Bubba-Joe
12-15-2004, 02:58 PM
Ex-Boy Scout helps troops with $2 million
Burnet man, 83, gives more than half the cost of regional headquarters By Laura Heinauer
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Wednesday, December 15, 2004
A former Boy Scout from Burnet has donated $2 million toward a new Boy Scouts of America regional headquarters, the organization announced Tuesday.
Frank Fickett, an 83-year-old real estate developer who sits on the Scouts' Capitol Area Council executive board, made the lead donation for the planned $3.9 million, 25,000-square-foot facility, which will be named in his honor.
"It serves so many children throughout the entire area, and, after all, they are our future," Fickett said Tuesday.
A former Burnet City Council member, Fickett has lived in the Hill Country town for 12 years and has donated land to several projects, including the Austin steam train station in Burnet as well as the town's civic center and future City Hall.
The Capitol Area Council is searching for 2 to 5 acres in the Austin area for the headquarters and service center, council officials said Tuesday. It is expected to be three times as large as the current office at 7540 Ed Bluestein Blvd.
"Scouting in Central Texas has practically doubled since the early 1990s," said Tom Varnell, the council's chief executive officer and Scout executive. "Being that the region as a whole is projected to double in 20 years, we have to start preparing for that."
Unlike the current space, which is crowded and hard to find, the new administration building will need to be more convenient for current and future members, Varnell said. Plans for the center include a retail Scout Shop and meeting space for volunteer training and program planning.
"We literally outgrew our current location nearly a decade ago," Varnell said, adding that the organization is looking at properties along the North MoPac Boulevard (Loop 1), North Interstate 35 and North U.S. 183 corridors.
"We want to be somewhere that's easy to access with high visibility," Varnell said.
The 15-county Central Texas region, which has more than 7,000 volunteer leaders and serves more than 25,000 youths, continues to grow at a rate higher than the national average, Varnell said.
In recent months, however, the organization has had to deal with a revenue shift as a result of its policies that exclude homosexuals. The local chapter of the United Way decided last year that it would no longer allocate money to the Scouts because all partner agencies must serve people without regard to race, color, gender or sexual orientation.
Consequently, the Scouts have had to rely more on private and direct donations, Varnell said.
"We believe that others who believe in our oath and our law, like Frank, will come forward," he said. "They know what Scouting can do and will do for the youth of our community."
Burnet man, 83, gives more than half the cost of regional headquarters By Laura Heinauer
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Wednesday, December 15, 2004
A former Boy Scout from Burnet has donated $2 million toward a new Boy Scouts of America regional headquarters, the organization announced Tuesday.
Frank Fickett, an 83-year-old real estate developer who sits on the Scouts' Capitol Area Council executive board, made the lead donation for the planned $3.9 million, 25,000-square-foot facility, which will be named in his honor.
"It serves so many children throughout the entire area, and, after all, they are our future," Fickett said Tuesday.
A former Burnet City Council member, Fickett has lived in the Hill Country town for 12 years and has donated land to several projects, including the Austin steam train station in Burnet as well as the town's civic center and future City Hall.
The Capitol Area Council is searching for 2 to 5 acres in the Austin area for the headquarters and service center, council officials said Tuesday. It is expected to be three times as large as the current office at 7540 Ed Bluestein Blvd.
"Scouting in Central Texas has practically doubled since the early 1990s," said Tom Varnell, the council's chief executive officer and Scout executive. "Being that the region as a whole is projected to double in 20 years, we have to start preparing for that."
Unlike the current space, which is crowded and hard to find, the new administration building will need to be more convenient for current and future members, Varnell said. Plans for the center include a retail Scout Shop and meeting space for volunteer training and program planning.
"We literally outgrew our current location nearly a decade ago," Varnell said, adding that the organization is looking at properties along the North MoPac Boulevard (Loop 1), North Interstate 35 and North U.S. 183 corridors.
"We want to be somewhere that's easy to access with high visibility," Varnell said.
The 15-county Central Texas region, which has more than 7,000 volunteer leaders and serves more than 25,000 youths, continues to grow at a rate higher than the national average, Varnell said.
In recent months, however, the organization has had to deal with a revenue shift as a result of its policies that exclude homosexuals. The local chapter of the United Way decided last year that it would no longer allocate money to the Scouts because all partner agencies must serve people without regard to race, color, gender or sexual orientation.
Consequently, the Scouts have had to rely more on private and direct donations, Varnell said.
"We believe that others who believe in our oath and our law, like Frank, will come forward," he said. "They know what Scouting can do and will do for the youth of our community."