by Monchen Kao
Wayne Perry currently serves as the 34th president of the Boy Scouts of America. Only a Scout for a brief time as a youth, Wayne’s first serious involvement in Scouting was as a Cubmaster for his four sons in Bellevue, Washington; his involvement in Scouting continued to grow with his sons. First with his local troop and district, Mr. Perry became increasingly immersed in Scouting, working in many positions, including service as president of his council, region, and now the national council; he also served for three years as our international commissioner, representing the Boy Scouts of America around the world.
Today, Mr. Perry still lives in the Seattle area, where he is part owner of the Seattle Mariners. He is a member of T’kope Kwiskwis Lodge in Chief Seattle Council and is a strong supporter of the Order of the Arrow. Having experienced the massive success of programs like ArrowCorps5, Wayne is excited by how the Order has stepped up in recent years and shown that it is more deserving of support and focus than ever. “The Order is just doing a lot more, and when that happens, you pay attention to this group of people who are just doing a great job,” he said.
Mr. Perry is glad to be at NOAC, his first national conference. This is also the first time that a national president has attended NOAC. Mr. Perry is proud to break that trend, and to be joined this week by the other two members of the BSA’s National Key 3, National Comissioner Tico Perez and Chief Scout Executive Wayne Brock.
In the future, Mr. Perry sees the BSA continuing its work on the Journey to Excellence program, the Summit Bechtel Reserve, and expanding its online content and interactivity with local Scouts. While dedicated to keeping Scouting true to its core principles – “No change to the Scout Law, no change to the Scout Oath, no change on Youth Protection or on Safe Swim Defense” – Mr. Perry sees a lot of room for growth and change in the BSA, “I think we have a fabulous program, but it’s gotta be faster, it’s gotta be higher, it’s just gotta be more fun.” In the end, Wayne Perry’s message is one of growth through safe adventure. “No changes to the fundamentals that keep kids safe. But within that, you can do a lot more.”
