DIAMOND, MO – A local youth organization is considering selling a piece of property.
“It’s just a rare resource out here and it would be a real shame to lose it in the area.” Says Eric Degruson, Frank Childress Properties Committee Chair.
The Boy Scouts of America Ozark Trails Council is considering selling the Frank Childress Scout Reservation.
They do not have the property up for sale, but an offer was recently made on the 180 acre camp.
“Hundreds of thousands of scouts have gone through this over the years. This is where the scouts learn leadership skills, where they learn self reliance, where they learn to deal with problems in the environment and each other.” Says Degruson.
The Ozark Trails Council has been exploring how to fund the council’s contribution to the survivors compensation trust.
The money would be used to settle an ongoing lawsuit against the national boy scouts association.
“I’d tell them before they sell it, slow down and think about the impact on scouts here because they aren’t going to feel the impact if they do sell it.” Says Liam Hall, Life Scout.
The council is not releasing hoe much the camp owes for the settlement.
They say its leadership team is committed to making decisions that will continue their important mission for youth in 31 counties.
On Thursday, the board will vote on the bid.
“This cam is the heart and soul of scouting in the area. It’s where everyone in the area comes together and does big scouting events.” Says Hall.
“It would be a sad thing because of how many memories so many people have made here. How many memories I’ve made here.” Says Alex Mackney, Life Scout.
The reservation is accepting donation pledges to save the camp by putting it into a trust to prevent it from being sold in the future.
To pledge to help Childress, check out the link below.
Here is the council’s full statement:
Attributable to the Ozark Trails Council, Boy Scouts of America:
The Ozark Trails Council is exploring ways to fund our council’s contribution to the survivor’s compensation Trust, as part of the national organization’s bankruptcy process, while ensuring that Scouting will continue serving youth and families in our communities for years to come. The sale of council property is a potential means to achieve both imperatives.
The council received an unsolicited offer to purchase Frank Childress Scout Reservation, and our Executive Board is scheduled to vote on whether to accept that offer during its July 15th meeting as part of ongoing discussions on how to best position the council for the future.
The decision to sell any council-owned property will be difficult. The reality is the Council Executive Board has few options to fund our contribution to the survivor’s Trust. Our leadership team is committed to making decisions that are in the best interest of continuing our important mission and delivering Scouting’s invaluable programs to youth in all 31 counties that make up the Ozark Trails Council. If this sale is approved, there will still be a council property within an hour’s drive for members from every corner of our council’s service area.
As a reminder, our council has not filed for bankruptcy. The Ozark Trails Council remains as dedicated as ever to delivering our nation’s foremost program for character development and values-based leadership training in our communities. Our council serves about 4,300 young people on an annual basis and will continue to do so throughout this process. We are looking forward to an enriching summer of programming, including water sports on Cow Creek, and overnight campouts at Plagens Wildlife Area and Frank Childress Scout Reservation.