouting America'
NEW MEXICO (KRQE) – The Boy Scouts of America has officially rebranded to Scouting America as it celebrates its 115th birthday. The organization announced last year it would rebrand. Scouting America also filed for bankruptcy to help settle sexual abuse lawsuits from more than 89,000 men who claimed to have been abused while scouting. Scouting America's president says the rebrand allows them to have a fresh start. Boy Scouts see a small membership uptick after rebrand to Scouting America 'What the name change does is it really allows us to kind of rebrand and reset. You know, having been in bankruptcy, a 115-year-old organization, it's kind of nice to have some things that are new and fresh and different and really speak to the organization that we are today and that we want to be in the future,' says Roger Krone, President, and CEO of Scouting America. The move comes as the Texas-based organization began welcoming girls into scouting just five years ago, as well as gay youth in 2013. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
09-02-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Boy Scouts of America name change becomes official in effort to be more 'inclusive'
Nine months after announcing a name change was coming, the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) on Saturday officially changed its name in an attempt to "meet the evolving needs of young people." The organization adopted the new name, Scouting America, on its 115th anniversary, "marking a pivotal moment in the organization's journey," according to a statement released Saturday. The shift comes after a recent policy change in 2018, allowing girls to join the program. The organization began allowing gay youth in 2013 and ended a blanket ban on gay adult leaders in 2015. Judge Tosses Girl Scouts' Recruitment Suit Vs. Boy Scouts President and CEO Roger Krone told the Associated Press there was "some backlash," but said there was a small spike in membership after announcing the rebranding in May. "The fact that we were going with a more kind of gender-neutral name, a lot of people kind of wanted to know more about it," Krone told the AP. Read On The Fox News App More than 15,000 scouts joined, the AP reported, bringing total membership to more than 1 million. As the nation's foremost youth program, Scouting America said it provides children opportunities focused on character development, leadership, fun and outdoor exploration. The adaptation will "ensure future generations have the opportunity to benefit from this transformative program," according to the statement. Federal Judge Upholds $2.4 Billion Bankruptcy Plan For The Boy Scouts Of America While the name changed, the Texas-based organization said its mission has remained the same for a century: to prepare young people to make ethical and moral choices over their lifetimes by instilling in them the values of the Scout Oath and Law. "Whether it's a camping trip, a pinewood derby car race or a trail hike, every adventure encourages personal growth by teaching youth how to set goals and achieve them with determination," spokespeople wrote in the statement. "As we look to the future, Scouting America is dedicated to providing young people with the values, skills and experiences they need to thrive in a rapidly changing world." The organization's website features its new name, but social media accounts still have the traditional handles. "Scouting America has helped instill timeless values for multiple generations of Americans," Krone wrote in the statement. "In an increasingly complex and interconnected world, the values and skills instilled by Scouting are more critical than ever and the need for strong character, ethical decision-making and effective leadership remains paramount." Krone added it is reaffirming its commitment to providing a "safe and supportive environment" where young people can develop essential qualities. "Scouting America has remained committed to providing youth with a safe environment where they can learn meaningful life skills, create lifelong memories and grow into tomorrow's leaders," the organization wrote in the statement. "In fact, more than 130 million Americans have been through Scouting America programs since our founding in 1910." Fox News Digital previously reported the rebranding came after a substantial hit in membership during the COVID-19 pandemic. It also follows a court order to pay out a $2.46 billion settlement involving about 82,000 former Boy Scouts who claimed they were sexually abused by BSA officials and volunteers. Filing for bankruptcy allowed the organization to keep operating. Fox News Digital's Michael Dorgan and the Associated Press contributed to this report. Original article source: Boy Scouts of America name change becomes official in effort to be more 'inclusive'
USA Today
08-02-2025
- General
- USA Today
Boy Scouts of America officially changes its name to be gender inclusive
Boy Scouts of America officially changes its name to be gender inclusive Scouting America President and CEO Roger Krone said "now would be a good time" for the name change, following the organization's exit of a years-long bankruptcy, in tandem with membership growth. Show Caption Hide Caption Boy Scouts will change name to Scouting America The Boy Scouts of America announced its plan to rebrand to Scouting America, beginning in February 2025. For the first time in 115 years, Boy Scouts of America officially changed its name to Scouting America on Saturday. The scouting organization began allowing girls to join Cub Scouts in 2018 and Boy Scouts in 2019. Girls were first involved with the organization in 1969, with the advent of Exploring, a co-ed, career-readying program. Boy Scouts of America, as it has been known for 115 years, is now officially Scouting America. The name change went into effect on Saturday. The organization announced the name change last spring, almost exactly one year after emerging from a three-year bankruptcy tied to the largest child sex abuse case involving a national organization in U.S. history. The name change coincides with the organization's aim to be more inclusive − a little more than five years after girls were permitted to join Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts in 2018 and 2019, respectively. The Boy Scouts program, open to girls and boys ages 11-17, dropped "Boy" from its name in 2018, resulting in Scouts BSA. The most recent name change serves as a rebrand for the national umbrella organization, which has not been done since the organization's founding in 1910. While the name change may feel drastic to onlookers, Rhett Hillard, scoutmaster of Scouting America Troop 50 in Fulton, Missouri, said the new name doesn't appear to be on the minds of people he works with in the organization. It "doesn't rank highly" in comparison to the other changes the organization has made over the past six to seven years, he said. As new handbooks are printed, headquarters change signage and websites are updated, here's what to know about the Scouting America name change. Why the name change? "The board, executive committee and myself, we kind of looked at where we were and said, 'Probably now would be a good time,'" Scouting America President and CEO Roger Krone told USA TODAY of the name change, citing the organization's exit from bankruptcy and growth since allowing girls to join. The organization exited bankruptcy in 2023 after a federal judge approved Scouting America's plan to create a $4.6 billion trust fund for survivors of sexual assault related to the organization. The ruling came more than two years after the organization filed for bankruptcy protection, as ultimately 82,000-plus abuse claims were filed against it. In January, the organization reported that the fund had paid about $70 million to approximately 12,300 survivors of 58,000 claims submitted. As for membership, from 2023 to 2024, Scouting America saw a 1.43% increase, according to the organization's Membership Highlights, presented at the 2024 National Annual Meeting. Specifically, Cub Scouts saw a 4.68% increase, while Scouts BSA experienced a 3.15% decrease, the highlights say. Krone said co-ed scouting organizations also represent the "global model." Scouts Canada, Scouts Australia, Scouts UK, and The Singapore Scout Association are just a few of countless scouting organizations around the world that welcome both boys and girls. How else is the organization changing? Largely, the changes associated with the new name are cosmetic. The organization's mission and programming is not changing. The iconic navy blue Cub Scout uniform and tan Scouts BSA uniform will "essentially be the same," Krone said. However, these uniforms do feature "Boy Scouts of America" or "BSA" sewn over the right shirt pocket. Krone said a new sew-on patch to cover the old name is available at Scout Shops and online. The patch is $2. A new Eagle Scout badge, earned when the highest rank in Scouting America is achieved, will also be released, Krone said, as the existing badge reads, "Boy Scouts of America." The Cub Scout and Scout BSA flags have also been updated to reflect the new name. A new handbook has been printed and the website has been updated to feature the new name and logo. Over the next year or two, Scouting America buildings will be updating their exterior signage, Krone said. Though the program formerly known as Boy Scouts, now Scouts BSA, includes the "Boy Scouts of America" acronym, it doesn't appear that this name will be changing, at least not right away. Scouts BSA is trademarked, so the name will remain for now, according to "Scouting," the official magazine published by Scouting America. What are people saying? Since Scouting America began allowing girls to join in 2018-2019, there has been pushback. "Now, I agree that scouting shouldn't be something that's just exclusive to boys, but isn't that the whole reason why there's Girl Scouts? When scouting exists for both boys and girls and the boys organization switches it to allow girls in it, it almost implies that if you're a Girl Scout, you're not a real scout," Ryan Quinlan, known as But That's My Opinion on social media, said in a TikTok video last year. In 2018, Girl Scouts of America filed a trademark infringement lawsuit against Scouting America, claiming the organization didn't have the right to use terms like "scout" or "scouting" by themselves when rebranding the Boy Scouts program to Scouts BSA. However ultimately, in 2022, the two organizations entered into an agreement to end the litigation. Girl Scouts of America declined comment on the Scouting America name change. Since its founding in 1912, Girl Scouts has only been open to girls. Men are allowed to be leaders within the organization. For girls who have been a part of the Scouting America organization, the recent name change is validating. Sara Rubelee. 14, has been a member of Scouting America Troop 235G in Springfield, Missouri since 2017, when the organization opened an early adopters program for girls. Now, Sara is working on her Eagle Scout Project − collecting musical instruments for an under-privileged school in her community. Troop 235G is an all girls unit. At the Cub Scout level, packs are co-ed, but at the Scouts BSA level, troops are separated by gender. Joining the organization when she was in the second grade, Rubelee said she enjoys "every second" of it, from attending summer camp and earning merit badges − Oceanography is her favorite − to competing in the annual Pinewood Derby and getting started on her Eagle Scout Project. "All these events, and so many more, have absolutely changed the way I view the world, and the way I can help make it a better place," she said. "This organization has led me to having so many friends and gaining new ones almost everywhere I go. As scouting as evolved, so have the scouts, but the morals have always stayed the same: helping youth grow into successful young adults and prepare them for the promising future ahead of them." Krone said the changes the organization has made over the past few years are in attempt to keep up with the "youth of today." "I am much, much more interested in what a 35-year-old parent thinks about child development and what their youth needs than perhaps someone who was a Boy Scout with me," said Krone, who joined the organization in the third grade in 1967. But not everyone in the organization feels the name change is for the best reasons. Scoutmaster Hillard said he thinks it's "a money issue." "They're mostly dwindling numbers, wanting to bolster enrollment numbers in the organization. I never really heard a great reason," he said. In 2018, Scouting America reported that about 2.3 million members made up the organization, down from 2.6 million in 2013, USA TODAY previously reported. Girls have been involved with the program since 1969 It's been a bit longer than just the past decade that girls have been able to join Boy Scouts, now Scouting America. Girls were first welcomed to join the organization in 1969, with the advent of the Exploring, a career-readying program. Girls were then permitted to join Venturing, a co-ed program centered around outdoor adventuring, in 1998. Adult women have been able to be a part of the organization for even longer, with the creation of the Den Mother position in 1936, according to the Scouting America website. The Den Mother position, originally only open to women, is a leadership role within a Cub Scout den. Greta Cross is a national trending reporter at USA TODAY. Follow her on X and Instagram @gretalcross. Story idea? Email her at gcross@
Yahoo
06-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Boy Scouts see a small membership uptick after rebrand to Scouting America
IRVING, Texas (AP) — A historic rebrand of the Boy Scouts of America has been followed by a small uptick in young people joining what will now be called Scouting America, a welcoming sign as the organization tries to move past scandal and bankruptcy. The group will continue leaning into a broad message of inclusivity as it celebrates its 115th birthday Saturday, President and CEO Roger Krone said. He acknowledged some backlash to the rebrand after it was announced last year but described the overall response as a positive one that generated wider interest. 'The fact that we were going with a more kind of gender-neutral name, a lot of people kind of wanted to know more about it,' Krone said. Although the overall gain in membership was small — about 16,000 new scouts, up less than 2% from the prior year — it is still encouraging for the organization after participation plummeted during the COVID-19 pandemic. The organization, which began allowing girls to join its scouting programs in 2018, has just over 1 million members. Krone said Cub Scouts, the youngest scouting level, saw an increase of almost 3%. Although the majority of scouts are still boys, over 196,000, girls participated in Scouting America's programs last year. More than 8,000 girls have earned the rank of Eagle Scout. The name change will officially take effect during the weekend birthday celebration, when sites across the U.S. will be illuminated in red, white and blue, including Niagara Falls and the Empire State Building. A redesigned flag with the Scouting America brand will be raised next week at the headquarters in the Dallas suburb of Irving. The rebrand is one of several momentous events for the tradition-steeped organization, including its 2020 bankruptcy filing amid claims from tens of thousands of people — mainly men — who said they were abused as young scouts. Also, the organization began allowing gay youth in 2013 and ended a blanket ban on gay adult leaders in 2015. It began accepting girls as Cub Scouts as of 2018 and into the flagship Boy Scout program — renamed Scouts BSA — in 2019. The organization's $2.4 billion bankruptcy reorganization plan took effect in 2023, allowing it to keep operating while compensating sexual abuse survivors. Over 82,000 people filed abuse claims during the bankruptcy case. To fund the survivors' settlement trust, which has started making payouts, campgrounds and other properties have been sold, along with works of art including Norman Rockwell paintings depicting idyllic scenes featuring Boy Scouts. Krone said the organization is working to digitize all its materials, creating a platform that will also allow for programs to be made multilingual. That, for instance, could help a parent who doesn't speak English follow along with their scout, he said. Wally Tirado, who works closely with scouts in the Dallas area through a Scouting America leadership group, said the diversity among youth members was evident at a recent dinner honoring new Eagle Scouts. He called it a 'room full of cultures" from around the world. 'It's still the same program,' said Tirado, a district commissioner in the Circle Ten Council. 'Just because we changed our name doesn't mean we changed what we do.' Jamie Stengle, The Associated Press
CBS News
06-02-2025
- General
- CBS News
Boy Scouts see a small membership uptick after rebrand to Scouting America
IRVING – A historic rebrand of the Boy Scouts of America has been followed by a small uptick in young people joining what will now be called Scouting America, a welcoming sign as the organization tries to move past scandal and bankruptcy. The group will continue leaning into a broad message of inclusivity as it celebrates its 115th birthday Saturday, president and CEO Roger Krone said. He acknowledged some backlash to the rebrand after it was announced last year but described the overall response as a positive one that generated wider interest. "The fact that we were going with a more kind of gender-neutral name, a lot of people kind of wanted to know more about it," Krone said. Although the overall gain in membership was small — about 16,000 new scouts, up less than 2% from the prior year — it is still encouraging for the organization after participation plummeted during the pandemic. The organization has just over 1 million members. Krone said Cub Scouts, the youngest scouting level, saw an increase of almost 3%. Although the majority of scouts are still boys, over 196,000, girls participated in Scouting America's programs last year. More than 8,000 girls have earned the rank of Eagle Scout. The name change will officially take effect during the weekend birthday celebration, when sites across the U.S. will be illuminated in red, white and blue, including Niagara Falls and the Empire State Building. A redesigned flag with the Scouting America brand will be raised next week at headquarters in the Dallas suburb of Irving. The rebrand is among momentous events the tradition-steeped organization has seen over the last decade, including its 2020 bankruptcy filing amid a flood of claims from tens of thousands of people — mainly men — who said they were abused as young scouts. Also, the organization began allowing gay youth in 2013 and ended a blanket ban on gay adult leaders in 2015. And in 2017 it announced that girls would be accepted as Cub Scouts as of 2018 and into the flagship Boy Scout program — renamed Scouts BSA — in 2019. The organization's $2.4 billion bankruptcy reorganization plan took effect in 2023, allowing it to keep operating while compensating sexual abuse survivors. Over 82,000 people filed abuse claims during the bankruptcy case. To fund the survivors' settlement trust, which has started making payouts, campgrounds and other properties have been sold, along with works of art including Norman Rockwell paintings depicting idyllic scenes featuring Boy Scouts. Krone said the organization is working to digitize all its materials, creating a platform that will also allow for programs to be made multilingual. That, for instance, could help a parent who doesn't speak English follow along with their scout, he said. Wally Tirado, who works closely with scouts in the Dallas area through a Scouting America leadership group, said the diversity among youth members was evident at a recent dinner honoring new Eagle Scouts. He called it a "room full of cultures" from around the world. "It's still the same program," said Tirado, a district commissioner in the Circle Ten Council. "Just because we changed our name doesn't mean we changed what we do."
