
MEET OUR 2022 LEADERSHIP

Robert C. Taylor
President & Chairman of the Board

Joseph N. Waller
Council Commissioner

Andrew V. Zahn
Scout Executive/CEO
Scouts Performed
Scouting in Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky is strong and growing! The Dan Beard Council serves on average over 20,000 youth and families in our community each year. This past year was one to remember as our community continued to navigate a global pandemic. Because of the persistence and passionate commitment from our Scouting families, volunteers and supporters, Dan Beard Council found stability and success. Our local leadership continues to deliver quality programming that is not only safe, but meaningful to our Scouts, leaders, families, volunteers, donors, staff, and everyone involved.
Our Scouting families are the backbone of our organization. Each year, we share the excitement of welcoming new families into Scouting in our region and continue to offer expanded programs to better serve the entire family. This past fall, we welcomed more new Cub Scout families into Dan Beard Council this fall than we recruited in the fall of 2019, prior to the pandemic. Parents are looking for a place where they can enhance the family dynamic, participate together, and reinforce the values, ethics, and life skills they want for their children – Scouting makes it happen! As we strengthen families, we also strengthen the foundation of success for our youth.
This past summer, thousands of Scouts had a life changing adventure at Camp Friedlander and Cub World Adventure Camp, including the largest attendance of Cub Scouts in recent history. Another exciting highlight was the opening of “Eagle’s Lodge” at Camp Michaels along with the most significant capital improvements in the camp’s 75+ year history. Lastly, we ended this past year with an operating surplus which will be reinvested back into our Scouting program.
Dan Beard Council is also incredibly proud of our commitment to diversity and inclusion. From our Board of Directors to our membership, we ensure that our programs reflect the rich diversity of our region through our outreach programs, serving 679 youth in the past year. In addition, we pave the way to make sure that every child has an opportunity to become a Scout.
Scouting remains the premier leadership development program for youth. In 2021, Dan Beard Council proudly welcomed 308 Scouts who achieved the Eagle Scout rank in 2021, leading service projects such as constructing an outdoor school courtyard, installing food collection boxes, and building retired American flag drop-boxes in their communities. While today’s Scouting program has evolved to include everything from architecture, electronics, and engineering to public health, citizenship, and American cultures, doing a good deed and doing the right thing for others remains at our core. This past November, Scouts collected over 25,000 pounds of food during the inaugural Scouting for Food for those less fortunate right here in Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky. Throughout 2021, our local Scouts continued to make a difference in our local communities.
Dan Beard Council’s future vision is to develop young adults who are exceptionally prepared to lead in their own way to make a positive impact in their personal lives, professions, and communities throughout their lifetime. Scouting answers that challenge. Only Scouting provides the breadth and quality of proven foundational training, practical learning opportunities, and meaningful life lessons to help every young person discover and develop their own personal leadership style – all while building confidence, making friends, spending time with family, and having fun.
The best of Scouting is yet to come, and I look forward to our continued partnership in 2022 and beyond. Thank you for your continued support of Scouting, because when we collectively work together, we create truly incredible, life-changing impact for the youth in our families and in our community.