Honor is one of the preeminent tenets of scouting; so when the Archdiocese of Baltimore was honored for its commitment and work with scouting, it was a noteworthy achievement.
Kenn Miller, executive and CEO of the Baltimore Area Council of Scouting America, said scouting and the Catholic Church are a natural fit as partners.
The Baltimore Area Council of Scouting America held its annual volunteer recognition reception and dinner Feb. 20 in Rosedale and the Archdiocese of Baltimore came away with one of the event’s most prestigious awards: the 2024 Chartered Organization of the Year.
For more than a century, the Archdiocese of Baltimore has served as a chartered partner for scouting. Within the Baltimore Area Council, the archdiocese hosts 83 scout packs, troops and crews serving more than 2,400 youths. More than 1,200 adult volunteers support scouting in the greater Baltimore area.
“For 115 years, chartered partners have been a hallmark of who we are,” said Miller, who has worked for scouting councils for more than 40 years. “It has served us well and it’s served the church well. For many kids it’s their first interaction with their parish other than religious activities.
“The Catholic Church and scouting align well with family values,” he said.
The archdiocese was the second organization to receive the award following the American Legion, which received the inaugural award for 2023.
Miller said he is always amazed at how many priests and seminarians are former Eagle Scouts, including Baltimore native Bishop Michael W. Fisher, who now leads the Diocese of Buffalo, N.Y. Cardinal William H. Keeler, the former archbishop of Baltimore who died in 2017, also had been an Eagle Scout.
Auxiliary Bishop Bruce A. Lewandowski, C.Ss.R., a former Cub Scout, was on hand to receive the award along with Anthony Blackburn, archdiocesan coordinator for ministry partnerships; Diana Przybysz, chairperson for the Archdiocesan Catholic Committee on Scouting; and Deacon Tim Maloney, adviser for the Archdiocesan Catholic Committee on Scouting.
In the archdiocese, out of the 404 youths who earned their Eagle Scout rank in 2024, 43 completed their Eagle Scout project for the Catholic community – parishes, schools and the Knights of Columbus.
The 43 Eagle Scout candidates gave leadership to 422 others in the completion of the service projects, which totaled 5,329 service hours. The value of the materials alone, not including labor, for the 43 service projects was $44,274.
Those projects spanned the Baltimore council’s reach in Baltimore City and Baltimore, Anne Arundel, Carroll, Howard and Harford counties.
Przybysz has seen how her five children and the parish of St. Michael in Poplar Springs have benefitted from scouting. Her husband, Anthony, is an Eagle Scout and assistant scoutmaster of Troop 428 in which her three of her sons are members. She is the Bear den leader of Pack 460, in which her youngest son is a member, and she is the assistant scoutmaster with Troop 1191G, to which her daughter belongs.
“I guess I’m a fan of scouting for life after seeing how much my kids and parish have benefitted from it,” she said. “The life skills are so beneficial and the Eagle Scout projects are always spectacular. It warms my heart to see how much the projects give back to the parish.
“You really do see what a difference scouting makes,” Przybysz said. “The numbers are staggering when you see how many people in the archdiocese are involved. I know the parishes around the archdiocese really do appreciate the efforts scouts make in all their volunteer work.”
Email Gerry Jackson at gjackson@CatholicReview.org
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