While uniforms, merit badges have evolved, Blue Ridge Council's values remain constant

One hundred years after its founding, the Blue Ridge Council, Boy Scouts of America, has experienced some changes … Uniforms and merit badges have evolved. Girls may join.

But more than 3,000 youths in eight counties of the Upstate still recite the same Scout Oath and the same Scout Law today as those who joined the organization throughout the century before them.

“A merit badge in the ’40s might have been about hog production,” says Arthur F. “Mac” McLean, a past president of the council, a voting member of the national council, and the local council’s unofficial historian.

Today, 86% of merit badges involve science, technology, engineering and math, says Greg Balog, CEO of the Blue Ridge Council.

“But you still have to earn a camping merit badge,” McLean says. “And we still have the same Scout Oath and the same 12 points of the Scout Law – to be trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean, and reverent.”

Patron Dinner to honor Stewart and Steve Spinks, Spinx Co.

On April 25, the council will host its annual Patron Dinner, a fundraiser that this year will honor Stewart and Steve Spinks and the Spinx Co. for their contributions to the organization. S.C. Attorney General Alan Wilson, an Eagle Scout, will be the guest speaker.

The fundraiser, part of the Friends of Scouting Campaign, accounts for a third of the Blue Ridge Council’s budget. The goal is to raise $675,000, Balog says, and all of the money goes toward programs for this year’s 3,500 Scouts in Abbeville, Anderson, Greenville, Greenwood, Laurens, Newberry, Oconee and Pickens counties.

“It’s the 100-year anniversary for us. Last year was the 50-year anniversary for the Spinx Co.,” says Lee Dixon, president of the council’s Board of Directors. “We both have a long history, a lasting legacy, and a limitless future. We are both invested in Greenville. We have been, we are, and we will be invested in Greenville for many years to come.”

Stewart Spinks has served on the council’s Board of Directors; Steve Spinks is a current board member.

“Not many organizations make it 50 or 100 years,” Dixon says. “Think about colleges or churches or companies or institutions that make it to 100 years old. Those that do, they make it that long because they make a difference in the world.”

The money raised at the dinner and contributions from the community help sustain services and after-school programs for youths in underserved areas. It also supports the council’s camp.

Summer camp adventures are fun part of Scouting

“Camp Old Indian is our premier Scout camp. Fundraising keeps it available and safe for all Scouts,” Balog says.

In 2022, the nationally accredited camp near Travelers Rest served 755 youth at Scouts BSA Summer Camp; about 250 Cub Scout campers; and 312 Cub Scouts who participated in family weekends.

“Summer adventures are the thing a lot of people remember about Scouting,” McLean says.

Camp costs $395 per week for each Scout.

“We're able to keep it affordable because we've been able to subsidize it through generous donors in the community,” Balog says.

Scouting membership fees go to the national organization.

Scholarships are available for youth whose families cannot afford the fees. “We like to say that no youth will be turned away,” Dixon says. “We'll find a way to fund both their membership fees for Scouting and their attendance at summer camp.”

Scouting includes the Cub Scout program for boys and girls in kindergarten through fifth grade; the Scouts BSA program for boys and girls in sixth grade to the age of 18; and the Explorer Scout and High Adventure programs, which are both coed and available to young people ages 14 to 20.

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Opportunities have also been created for youths with special needs.

Adult volunteers who supervise Scouts receive training so that they can guide young people and keep them safe. The Blue Ridge Council has only 11 paid staff members.

“Every scoutmaster is a volunteer. Every Cubmaster is a volunteer. Untold legions of community heroes work with these kids,” McLean says.

But troops elect their own youth leaders.

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Mission of Boy Scouts of America: Helping youth make ethical, moral decisions

“The mission of the Boy Scouts of America hasn't really changed in 100 years. We are intentionally focused on helping youth make ethical and moral decisions over the course of their lifetime,” says Dixon, who is Chief Operations Officer at Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough law firm in Greenville.

“We’re teaching youth to do the right thing, to be leaders, to focus on investing in their own maturity, and then investing in the maturity of their peers.”

Dixon and McLean are both Eagle Scouts; 121 young people in the Blue Ridge Council became Eagle Scouts in 2022.

“In Scouting, you learn by doing. Sometimes you mess up, but you mess up in an environment where that’s OK. A lot of the skills I use every day, I developed in Scouting,” says McLean, an attorney with the Haynsworth Sinkler Boyd firm in Greenville.

Of the youths who participate in Blue Ridge Scouting, 91% earn A’s and B’s in school; 96% advance to the next grade.

But a young person doesn’t have to spend years in Scouting to reap benefits.

“I was in Scouts for a handful of years,” says Balog, who has worked in Scouting for 20 years and at the Blue Ridge Council since 2019.

“But the impact it made on me … When I started exploring career opportunities, I wanted to do something where I gave back to the community, particularly youth. What organization is better at making sure that youth are on a positive track in life, making positive, good decisions? It’s a passion for me every day to serve as CEO, to make sure that the youth have all of the opportunities they want and that they're experiencing all of their dreams.”

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The Blue Ridge Council is a 501(c)(3) organization, separate from the national Boy Scouts of America. The Blue Ridge Council’s official anniversary is Nov. 1, and a celebration will be held for all Scouters and supporters on Nov. 4.

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The Patron Dinner begins at 5 p.m. April 25 at the Embassy Suites by Hilton, 670 Verde Blvd. For information about tickets, contributions or sponsorships, email greg.balog@scouting.org

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This story appears in Marketplace Greenville, is published weekly in the Greenville News.

This article originally appeared on Greenville News: Boy Scouts of America, Blue Ridge Council to honor Spinx Co. at dinner