Meet Your Neighbor

Stephen Heck

March 25, 2007

Scout Executive
Boy Scouts of America - Glacier's Edge Council

It's been said that the skills a boy learns through Scouting will last a lifetime. Sun Prairie's Stephen Heck couldn't agree more. Over the past several decades he has continually applied the knowledge he acquired while working toward the rank of Eagle Scout.

But Heck's appreciation for the Boy Scouts goes well beyond knowing how to tie knots and identify wildlife species. Since graduating from UW-Platteville in 1985, he has worked full time for the national organization -- holding leadership positions in Illinois, Michigan and West Virginia.

In October 2005, Heck and his family -- wife Sarah and children Maggie, 13, and Ryan, 6 -- returned to Wisconsin as scout executive for the Glacier's Edge Council.

Sun Prairie Today sat down with Heck recently to learn more about his involvement with Boy Scouts and the role it can play in the lives of today's youth.

I'm what you call the scout executive. If you think of any other non-profit, it's like the agency director. I'm primarily responsible for the day-to-day operations of the council. A big part of it is working through the board to make sure we raise the money we need to operate.

I'm an Eagle Scout. My dad's an Eagle Scout. My brother's an Eagle Scout. There's a lot of pressure on Ryan now to keep the tradition going. [Laughs.]

My dad became our Scoutmaster. He took us on a trip up to the Boundary Waters to the national canoe base. Just to spend a week and a half up there with him ... it was fun. The brothers and sisters weren't there, it was just us.

The first time we ever did a 23-mile hike down in Illinois, half of us didn't think we'd make it. But when we got done, it was the greatest thing going. We went back every year and did that then.

I think the big thing is it gives them a nice place to go where they're safe, they can hang with their buddies, they can learn some life skills and earn some shiny things to make them feel good about themselves.

Nationally, we've had an increase. Last year, we recruited more new Cub Scouts and Tiger Cubs that we did the previous year. What we're seeing among our Boy Scout ages is that the couple years we were down in Cub Scouting -- now they're Boy Scout age and there's not that pool to draw from. Retention-wise, we're about six percent higher than the national average for our council. Also, we see some kids that will leave Cub Scouts and come back for Boy Scouts because they love the camping -- that more independent time that they have.

This has probably been the easiest transition into an area. People have just been so friendly, so welcoming. It's been almost seamless.