James Martin Named Scout Executive of Golden Empire Council
Here is a press release on the Golden Empire Council of the Boy Scouts naming a new CEO and Scout Executive. He serves 16 Northern California counties. For a photo, email me at gzavoral@rs-e. com
(PRWEB) May 29, 2003
SACRAMENTO - James R. Martin, who has more than a quarter-century of management experience in Scouting, has been named Scout Executive and CEO of the Golden Empire Council of the Boy Scouts of America.
The Golden Empire Council serves more than 32,000 young people in 16 counties: Amador, Butte, Colusa, El Dorado, Glenn, Nevada, Placer, Sacramento, Shasta, Sierra, Solano, Sutter, Tehama, Trinity, Yolo and Yuba.
“We are excited to have someone with Jim’s experience to head our operations,” said Bob Kittredge, chairman of the board of the Golden Empire Council. “The Boy Scouts have a tremendous effect on our young people, teaching them valuable life skills and those timeless values that Northern Californians hold so dearly. Jim’s leadership will ensure that Boy Scouts will continue to make a difference in our region for many years to come.”
Among MartinÂ’s responsibilities in this full-time, paid position will be the council budget and its fund-raising efforts. Currently, the council is in its Friends of Scouting campaign, which is one of the main fund-raisers for Boy Scouts. Parents of Scouts, their friends, former Scouts and the community at large are asked to help sponsor a young man in Boy Scouts. Martin plans to broaden the donation base through the business community, too.
“Our council has had great support from parents and Scouting’s friends through the years,” Martin said. “But the giving from local corporations has dropped, and we hope to reach them with the message that donating to Scouting not only develops better citizens, but a better employee base too.”
Martin, who most recently served as the director of BSAÂ’s Western Region, has dedicated himself to the Boy Scouts of America for the past 28 years. He was a member of the management staff in the Golden Empire Council and the former Mt. Whitney Council for 16 years before serving for seven years as Scout Executive of councils in Everett and Billingham, Wash.
Martin was born in Orosi, Tulare County, and is a graduate of California State University, Chico, where he earned a bachelor's degree in recreation and administration. He served in Vietnam and, for his service, the Army awarded him the Purple Heart Bronze Star. He resides in Folsom with his wife, Laura. They have three adult children and two grandchildren.
The Golden Empire Council headquarters are located at 251 Commerce Circle in Sacramento, with field offices in Redding, Chico and Yuba City. The council operates five camps: Camp Lassen, Glacier Trails Scout Ranch, Camp Pahatsi, Camp Winton and Camp Pollock. Camps Lassen and Pollock have full-time Ranger residents and a year-round program.
The purpose of the Boy Scouts of America - incorporated on Feb. 8, 1910, and chartered by Congress in 1916 - is to provide an educational program for boys and young adults to build character, to train in the responsibilities of participating citizenship, and to develop personal fitness.
The Boy Scouts of America have four main programs for young men and women:
Cub Scouting - A family - and home-centered program for boys 7 through 10 years old. Cub ScoutingÂ’s emphasis is on quality program at the local level, where the most boys and families are involved. Boys 10 years old are called Webelos (WE'll BE LOyal Scouts) and participate in more advanced activities that begin to prepare them to become Boy Scouts.
Boy Scouting - A program for boys 11 through 17 designed to achieve the aims of Scouting through a vigorous outdoor program and peer group leadership with the counsel of an adult Scoutmaster.
Varsity Scouting - An active, exciting program for young men 14 through 17 built around five program fields of emphasis: advancement, high adventure, personal development, service, and special programs and events.
Venturing - Venturing is for young men and young women ages 14 to 20. It includes challenging high-adventure activities, sports, and hobbies for teenagers that teach them leadership skills, provide opportunities to teach others, and give them an opportunity to learn and grow in a supporting, caring and fun environment.
For more information on the Boy Scouts and the Golden Empire Council, call (916) 929-1417 or toll-free (800) 427-1417, or visit the Web site, www. gec-bsa. org.
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