To:          The Heart of Virginia Council Unit Leadership

From:    Damian Klute, Board Chair
Charlotte Pemberton, Council Commissioner
George McGovern, Scout Executive

Date:     May 8, 2024

RE:        National Boy Scouts of America Name Change

We are writing to share some exciting news and updates regarding our organization. Thanks to your dedication and hard work, the Heart of Virginia Council (HOVC) has achieved remarkable milestones in the past year.

As part of our ongoing success, we have proudly expanded our programs to be more inclusive, now serving a total of 925 (16%) girls throughout our Council. In fact, nationwide, over 175,000 girls have joined the Scouting Family, with 6,000 achieving the prestigious rank of Eagle Scout. This expansion underscores our commitment to ensuring that all youth, regardless of gender, feel welcome and empowered within our organization.

In line with this commitment, we would like to announce that the National Boy Scouts of America will officially change its name to Scouting America, effective February 8, 2025, coinciding with the organization’s 115th birthday. This name change better reflects the diverse youth we serve and reinforces our mission to create an inclusive environment for all participants.

For more detailed information on this change, please refer to the National press release.

While our name is evolving, our core values, mission statement, oath, law, and commitment to teaching youth leadership and character remain steadfast. We are dedicated to positively impacting lives through our programs, and this change further strengthens our efforts to grow and evolve across Central Virginia.

I am also pleased to highlight some additional successes of the HOVC that include female participants: We have 21 girl troops in the council, we had 5 girl Eagle Scouts in 2023, Kate is our first OA female Lodge Chief, and we have girl staff leaders and girl patrols in our youth leader training courses at NYLT and Buckskin.

As we move forward, the HOVC will continue to support your efforts in reaching and retaining more youth in our program. Your volunteer time and leadership are invaluable to our organization and the youth of Central Virginia, and we extend our sincere gratitude for your ongoing dedication.

Thank you for your attention to this important update. Should you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to reach out.