What is a Commissioner

Commissioners are district and council leaders who help Scout units succeed. They coach and consult with adult leaders of Cub Scout packs, Boy Scout troops, and Venturing crews. Commissioners help maintain the standards of the Boy Scouts of America.

Commissioner Service, under the direction of the District and Council Commissioners, is one of the most important, yet least understood parts of the Scouting Program. A Commissioner’s approach is one of helpfulness, ready to assist the leaders, offering suggestions, encouraging unit leaders, and the unit committee, thereby strengthening the leadership’s program efforts. In effect each Commissioner enters into a partnership with the senior leadership – all working for the single objective – the welfare of the Pack, Troop, Team or Crew.

As Commissioners we trace our history back to Daniel Carter Beard, the first BSA Commissioner. In 1905 Beard founded the Sons of Daniel Boone, a youth organization that used frontier experience as the basis of it’s program. In 1910 he merged the program in with the newly founded BSA. He also served for a number of years as the editor of Boys Life Magazine. Beard is credited with helping his sister organize the Camp Fire Girls.