Retirement Dinner

Last night we celebrated the tenure of Dan McCarthy as Director at The Summit Bechtel Family National Scout Reserve.  Staff and their families came together to pay tribute to a man who took on the challenge of laying the foundations for SBR from the conception phase in 2007 until his recent retirement.

The BSA officially formed the Summit Group on April 1 of 2012 and it was then that they hired Dan as its director, but his association with Scouting and the Summit began much earlier than that. Dan joined Scouting as a Cub Scout and he has been active in Scouting ever since, having served at the unit, district, council, regional, and national levels.

While a volunteer Scouter, he completed a career in the U.S. Navy as a Supply Corps officer after which he spent a few years as a logistics consultant.  While doing so, he served Scouting in 10 councils (some multiple times) and all 4 regions. During this period he was as invited, in April 2007, to serve as a member of the site selection team for BSA’s new national jamboree site. That call began a process which led to BSA’s selection of the Summit Bechtel Reserve as our new home for the National Scout Jamboree.

Under his leadership, SBR opened the Paul R. Christen National High Adventure Base, the James C. Justice National Scout Camp, the John. D. Tickle National Training & Leadership Center.  Dan also served as Summit Group Director for the 2013 National Scout Jamboree and played a role in bringing the 2019 World Scouting Jamboree to SBR.

At the retirement dinner it was announced that the Summit Bechtel Reserve Staff Association will be giving $5,000 in scholarships this summer in honor of Dan McCarthy and his service.  These scholarships will  be awarded to a select group of seasonal staff seeking to further their education at an accredited institution.

The staff bid Dan a happy and healthy retirement and know that he will never stop Scouting.