Charlie Howard-Gibbon, Council Scout Executive for the Redwood Empire Council of the Boy Scouts of America
Charlie Howard-Gibbon, Council Scout Executive of the Redwood Empire Council, Boy Scouts of America, was our speaker on May 2, 2024. Charlie has had a 40-year career as a Boy Scout executive, working with the San Francisco Bay Area Council, the Mt. Diablo Silverado Council, the Monterey Bay Area Council, and the Alameda Council. Charlie was a Cub Scout, Boy Scout, and adult volunteer. He’s an Eagle Scout, and a recipient of the Order of the Arrow Vigil Honor and the St. George Award. He’s also a long-term Rotarian and current member of the downtown Santa Rosa Club.
Scouting in the U.S. got its start in 1908 when the Scouting Handbook was published. Boy scout organizations were first issued charters in 1912. The Boy Scouts of America (BSA) received a congressional charter in 1916. The Redwood Empire Council had its origins in a boy scout organization established in Petaluma. The Redwood Empire Council has existed permanently since 1943, although the geographical area served has changed over time. The Council currently includes Sonoma and Mendocino Counties. Girls have been accepted as scouts since 2019 and the first female Eagle Scout was approved in 2020. BSA membership now includes about 17% girls! The new name for “Boy Scouts” is “Scouts BSA”. The Redwood Empire Council has 1,100 youth and families, 450 volunteers, and 5 full-time staff. The Council has an annual giving budget of $130,000. The Council’s population is about 10% Latino, while the county’s Latinos comprise 29-30% of all residents. The Council is working hard to increase the number of Latino youths. (Author’s note: according to the 2023-2024 Sonoma County Office of Education Report to the Community enclosed with Sunday’s Press Democrat, 48.7% of students in Sonoma County schools are “Hispanic or Latino.”) The Redwood Empire Council lost significant membership due to Covid 19, but membership is now starting to rebound.
Recently, the BSA reached a settlement with childhood sexual abuse victims through a bankruptcy procedure that set up a large trust fund to handle such claims. The trust includes money from the BSA and its insurers and will be used to settle individual cases. BSA has had strong youth protection rules for 30 years. In fact, their protection rules have been copied by other service clubs. The BSA rules include the “no one-on-one” rule in which adults are not allowed to be with under-age scouts without another adult present. In the case of a female scout, one of the adults must also be a female.
Many thanks to Charlie for the excellent presentation. We also thank Charlie for his incredible service record with the BSA and for continuing to improve the lives of Sonoma County's youth.
Click HERE to view a limited-time recording of Charlie's presentation.
