Bay Area Council elects not to pursue merger with Sam Houston Area Council.
"Bay Area Council Scouting Family,
As previously communicated, the Executive Board of Bay Area Council - Scouting America developed a sustainability committee and an exploratory committee focused on a path forward for the council. These committees concluded their work with a report that was presented to the Council Board on April 24th. During this Board meeting, a motion was presented with a passing vote for the formation of an exploratory committee to work toward the development of a plan of merger with the Sam Houston Area Council (SHAC).
The exploratory committee draft charter was presented at the June 18th [2025] Council Board meeting.
Due to some recent developments, the Council Board has elected not to pursue further exploratory committee work on a potential merger with Sam Houston Area Council. Currently, the Council Board has decided to focus efforts on addressing key sustainability issues within the Bay Area Council.
Council President, Cory Moss, has resigned from the Board. Therefore, the nominating committee will begin work immediately to identify a new Council President. The Board very much appreciates Cory’s leadership to position the council for the upcoming essential improvements that will need to occur.
The Council Board is committed to a bright future for scouting in the Brazoria and Galveston counties. To be clear, there is much work to be done to ensure the financial and operating stability of the council for the next few years and into the future. This will involve some key deliverables to improve the health of the council in multiple areas. The Council Board will work closely with our interim Scout Executive, René Monarez, on these improvement areas and we will need to show immediate improvement in multiple areas to remain viable.
The Sam Houston Area Council volunteer and professional leadership have been great partners throughout this process, and we appreciate their willingness to support whichever outcome was decided.
Though the Board will lead the efforts, it will require assistance from many volunteers in the council and benefactors in the community at large to be successful. Let’s all work together to grow scouting and to strengthen the Bay Area Council.
Yours in Scouting,
Derick meadows, Council Commissioner
René Monarez, Interim Scout Executive"
Reference: Bay Area Council website
On September 19th, it was announced that Crater Lake Council and Oregon Trail Council had both recently voted to approve a merger between the two councils. Leaders also discussed and proposed names for the new council.
