Chancellor Kristin Sobolik received the Good Scout Award from the Greater St. Louis Area Council at the North St. Louis County Community for Scouting Dinner held at Glen Echo Country Club. (Photo courtesy of Greater St. Louis Area Council)
The Boy Scouts of America’s Greater St. Louis Area Council honored University of Missouri–St. Louis Chancellor Kristin Sobolik with its Good Scout Award Wednesday evening at its North St. Louis County Community for Scouting Dinner.
Greater St. Louis Area Council CEO Joe Sadewasser and other council leaders took part in the presentation at Glen Echo Country Club.
“Dr. Sobolik has always been an advocate for young people in our region, especially in North St. Louis County,” said Ben Brennecke, field director for the Greater St. Louis Area Council. “We share a similar mission to serve others and build the foundations for humility and compassion; strengthening character through action and to prepare youth for a lifetime of leadership. Dr. Sobolik sees how Scouting encourages personal growth by teaching youth how to set goals and achieve them with determination.
“And as a connector in North County, we plan on leaning on Dr. Sobolik to serve more families because of the partnership.”
Sobolik, who has served as a member of the council’s board since August 2021, joins past award recipients Rick Stevens, the president of Christian Hospital; Robert Parish, the president of Rawlings Sporting Goods; Dennis Gipson, the CEO of the Hussman Corporation; and Ed Monser, R.J. Dick Schul and Robert Cox, all longtime executive at Emerson; as well as prominent UMSL alumni Art McCoy and the late Kirk Richter.
“I’m really pleased to accept this award on behalf of our university,” Sobolik said. “UMSL is proud of its partnership with the Boy Scouts of America and is glad to engage with many other organizations as an anchor institution in our region. The university has contributed in so many ways through its outreach in North County and beyond, and we are committed to continuing to be a driving force for positive change in our region. We are grateful to the Greater St. Louis Area Council for recognizing UMSL for its efforts.”
In 2021, the council honored UMSL with its Cosmos Award in recognition of the university’s longtime partnership in bolstering science, technology, engineering and mathematics programs for scouts in the region. The university was among the council’s first partners and helped create its STEM University format, which brings Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts to a college campuses for full-day events to work with STEM experts and participate in fun, hands-on educational opportunities.
UMSL’s partnership in the initiative helped spawn similar STEM University programs at three other universities within the 63 Missouri and Illinois counties that make up the council’s territory and has been emulated elsewhere across the country.
Wednesday’s dinner was held on the same evening that Boy Scouts kicked off its “STEM on CAMPus” at UMSL. The camp runs from Wednesday evening until checkout Saturday. Scouts spend three nights in Oak Hall and take part in six program sessions to work on merit badges or Nova awards with extracurricular activities occurring each evening.
