Council Governance

The Sam Houston Area Council (SHAC) of the Boy Scouts of America (BSA), practices governance consistent with the Scout Oath and Scout Law. This short summary is followed by links where detailed and transparent information can be reviewed.

Following incorporation in 1910, the BSA was granted a charter by Congress in 1916 to make its program available through community-based organizations. Each unit (Cub Scout pack, Scouts BSA troop, Sea Scout ship, or Venturing crew) is chartered by organizations with goals compatible with the BSA purpose of providing youth with an effective program designed to instill desirable qualities of character, develop personal fitness, and train youth in the responsibilities of participating citizenship. Local councils are chartered to provide service to help chartered organizations be continuously successful in their use of the Scouting program. The four major functions for program delivery are membership/relationships (making Scouting available to all youth), finance (providing adequate funds), program (maintaining standards and policies), and unit service (serving organizations that use the Scouting program).

The National Council is divided into four regions, each of which has several areas which support ~270 local councils, each of which implements programs through districts supporting individual units. In SHAC, there are 24 districts supporting ~1,300 units in 16 counties comprising the Houston area. The “key 3” leaders for the council and each district are the president/chairman (who leads board and committee meetings), the commissioner (who ensures unit service), and the professional Scout executive. As teammates, the ~16,000 volunteers and ~100 professional staff serve ~46,000 youth members.

Auditor's Reports

An independent audit is an examination of the financial records, accounts, business transactions, accounting practices, and internal controls of a charitable nonprofit by an independent auditor.