The sun is beginning to set at Woodruff Scout Reservation in Blairsville, Georgia. It’s the year 2000, and Joe Wiltrout is walking through camp, making sure everything is locked up and secure for the night.
As he rounds a corner, he spots a ragtag group of boys huddled together in deep discussion, trying to figure out how to find their overnight campsite. They’re a group from the inner city, without fancy hiking gear and carrying oversized sleeping bags. Their belongings are bundled together with rope and clothesline.
Wiltrout quickly gets down on one knee and engages the troop in a compass exercise. Once they gather their bearings, the patrol leader gathers everyone into a line to make the trek to their campsite. Wiltrout hangs back with the smallest member of the troop, “a guy no bigger than a peanut,” he recalls.
As they walk into the woods together, their flashlights lighting the way, the smallest boy reaches up to hold Wiltrout’s hand.
“Mr. Wiltrout, when do the street lights turn on? Will a bear eat us?”
Wiltrout smiles, sensing a bit of fear from the littlest member of the troop.
“There are no street lights in the woods. Just our flashlights. But we’re all together, and being together is what will keep us safe, and no, no bear is going to eat us.”
That story, Wiltrout says, has stayed with him for years. Not because it was an extraordinary Scouting moment, but because it captured something he believes is at the heart of the organization: Sometimes a child simply needs an opportunity to discover that he can accomplish something he has never done before, alongside someone who has done it before and can show him how.
And that is ultimately what Scouting America’s capital giving campaign is designed to make possible.
Their Own Why
Chief development officer Joe Wiltrout and chief executive officer Chris Mehaffey are more than their titles. For both men, Scouting has been a lifelong part of their stories.
Wiltrout, an Eagle Scout himself, carries with him the lasting impact Scouting had on his life, as reflected in the story above and reflected in the stories of his own children, all three of whom were involved with Scouts as children. For Mehaffey, also an Eagle Scout, his 27-year journey with Scouting America has given him a front-row seat to the organization’s growth and its changing reach.
As a father of three daughters, Mehaffey saw Scouting take on new meaning when girls were welcomed into traditional Scouting programs in 2019. His oldest daughter was thrilled to experience the program he had grown up with.
“She was so excited that she was going to get to wear the khaki uniform and go camping once a month,” Mehaffey recalls with a smile.
His middle daughter earned her Eagle Scout rank in May 2023, and Mehaffey said the leadership skills she developed through Scouting are evident today as the first female Eagle Scout to serve as captain of the Elkhorn North cheerleading squad.
That lasting impact is also why Mehaffey says it can be easy to misunderstand what Scouting is really about. From the outside, it can look like camping, merit badges, uniforms and even the familiar popcorn sales outside local businesses. But behind each of those activities is something more intentional: an opportunity for a young person to practice skills that will serve them long after they leave Scouting.
Beyond the Badge
Although many may be familiar with Scouts setting up their popcorn stands in front of local businesses, fewer may understand the purpose and importance of them.
“I’ve heard it often that the popcorn is too expensive. But what folks are really missing is the understanding that the popcorn is just a byproduct. It’s being sold so the young person can look an adult in the eye, effectively communicate their goals and sell a product that helps them with their Scouting goals,” Mehaffey explains. “It’s not about the popcorn; it’s a valuable lesson in leadership that many kids are just not getting in their lives.”
At a time when children are struggling in so many areas of their lives, Scouting provides opportunities to stand out in a crowd, carry a flag, execute an objective, help and serve their communities and do things they never thought they were capable of doing. “They’re building confidence, which is what our youth really need,” Mehaffey adds.
These are small moments. They don’t necessarily look like leadership when they’re happening. There is no dramatic soundtrack when a 10-year-old successfully asks a stranger to buy popcorn or walks a flag across a room. But those moments accumulate and reinforce the idea that becoming a leader comes from the multiple opportunities to practice it.
A Safe Place to Grow
For Wiltrout, the impact of Scouting became even clearer when his children grew up and aged out of the program. They told him how much those early experiences had meant to them, whether it was his daughter tagging along with her brother on camping trips or his son taking advantage of the countless opportunities to serve others.
“You know, although my son never did want to become an Eagle Scout, all of the leadership skills he and his sisters learned while being involved, they were able to appreciate when they were in college,” Wiltrout says.
As they pursued their degrees, navigated roommates and became involved in collegiate organizations, Wiltrout said his children would come home and tell him, “Man, I’m really thankful I learned what I learned in Scouts.”
Wiltrout and Mehaffey both emphasize that Scouting is about more than earning merit badges or achieving the prestigious rank of Eagle Scout. At its heart, it is about helping young people become confident, capable and responsible adults — and giving them room to learn by trying, failing and trying again.
“We provide a space for kids to be kids and fail in a safe environment and learn from it,” Mehaffey says.
Outside the highly structured environments of school, organized sports and extracurricular activities, where competition can sometimes consume both children and their families, Scouting offers something different: the freedom to explore. With 137 areas of study and countless paths to discover, a Scout may find an interest that eventually becomes a passion or even a career.
And perhaps just as importantly, Scouting gives parents the opportunity to step off the sidelines. Instead of watching from the bleachers, they can get involved, learn alongside their children and experience the journey with them.
“I’ve seen it through a father’s eyes, and the difference our program has made on our kids has been immeasurable,” Mehaffey says. “And it really does take a community to make this kind of impact.”
For Mehaffey, that community is one of the most important things Scouting can offer. The uniform and badges may be what families see first, but the network of adults quietly reinforcing confidence, character and responsibility is what stays with a child for the rest of their life, and they couldn’t do this without support.
Investing in the Next Generation
Impact does not happen by accident. It takes dedicated leaders, committed volunteers and a community willing to invest in the next generation. That is the heart of Scouting America’s Giving Campaign: an invitation to invest in the experiences, opportunities and relationships that help shape young people for life.
The campaign officially kicks off with the Invest in Character Luncheon, bringing community leaders and supporters together around a shared belief that developing character in young people is an investment in the future.
With keynote speaker Tom Osborne in attendance, the event takes place Dec. 2 at the CHI Center.
“We’ll have over 1,000 people here in Omaha and 300 people at five other satellite locations,” Wiltrout explains. “It really is a showcase of leadership and the impact our organization has on the lives of nearly 23,000 kids across the 102 counties we serve in Nebraska, western Iowa and southern South Dakota.”
But the campaign is about more than sustaining the programs Scouting already offers. It is also about preparing the organization for the future.
“The capital campaign is really about our Future Ready programs,” Wiltrout explains. “It’s about world-class facilities and family impact.”
One of those programs could soon become a new entry point into Scouting for families throughout Omaha. Because Scouting traditionally takes place through schools and churches, Wiltrout and his team are exploring ways to create what he calls a “front door” to the Scouting experience.
They are currently in the early design stages of what they fondly call the Discovery Lab.
A Place to Be
The Discovery Lab is envisioned as a place where kids can walk in curious and walk out having discovered something they might want to pursue. That could be STEM, invention, a career interest, a traditional Scout skill or simply a new sense of what they are capable of.
The concept builds on the council’s existing Invention Scouts program, which brings hands-on STEM education into schools through more than 100 lesson plans and a mobile lab equipped for technology and invention activities.
The program currently serves approximately 15,000 kids, and Wiltrout says 85% of them have never heard of Scouting. 67% come from low- to moderate-income households, and 31 schools are currently sitting on the waiting list.
But the Discovery Lab is only one piece of the council’s vision for the future. The fundraising initiative also includes updates and infrastructure improvements at Camp Eagle and Camp Cedars.
Plans include expanding equestrian programs, adding glamping and other family-friendly activities, and renovating existing structures to create more destination-style facilities for the surrounding community. The goal is to make the camps more than places where Scouts spend a weekend — but destinations that can also host corporate retreats, conferences and family-focused events.
For Wiltrout and the Mid-America Council, the investment is ultimately about creating more opportunities for young people to discover what they are capable of — opportunities they might not otherwise have — while giving families and communities more ways to experience Scouting together.
Mehaffey is quick to point out that the capital campaign is just one part of the council’s broader annual fundraising efforts, which help keep Scouting affordable.
“Our summer camp fees are about $400 less than any other summer camp around us,” Mehaffey says. “And it’s because we raise money to help support the operations of the camp year-round. We’re able to offer programs to kids at a fraction of what it would really cost because we’re raising money to take care of other things that typically would have to be included in the cost of an activity.”
More Than the Money
But behind every gift, large or small, are stories of the impact Scouting has on young people and the communities around them.
There is the Scout who, while completing his Personal Management merit badge, was required to create a personal budget. The exercise inspired his parents to do the same, ultimately changing the financial trajectory of their entire family.
Then there is the teenage Scout who spotted a man having a heart attack at a busy Omaha intersection. Drawing on his first aid training, he called for help, remained calm, administered CPR until emergency responders arrived and stayed with the man’s wife to comfort her.
“That gentleman lived, and when the Scout was given an award and recognized, they both came teary-eyed because if that Scout hadn’t stopped to help, he could not be with us today,” Mehaffey says.
“We serve 23,000 kids every year,” Mehaffey states. “That’s a lot of opportunity to do good in our community every day. You never know when it’s going to pay off.”
Lessons That Matter
For Joe Wiltrout and Chris Mehaffey, the full measure of the impact of the organization they lead may not be something they ever see in their lifetimes. It may only become visible in the lives of the young people they serve long after their time with Scouting has ended. Yet they remain fiercely committed to the kids, families and communities who depend on the program.
Because they were once those kids, too. They were the new Scouts standing in the dark, listening for wild animals as the sun set over their campsite. Someone had walked beside them then, just as Wiltrout walked beside that young Scout 26 years ago. Someone showed them where to find the kindling, how to build the fire and, perhaps most importantly, that they were safe and they were not alone.
And maybe that’s really what Scouting is all about: having those who have gone before carefully placing the kindling around souls, knowing one day, the fire will ignite and spread and light up the world around them, one Scout at a time.
“It’s not about the popcorn; it’s a valuable lesson in leadership that many kids are just not getting in their lives.”
“We provide a space for kids to be kids and fail in a safe environment and learn from it,”
“That’s a lot of opportunity to do good in our community every day. You never know when it’s going to pay off.”