HOLYOKE, MA (FRANKLIN COUNTY NOW) — The Boy Scouts of Western Massachusetts Council has hired a new leadership team. Craig Sims will serves as the Council’s Scout Executive and CEO brining over 35 years of organizational leadership, operations management, fundraising, and strategy to the position.
L. Scott Rice, a retired lieutenant general of the Air National Guard, has been elected as the council president and chairman of the board of directors. The Council will be focused on growing membership this year.
The Western Mass Council of Scouting America Appoints New Leadership
Holyoke, Mass., July 22 — The Scouting America Western Massachusetts Council
is proud to announce its new leadership team. Craig Sims was recently hired as the Council’s professional Scout Executive and CEO to manage the day-to-day operations of the Council. Sims comes to the Western Massachusetts Council from Colby College where he was associate director of class philanthropy and engagement and brings more than 35 years of proven leadership in the areas of organizational fundraising, sales & business strategy, and operations management. Sims is a former Senior District Executive in Scouting America and served with both the Del-Mar-Va Council in Delaware and in the Chester County Council in Penn. for 10 years.
In addition to Sims, L. Scott Rice has been elected to the position of council president and chairman of the board of directors. Rice is a retired lieutenant general and former director of the Air National Guard for more than 108,000 Air Guard members and civilians in 175 geographically separated units in 213 locations throughout 54 states, territories, and the District of Columbia, with an annual budget of $11.5 Billion. He brings significant leadership, strategy and organizational management skills to the council. Rice is an Eagle Scout and holds both bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, NY.
Rounding out the Council’s ‘Key Three,’ who collectively ‘manage’ the organization is Richard Belford, elected to the position of council commissioner. Belford is a retired chief master sergeant with the U.S. Air Force and has more than 35 years of leadership and management experience in the public, private, and nonprofit sectors. Belford is an Eagle Scout, holds two MBA degrees from Salem University in West Virginia, and is a certified non-profit professional,
For the coming year, the council is focused on growing its membership and units comprised of Cub Scout Packs, Scout Troops, Venturing Crews, Sea Scout Ships and Explorer Posts. Currently the Council has nearly 1,500 youth members and adult volunteers across the four Western Massachusetts counties. With this growth goal in mind, the council has recently secured funding to hire two additional recruiting professionals, for the next two years, to augment the current recruiter focused primarily on the Explorer Program. Scouting America offers youth programs for boys and girls from kindergarten to age 20, and both traditional ‘Scouting’ and ‘specialty’ programs such as Venturing, Exploring and Sea Scouts. In short, there’s something for everyone in the Western Mass. Scouting America program.
The Western Mass. Council kicks off its summer camp program on July 6th at the H.A. Moses Scout Reservation in Russell, Mass. The council will operate an overnight camp through July, offering a wide variety of fun activities, merit badges and rank advancement opportunities to the participants. Camp activities include archery, rifle/shotgun shooting, all-terrain vehicles, camping, campfires, camp songs and skits, nature and conservation, group sports and games, arts and crafts, STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) skills, as well as swimming, canoe/kayaking, sailing, and fishing.
Denis Gagnon, president and CEO of Excel Dryer in East Longmeadow, Mass., and a former president of the Western Mass. Council, Scouting America has said that the scouting program is “the most effective character development, citizenship engagement, personal fitness, and leadership program in America for our youth and parents.”
ABOUT THE WESTERN MASSACHUSETTS COUNCIL:
As one of the nation’s largest and the most effective youth development organizations, the BSA (now Scouting America) has served young men and women for more than 100 years. The mission of Scouting America and the Western Massachusetts Council is to inspire young people to make ethical and moral choices, become self-reliant, and take a prominent role in civic engagement over their lifetimes. The Council office is located at 850 High Street, Suite 1B, in Holyoke, Mass. For additional information, please visit www.wmascouting.org, or call the Western Mass. Council at 413.594.9196.