JOHN F. FLOYD COMMENTARY: Legal, settlement woes threaten Boy Scouts of America

John F. Floyd

When you hear the name “Boy Scouts of America,” what are the thoughts that come to mind? To me, the words represent honesty, dignity, service to others, leadership, love of the United States, duty and honor. Scouting gives direction to young boys on their road to manhood. The Boy Scouts of America played an important part in my early childhood, a part that I value even today.

The Boy Scouts gave me something when I had nothing. I was a proud member of Goodyear’s Troop 58. When I joined the troop, I had no idea it would become such an important part of my early boyhood. The Boy Scouts taught me about service to others, love of country and reverence to all religions. The rank of Eagle Scout was the ultimate goal in the Scouting program.

One of the great disappointments of my life is the fact that I never attained Eagle Scout status. I lacked one merit badge that was required to reach that coveted Eagle Scout designation. In my days in the corporate world, when interviewing individuals for promotion or additional responsibilities, if a person’s resume included the designation of Eagle Scout, his credentials were immediately elevated.

The Eagle Scout Award is like the motto of the Marine Corps — once a Marine, always a Marine; once an Eagle Scout, always an Eagle Scout.

Being a member of Troop 58 was the first time I witnessed a young man of my age assuming responsibility. Glenn Thompson, a longtime resident of Gadsden and a member of the troup, was one of my early mentors in Scouting. Glenn was the first boy my age who I observed in a leadership role. Glenn was, and is, an Eagle Scout. But there were many young men in scouting who were influential in my life.

The grown men who led Troop 58 were exceptional. Lee Foy was the Scoutmaster with assistance from Bo Moss. They were men of integrity who took it on themselves to protect the young minions of whom they were responsible.

On the many camping excursions and the trips to Camp Big Heart in Pensacola, Florida, our leadership was impeccable, both by designated leaders like Thompson and the professional scout leaders Foy and Moss.

Goodyear provided the Scouts with a cabin in which to meet, and financial support. I will always be indebted to the early leaders of Goodyear like A.C. Michaels, who made Troop 58 one of his priorities, and all the young men it represented. Troop 58 was one of the largest in Alabama.

Those were the halcyon days of Scouting. The organization is in trouble brought on by sex offenders and sex-abuse lawsuits. When the many sexual abuse lawsuits were first initiated, the Boy Scouts' organization thought there would be about 5,000. The actual number the organization now faces is 85,000. While that number is staggering, it does not parallel the threat the Boy Scouts faces in terms of institutional sponsorship.

The BSA is in bankruptcy. It has proposed a deal whereby it would pay $850 million to bar further suits against the Scouting organization and its councils. The proposed settlement has one major flaw — there are 40,000 organizations that have charters with the BSA that the proposal leaves high and dry and open to further lawsuits.

An example is the United Methodist Church, which has as many as 5,000 of its U.S. congregations that could be facing sexual abuse lawsuits. David Crary, writer for the Associated Press, stated in an article published in the Mobile Register on Sept. 26: “The United Methodist Church has recently advised those churches not to extend their Scouting charters with the BSA beyond the end of the year. The UMC said these congregations were 'disappointed and very concerned' that they weren’t included in the July deal.”

Carey continued, “Everett Cygal, a lawyer for Catholic churches monitoring the case, said it is unfair for parishes to face liability solely as a result of misconduct by Boy Scout troop leaders who frequently had no connection to the parish. Scouting can only be delivered with help from their chartered organizations. It is short sighted not to be protecting the people they absolutely need to ensure that Scouting is viable in the future.”

Other religious denominations are considering withdrawing support from the Boy Scouts. I hope they will reconsider, because without the Boy Scouts of America, we have no program to teach young men and women American values. I didn’t know at the time what the Boy Scout program would eventually mean to me. The Boy Scout experience taught me leadership, and for that, I will forever be indebted.

The Boy Scouts of America still stands for duty, honor and, above all, love of country.

John F. Floyd is a Gadsden native who graduated from Gadsden High School in 1954. He formerly was director of United Kingdom manufacturing, Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co., vice president of manufacturing and international operations, General Tire & Rubber Co., and director of manufacturing, Chrysler Corp. He can be reached at johnfloyd538@gmail.com. The opinions reflected are his own.

This article originally appeared on The Gadsden Times: Columnist addresses Boy Scouts' issues