September 23, 2010 -- Congresswoman McCollum's Statement in Support of the Boy Scouts PDF Print
I recognize the Boy Scouts of America Northern Star Council on the occasion of 100 years of Scouting in Minnesota and nationally.  Residents of Saint Paul are proud that the Northern Star Council has its headquarters located in Minnesota's Capital City.

Since it was established in 1910, Boy Scouts of America have been dedicated to training young adults in the promotion of community service, outdoor education, and good citizenship. The Northern Star Council shares equally historic roots as the national organization. The council was originally organized as two councils. The St. Paul Council was organized on October 1, 1910. The movement was spearheaded by St. Paul businessman C.F. Proctor, who happened to be a friend of Sir Robert S.S. Baden-Powell, the founder of the Boy Scout Movement in England.

A group of businessmen meeting at the Minneapolis Commercial Club organized the Hennepin Council on October 15, 1910. Former President Theodore Roosevelt, an avid supporter of the fledgling Scouting movement and Honorary President of the National Council, spoke at the Council's first general meeting in 1911. Sir Robert Baden-Powell himself presented a lecture to the Twin Cities Scouting community at the Minneapolis Auditorium in early 1912.

Over the next ninety years, both councils expanded. By 1960, the St. Paul Council had increased in size nine times, acquiring counties east of St. Paul, including four in western Wisconsin. In 1954, the council chose a new name to better reflect all of its membership: the Indianhead Council. During the same period, the Hennepin Council expanded westward to the North Dakota border and changed its name to the Viking Council.

On July 1, 2005, the Viking and Indianhead Councils merged to form today's Northern Star Council, one of the largest in the country. The council includes a band of communities reaching from the North Dakota border on the west to the communities of Ellsworth and Roberts, Wisconsin, on the east.

Boy Scouts of America is a group that has had a positive impact on generations of young people in Minnesota. I am pleased to honor the
members and volunteers for their hard work and constant dedication to our community. Madam Speaker, please join me in rising to honor the 100th Anniversary of the Boy Scouts of America and the Northern Star Council.