New Westmore­land-Fayette Boy Scout executive faces challenges

The new leader of the Westmore­land-Fayette Council Boy Scouts of America is taking over during unprecedented times — in the midst of a pandemic, the national organization’s bankruptcy resulting from costly lawsuits over allegations of boys being abused, and the Girls Scouts claiming in a federal court the Boy Scouts of America is unfairly recruiting girls.

Becoming executive director of a Boy Scout council “has been a long-term goal” for Marcus Ragland, 42, who took over in mid-January, succeeding Martin Barbie, who retired in late November.

“I see the profound effect our programs have on the development of young people, and I have wanted the opportunity to help shape the way we engage with our community to serve even more families,” Ragland said.

Ragland has a long history with Scouting. He achieved the rank of Eagle Scout while growing up in Richmond, Va., and has been a Scouting administrator for 19 years. He was a district director of the Heart of Virginia Council in Richmond for about 13 years. He came to the local Scouting council from the Seneca Waterways Council of Rochester, N.Y., where he was chief operating officer for five years.

In the Greensburg-based Westmoreland-Fayette Council, Ragland said he has taken over “a really solid Scouting program” with about 5,000 members.

“I was very, very interested in coming here. I’m really excited to be serving the families and communities of Westmoreland-Fayette counties,” Ragland said.

While Ragland sees the foundation of the local council having a strong underpinning, the national Boy Scouts of America is being battered, having filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy from creditors in February 2020 in the face of more than 92,000 claims of abuse by Scout leaders and volunteers. The Boy Scouts of America was seeking to settle its bankruptcy case by summer or it may exhaust its supply of money, according to a Washington Post story in November.

There is “a fair amount of negative publicity” surrounding the sex abuse lawsuits, Ragland noted.

The Boy Scouts have mandatory youth protection training designed and put in place in 1985, for which Ragland said the organization is “super proud.” A lot of the media coverage is for sex abuse allegations from incidents alleged to have occurred some time ago, Ragland said.

“We have been updating that (training) as things have come out,” which includes the need to train the leaders “that kids should not be taking cellphones into private spaces,” Ragland said. Training is required every two years for every registered adult leader, and they must undergo a state and national background check, as well as being fingerprinted to comply with state laws, he noted.

“We actually encourage all parents to take it, because it goes over all the requirements. If everybody knows the rules, everybody knows what needs to be reported if there is a violation,” Ragland said.

The Boy Scouts of America’s decision in 2018 to admit girls in Scouts in February 2019 under a renamed Scouting BSA resulted in lawsuits claiming trademark infringements and claims the Boy Scouts were aiming marketing at the girls, creating confusion among the youngsters. He declined to comment on the dispute between the two youth-serving organizations.

“Our mission is to prepare young people to make ethical and moral decisions throughout the course of their lifetime by instilling in them the values of the Scout oath and Scout law,” Ragland said.

They have navigated the covid pandemic as well as possible, Ragland said.

“It’s amazing what we’ve seen in the resilience of Scouts and leaders,” noting they were able to hold a winter outing recently in the Bushy Run area.

One of his goals to make the local council foundation even stronger is to “reach into the community and build stronger connections with businesses and other youth-serving agencies,” Ragland said.

Although Ragland grew up in Richmond, he is familiar with this region because an older brother, Kevin, lived in the Pittsburgh area for several years. They went canoeing on the Youghiogheny River and took advantage of other outdoor activities.

“I fell in love with Western Pennsylvania,” Ragland said. “I got to see just how gorgeous the area is.”

Both of his older brothers were in Scouts — brother Matt made Eagle Scout — and his sister was in Girl Scouts. His father was a Boy Scout leader and a troop leader for 30 years.

The family tradition in Scouting is continuing, Ragland said. He and his wife, Heather, have a 7-year-old daughter, Sadie, who is a Cub Scout. Ragland said she had followed him to Scouting events and just naturally wanted to join Cub Scouts.

“She joined, and I became her (Cub Scout) den leader,” Ragland said.

A 3-year-old son, Emmett, may well follow in his sister’s footsteps in the Cub Scouts.

“We’re through and through a Scouting family,” Ragland said.