Greetings from Orlando, and the national annual meeting of the Boy Scouts of America (BSA). At this meeting, the organization announced that it will rebrand to Scouting America to reflect the organization’s ongoing commitment to welcome every youth and family in America to experience the benefits of Scouting. The change will go into effect on Feb. 8, 2025, the organization’s 115th anniversary.

This announcement comes as the organization celebrates the fifth anniversary of welcoming girls into our Cub Scouting and Scouts BSA programs. Serving both boys and girls, this name change does nothing more than welcome all youth to participate in our program. Remember the uproar when Apple Computer Company changed its name when its business evolved to be more than building computers? Me neither.

Scouting America builds on the organization’s 114 years of helping America’s youth. Its ongoing goal is to provide youth with a safe environment where they can learn meaningful life skills and have fun, educational experiences, fostering their growth and future outcomes as leaders. At the same time, values instilled by the Scout Oath and Scout Law help prepare young people for lives of purpose and impact.

Although the name change is a significant signal about our desire to provide the nation’s leading youth development program to as many youth as possible, it is important to remind ourselves what has not changed. The Scout Oath and Scout Law have not changed. The core tenants of duty to country, to oneself and to God have not changed. We remain fully committed to continuing to be value based, leadership focused and adventure driven, with achievement recognized. We are committed to teaching young people to “Be Prepared” for life.

Recent survey data show that 99% of Scouts and Scouters agree that Scouting helps character development. Of survey participants with no connection to Scouting, 91% say the same. That’s because all of our programs are focused around the fundamental values of striving to be Trustworthy, Loyal, Helpful, Friendly, Courteous, Kind, Obedient, Cheerful, Thrifty, Brave, Clean and Reverent.

At the Tidewater Council, our goal is to continue to grow our membership and to safely serve youth in Virginia Beach, Norfolk, Portsmouth, Chesapeake and northeast North Carolina. And the state of the Tidewater Council is strong by all measures. Today, we already serve more than 4,100 youth through the hard work and dedication of more than 1,700 volunteers, who together provided the community more than 66,900 hours of community service in 2023. We delivered a premier experience at Pipsico Scout Reservation, a 916-acre property on the James River, during our summer camp and year-around events such as Cub family camps and Zomboree. As we like to say, it was “Pipsico Awesome.”

Our Scouts in Tidewater Council earned 6,346 merit badges in 2023 ranging from first aid to archeology and from swimming to welding — introducing them to future careers and hobbies. Last year, in our Scouts BSA program, which serves youth from ages 10 to 18, 145 Scouts attained the rank of Eagle Scout; in our Cub Scout program, which serves youth from ages 5 to 10, 181 earned their Arrow of Light; and one of our older youth earned the Summit award, the highest award in Venturing. We are grateful for our local investors, partners and supporters who supported these youth.

Our doors are open. If you have a child who could benefit from leaving his or her cell phone or Xbox and interacting and learning life-long skills with other youth, we are here for you at tidewaterbsa.com. If you lead a church, school, or civic or community group, we are ready to partner with you to serve more youth. If you want to help us achieve our mission in other ways, we welcome you too.

Scouting America affords us an opportunity to expand our reach and to welcome new members to the Scouting adventure. Tidewater Council’s dedicated team of professional staff and volunteers look forward to further serving youth in our community.

John Scheib of Virginia Beach is president of the Boy Scouts of America Tidewater Council and an attorney with Gentry Locke Attorneys.