Houston Business Leader Elected to Serve on World Scout Committee

DALLAS, Jan. 27, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Houston energy executive and Sam Houston Area Council board member Dan Ownby will serve as one of a 12-member committee of volunteers from around the world that represents more than 31 million Scouts from 220 countries and territories. His election was made at the recent World Scout Conference in Brazil—where it was also announced the 24th World Scout Jamboree will be held in the United States.

Ownby, a lifelong member of the Scout program, is an Eagle Scout, a member of the Boy Scouts of America's honor society, Order of the Arrow, and has served in numerous Scouting positions in the Houston area—most recently as chairman of the council's centennial camporee, SHACJam, which was attended by over 27,000 participants. Ownby is a member of the BSA's International Committee and the U.S. Foundation for International Scouting, and has been active with international Scouting for over a decade.

His earliest connection with international Scouting dates back to a summer at the Cub Scout day camp in his hometown of Tulsa, Oklahoma, where he became acquainted with two international Scouts visiting from Holland. Much of his adult life has revolved around helping kids in the Scouting program and introducing Scouts from different parts of the world to Scouting opportunities. Ownby was instrumental in establishing an exchange program with Scouts from the Republic of Georgia. Through the 7-year-old exchange program, Scouts from the republic have had the opportunity to work with Scouts at camps in the Houston area, advancing their leadership skills and sharing their culture.

Ownby's primary goal for the committee is to help nations utilize Scouting to develop their next generation of leaders. He commends the leadership provided by former World Scout Committee Chairman and former BSA National President Rick Cronk, who has laid the groundwork for building a program that will attract young people from around the world.

Ownby and his wife, Allison, reside in the Houston area.

About the Boy Scouts of America

The Boy Scouts of America prepares young people for life by providing the nation's foremost youth program of character development and values-based leadership training. The Scouting organization is composed of 2.7 million youth members between the ages of 7 and 21, and more than a million volunteers, in nearly 300 local councils throughout the United States and its territories. For more information on the Boy Scouts of America, please visit www.scouting.org.

For more information on the World Organization of the Scout Movement, visit www.scout.org.

SOURCE Boy Scouts of America