Join the Gang at This Year’s BSA Metals Industry Dinner

One such initiative of the council is called Restoring a Village, a partnership between Scouting, community leaders and at-risk youth. The program encourages young people to see a better life beyond what may be a short-lived one on the street. Its pillars including learning how to be an asset and not a liability to their community and developing personal responsibility and respect for others.

Little Village, a tough Chicago neighborhood, has been chosen by the Sigma Lambda Beta alumni fraternity as a site for a program unit. None of the volunteers have children in the program, they are simply giving back to their community. “It takes a very special person to raise their hand and say, ‘I’m going to volunteer my time with this group of kids, even though none of them are mine,’’’ says Myriam Herrera, Development Director at Pathway to Adventure.

The Pathway to Adventure Council looks to local business people to inspire youth as Scout leaders and mentors. Traditionally, Scout leaders are parents who volunteer to lead their child’s pack. In urban areas like Chicago, family dynamics make finding Scout leaders a challenge. Children may be in foster care, one-parent homes or other difficult environments that prevent parents from volunteering, or in some cases, even passing background checks. The Council taps adults who have moved on from their neighborhoods to succeed in life and business to lead Scout groups and serve as role models.

Programs like Trading Tech with a focus on STEM merit badges (science, technology, engineering and math) allow inner-city youth to experience innovative learning opportunities with BSA-certified professionals at their places of work. Young people get to try their hand at creating something amazing at a manufacturing facility, science lab or business office. The experience is inspiring to kids as well as keeping them safe and off the streets when not at school.

Introducing young people to the trade professions has never been more important than during this period of labor shortage in the manufacturing sector, notes Herrera. The Boy Scouts of America teaches skills on the merit badge system, many of which align with the metals and construction industry. There are badges in welding, plumbing, labor, business, energy, transportation and others that help to inspire young men and women to seek careers they may not have considered. Businesses that host the Scouts may find they are helping to shape a future employee for their industry.

A huge change for the Boy Scouts is the admittance of girls into their ranks. Starting in 2018, girls were welcomed into the Cub Scouts, and this year girls were invited to join the Boy Scout level under its new title Scouts BSA. The overall name Boy Scouts of America is unchanged, as is the gender neutral moniker, Cub Scouts. Scouts BSA is the new gender neutral name for the older youths who wear the tan uniforms and were formerly referred to as Boy Scouts.

So far, 529 girls have joined the Chicago-area Council, says Herrera, 413 girls in Cub Scouts and 116 girls in Scouts BSA. A special fundraiser was created to send girls from the Council to the National Youth Leadership Training program. The Fearless Girls National Youth Leadership Fund was named after the Fearless Girl statue that stands in front of the bull on Wall Street. This summer, the Council hopes to send 50 girls to National Youth Leadership Training as the district’s first class of Fearless Girls.

“The future is about leveling the playing field for both genders and offering leadership training in equal fashion,” said Herrera. “Because one of these days, I sure hope we will see a female Eagle Scout president.”

Planting hope takes people, time and money. The steel industry is no stranger to helping the Pathway to Adventure Council achieve its goals.

The steel industry has been a long-time supporter of Scouting. The 2019 Metals Industry Boy Scout Dinner is scheduled for Thursday, May 9, at the Hyatt Regency hotel. Attended by nearly 1,000 industry professionals each year, the fundraising event supports the Scouting initiatives of the Pathway to Adventure Council in the Chicago region and Northwest Indiana. The event brings together steel and metals professionals and C-suite executives for a relaxed evening of networking, highlighting the leadership qualities that Scouting aspires to achieve.

Attendee sponsorship raises about $500,000 per year for the Chicago Scouting organization. Along with a similar amount raised by the Construction Industry dinner, the Pathway to Adventure Council is able to maintain the infrastructure for the district, including staffing, facilities and campgrounds, and provide opportunities for youth in the greater-Chicago region.

The regional tie between the steel industry and the Boy Scouts goes back to 1974 following the completion of the Sears Tower (now called the Willis Tower) in downtown Chicago. The steel-construction tower was a profit generator for the industry, inspiring its leaders to give back in some way to the community. Many of those in leadership positions were former Scouts themselves who regarded their experience in Scouting as a building block for their success. Thus, the Metals Industry Dinner was born and has strengthened in size and monetary support ever since.

Co-chaired this year by Lori Hahn, Regional Sales Manager at Steel Dynamics, and Tamela Olt, Senior Regional Sales Manager at SSAB America, the two emphasized that the values of Scouting—to be trustworthy, loyal, helpful, kind, brave and reverent—have stood the test of time.

Said Hahn and Olt, “We believe it’s important that all children have access to organizations like the Boy Scouts of America where they have mentors to encourage them as they grow into leaders, regardless of their gender. The leadership training and confidence-building lessons that the Boy Scouts of America has been delivering to young men for over a century is now going to be offered to young women. With hard work, determination and guidance, the coveted Eagle rank is now a milestone recognition that can be achieved by all.

“As the leaders of this year’s event, we are honored to help usher in an era of equal opportunities for all of the young people who are interested in participating in the BSA.”

There is still time to register for the May 9 event. Donations are also welcomed.

“We have been given a lot of liberties at trying our hand at new things that are outside of the box and they really are impactful for youth,” says Herrera. “I hope the metals industry will walk away knowing that we care about the future of their industry and we are doing our best to try to provide for it.”

John Packard, President & CEO of SMU, and Senior Editor Tim Triplett will be at this year’s event and are looking forward to meeting you in Chicago.