Boy Scouts celebrate 100th birthday today

With recent generations of boys more enamored with how to pick up points on Grand Theft Auto than how to build a good campfire, the Boy Scouts of America has lost some momentum since it was incorporated 100 years ago today.

Still, the organization remains vibrant with 2.8 million members between 7 and 20 years old and 1.2 million volunteers. It is poised to meet new challenges and hopes to keep on instilling values of loyalty, integrity and honor, officials say.

Locally, the Gulf Ridge Council will observe the 100th birthday of scouting at the council's service center, 13228 N. Central Ave., with a series of events today.

George McGovern, scout executive with the local council, said recruiting and retaining scouts has been a challenge over the past couple of decades, but efforts to draw members has paid off.

"Celebrating the last 100 years is wonderful," he said. "But I'm more interested where we will be over the next 100 years."

This past fall, he said, "we had the best recruitment we've had in five years," including Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts. Actively recruiting them makes the difference, he said.

"We have to make ourselves relevant to them and their parents," he said. "The core values we stand for are still there. Parents still want that in their children.

"The reality is that parents have to pick and choose, along with their kids who have a greater say these days, about what they want to participate in," he said. "We've got to be one of those groups that parents see as relevant and with the values they want to instill in their kids."

The Gulf Ridge Council covers eight counties in West Central Florida, from Citrus County to Highlands County. There are 550 troops, dens or other scouting units, McGovern said.

Keeping the membership high is one of the main objectives of the organization, he said.

"In years past, boys came to us," he said. But nowadays, recruiting is a necessary tool to keep the organization running. There are a lot of distractions out there from soccer and baseball leagues to school extracurricular activities to video games and hanging out at the mall, McGovern said.

"The beauty of our program is that we meet generally speaking once a week or every other week," he said. "We have one outing a month and they have the flexibility to do as much as they want or as little as they want and still work toward their scouting advancement."

Statistics show that most boys leave the program while still Cub Scouts in the third and fourth grade and older boys in scouting generally stay involved, he said. Boy Scouts in the Gulf Ridge Council average about 15 years old and that group shows a 75 percent retention rate.

Critical in recruiting and keeping scouts are volunteers, he said.

"Volunteers are the absolute key," he said.

Currently, about 15,000 children in this region are involved in scouting. McGovern said that over the next 10 years, he hopes membership will grow to 45,000.

That will mean higher memberships among Hispanic children and inner-city boys, he said. Currently scout leaders are discussing ways to get children in the public housing complexes in Tampa more involved in scouting.

In 2006, scouting leaders at the national level commissioned a five-year study on how to better attract members and volunteers. It focuses on how to recruit youthful members from different ethnic, racial and socio-economic backgrounds.

The 2006-2010 National Strategic Plan is a roadmap to build the organization's strength, according to the scouting Web site.

"In 2006, we reached a population milestone of 300 million people living in the United States, the largest number of people ever to inhabit our country," said the introduction to the plan. "This milestone was also a sign of change. Change in the populations that are growing through birth and immigration, and change in the way these populations become a part of the fabric of America.

"In the past, America has been characterized as a 'melting pot.' Immigrants came to the United States and assimilated into the customs and language of this country. By the second or third generation, language and customs from their ancestral countries were usually lost. During the late 20th century, this changed and America is now characterized as a 'salad bowl' where people mix and mingle but retain much of their cultural identity and values."

Scouting leaders say they realize that many youths are growing up in communities "where diversity is the norm and their circle of friends reflects a variety of cultures," the strategic plan said.

That doesn't make scouting less attractive, leaders say.

The youth being sought "embrace diversity and appreciate the experiences that friendships outside of their culture bring," the plan said. "They also want and expect diversity to be a part of the activities and organizations they join."

The plan, titled, "2010: When Tradition Meets Tomorrow" reflects the changing attitude of the tradition-steeped organization.

The goals reflect common sense: Increase membership, make sure the organization is financially secure, recruit a million more volunteers, strengthen relationships with other chartered organizations and established a more diverse leadership.

The organization has always tried to stay relevant, McGovern said. Rabbit-raising merit badges, for example, have been overtaken by skateboard technology merit badges.

"You do have to change with the times," he said.