Greater Hudson Valley Council Families:
Over the last 16 months, the National Council of the Boy Scouts of America has been working to achieve a settlement in its bankruptcy that resulted from thousands of abuse cases filed around the US. The vast majority of these cases are from the 50’s, 60’s and 70’s, with some being more current, since the 80’s. This shows the overwhelming success of Scouting’s Youth Protection Program that was introduced in the 80’s.
But a single case of abuse is unacceptable. One objective of the BSA bankruptcy is to create a Victims Trust Fund that will help compensate anyone that was victimized in the past. An Ad Hoc Committee was formed to represent the councils in the country, and to help agree to the role the Councils would play in the settlement. In addition to the 253 local councils, other groups that will contribute to the settlement include the National Council, various insurance companies and a few large national charter organizations, An agreement by all these organizations - along with the plaintiff’s attorneys and courts - is the best way to assure the continuation of our mission and programming. Failure to reach a settlement could lead to years of litigation and local council bankruptcies.
There are various possible outcomes to the negotiations. In all cases, the local councils will need to contribute significant monies to the settlement fund. Depending on the final settlement amount, the council’s share will almost certainly be multi-millions of dollars. Our GHV Board and Executive Committee have been working tirelessly to evaluate how best to generate the funds we will need to contribute. A special task force was established to perform a detailed analysis of all options. They are investigating EVERY possible way to raise capital, including the reallocation of trusts and restricted funds, the use of existing liquid assets, and the sale of properties.
The sale of any of our key camp properties would be a difficult decision. However, it is likely that selling one or more of these properties is the only way to generate the funds necessary to fund the settlement, while maximizing our opportunities to maintain strong programing and services into the future. We have begun the process of assessing property values and market interest for all three of our downstate camps. That information will be vital to helping our Board agree on the best alternatives for funding the settlement.
We understand the impact of the bankruptcy settlement, and the likely decision to sell one or more of our camps will create great emotion and heartbreak throughout our Council. But we assure you our Board is taking every step to protect the future of Scouting in our region, and to assure a viable and fruitful program for our youth for many years to come. As we receive more information, we will post it here on the Council Website.
Thank you for all you do for your communities and Scouting!
Council Board Chair – Paxton Louis
Executive Vice Board Chair – Ben Mills
Council Commissioner – Gregg Dick
Scout Executive – Richard Stockton
