Bidding a Fond Farewell to National Commissioner Tico Perez and Welcoming Charles Dahlquist

Without any doubt, Scouting is a movement that relies on the strength of its more than 1 million adult volunteers to provide the values-focused, character development programs that define us. This week, we salute our outgoing National Commissioner, Tico Perez, who has served as the leader of that volunteer force for the last eight years.

With boundless energy, Tico served with five National Presidents and three Chief Scout Executives during his tenure. His passion for growing Scouting’s presence in all communities and serving disadvantaged youth brought our movement to many young people who otherwise never may have experienced Scouting adventures. An Eagle Scout, Tico also received the Silver Antelope, Silver Buffalo, Distinguished Eagle Scout and Order of the Arrow Distinguished Service Awards. His accomplishments also include service as a council president, area president, and Southern Region president.

As a new Chief Scout Executive, it was invaluable to have the institutional knowledge of Tico, and his unique perspective on our movement.  As I often struggled with the day to day work of moving us past our immediate challenges and starting us down a pathway to growth, Tico was the one I called.  Thank you, Tico, for being a mentor and friend to the new guy on the job. Tico’s commitment and enthusiasm for our movement is unparalleled.

Tico, we are grateful for your eight years of service as our National Commissioner and wish you all the best as you transition into your new role as our National Vice President – Diversity.

At the same time, I am honored to welcome our new National Commissioner, Charles W. Dahlquist II. A member of our National Executive Board, Charles is an attorney and leader in civic and community organizations. He served as Chairman of the National Venturing Task Force and Chairman of the BSA National Court of Honor. Charles is a powerful voice for Scouting’s values and is also very active in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Scouting’s first charter partner, having served as Young Men General President, Chair of the General Church Scouting Committee and Mission President in Hamburg, Germany. He is a recipient of the Silver Beaver, Silver Antelope, and the National Venturing Award. Charles was also honored with the Silver Buffalo Award at the same 2007 ceremony as Tico along with football legend Archie Manning – talk about greatness on stage.

Although I have only known Charles personally for a short time, I am very excited about the leadership he brings to the role of National Commissioner.  I have known of Charles for many years and always heard from others about his supreme commitment to providing an excellent Scouting adventure for all youth.

Charles and his wife Zella live in Sandy, Utah and have five daughters and 15 grandchildren. We look forward to the contributions Charles will bring to his new position.

Please join me in recognizing these two outstanding leaders for their noteworthy commitment to Scouting. Our National Commissioners are responsible for keeping our volunteers active, energized and dedicated to providing life-changing experiences for the young people we serve. It’s a big job and we are grateful to both Tico and Charles for rising to the occasion.

Thank you,

Mike