William Cronk Elected as National President of the Boy Scouts of America; Business and Civic Leader Assumes Role as Top Volunteer

WASHINGTON, D.C.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 24, 2006--Today at its National Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C., the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) elected William F. "Rick" Cronk as national president. In his new role as the BSA's top volunteer, a two-year term, Cronk will direct the National Executive Board, which guides the National Council of the BSA.

Cronk has been a long-time supporter of the Scouting movement has served the BSA in various roles, including district chairman and area president, and on the BSA's Finance and Investment Committee.

“More than ever before, our young people need character development and a strong sense of values. I am proud to be part of this storied organization that prepares young people for today's challenges and tomorrow's promises.”

"It is an honor to serve the Boy Scouts of America," Cronk said. "More than ever before, our young people need character development and a strong sense of values. I am proud to be part of this storied organization that prepares young people for today's challenges and tomorrow's promises."

Cronk received his bachelor of science in business administration from the Haas Business School at the University of California at Berkeley in 1965. After graduation, he began his career with Eastman Dillon. In 1977, Cronk and his best friend, Gary Rogers, purchased Dreyer's Ice Cream, a $6 million San Francisco area-based company. When Cronk retired recently as president of the company, his leadership had made Dreyer's the nation's largest manufacturer and distributor of premium and super premium ice cream brands, expanded its distribution throughout the United States, and attained revenues in excess of $1.5 billion.

"As the BSA continually evolves to remain relevant in the lives of today's youth, Rick's business and civic leadership will be extremely valuable to our organization," said Roy L. Williams, Chief Scout Executive. "We are excited as Rick leads millions of BSA volunteers in their work on behalf of millions of Scouting youth."

While Cronk dedicates much of his free time to the BSA, he remains active with many civic and business organizations. Cronk is focused upon dramatically reforming California's K-12 public school education system, to provide educational opportunities to all youth, particularly the disadvantaged.

Cronk is a recipient of the BSA's Silver Buffalo Award, Scouting's highest commendation for service to youth. The father of three sons, all of whom are Eagle Scouts, Cronk and his wife reside in Lafayette, Calif.

Past national presidents of the BSA include Ed Whitacre, chairman of the board and chief executive officer of SBC Communications Inc.; Milton Ward, chief executive officer of Ward Resources Inc.; Roy Roberts, managing director of Reliant Equity Investors; and outgoing president John Cushman of Cushman & Wakefield Inc., a global real estate services firm.

The Scouting movement is composed of 1.2 million volunteers, whose dedication of time and resources has enabled the Boy Scouts of America to remain the nation's leading youth service organization. Serving nearly 4.5 million young people between 7 and 20 years of age with more than 300 councils throughout the United States and its territories, the Boy Scouts of America is the nation's foremost youth program of character development and values-based leadership training. For more information on the BSA, please visit www.scouting.org.