Chuck Walneck

Charles "Chuck" Walneck’s involvement in Scouting began when his son joined in the mid-1970s. Chuck has served Scouting in many roles beginning as a Webelos den leader in the Cub Scout program with his son, and then as Scoutmaster in the Boy Scout program. He recalls,

I saw a very definitive value in my son belonging to the Cub Scouts. I think the patriotism at that early age impressed me the most, and the fun he was having - the absolute fun.

While I was taking Wood Badge in 1978 I was told I had to be affiliated with a Boy Scout troop in order to work my ticket. I offered my assistance to a troop but they had enough leaders, so I started my own troop in Oakwood Hills, Troop 161.

Summer camp was always a blast. In 1978 my Order of the Arrow calling-out was messed up when they forgot to tap me out! After the committee chairman advised the staff, they took my troop back to the Council Ring and they conducted the calling-out ceremony and tapped me out.

Every year starting in 1979, I always engaged the adults who attended summer camp in some camp project. These projects included painting buildings, building a raft at the waterfront, constructing a ramp to the Main Lodge, or whatever was needed.

Chuck became active at the district level, then at the council level as an officer and then council president. His commitment to Scouting has led him to area, regional, and national BSA leadership positions. His innovative style and knowledge of the program aims and objectives led him to introduce program enhancements on a regional and national scale.

He served as course director for three Wood Badge courses. He rewrote the Junior Leader Training syllabus for the East Central Region and later served as regional Junior Leader Training chairman for three years. He served as a member of the national advancement committee from 1982-1990 (chairman from 1988 to 1990) where he helped realign rank advancement requirements that enhanced Boy Scout retention efforts. During this time he was also on the Boy Scout faculty at the Philmont Training Center, where he was part of the faculty for Advancement and/or the Older Boy Program sessions. He states,

While I was a member of the national advancement committee, I helped develop the concept called ‘The First Class Emphasis’ within our troop for the purpose of extending the tenure of boys in Scouting. ‘Scouting’ magazine did an article of our troop. This concept was accepted and was introduced nationally in 1988 as part of the New Troop Operations. T.J. Van Houten (a professional Scouting adviser) and I were co-authors of the new First Class requirements found in the 1990 Boy Scout Handbook. Almost all summer camps programs picked up on something they named as the First Class Express, First Class Fast Start, etc.

Chuck is currently the president of Area 7, consisting of the eight councils in the Chicagoland area and remains involved on national committees of the Boy Scouts of America. He continues his commitment locally as well, proudly serving in several areas within Blackhawk Area Council. In addition he has created a camp development fund to support our council camps.

Others in the Walneck family are also involved in Scouting. Chuck’s wife Judi has been registered in Scouting since 1975 and is still registered as a troop committee member and merit badge counselor. She has coordinated all of the troop’s high adventure trips and coordinated parent nights at Camp Lowden for 19 years. Their son Chris is an Eagle Scout and he and his wife Amy have two children, Brianna and Benjamin, who are also active in Scouting.

Over the years the Walneck family has contributed both financially and through countless hours of manpower and project coordination. They were a big part of the pool renovations and showerhouse addition in the 1990s, as well as the expansion of the Dining Hall in the early 2000s. In addition, Chris provided funds for the archery range in 2000 which is dedicated in honor of his family. Chris has also provided funding for renovations to the Council Ring.

Chuck is president and CEO of SubCon Manufacturing Corporations, a medical device manufacturer. In addition he has worked with his grandchildren to send thousands of pounds of Boy Scout popcorn, Girl Scout cookies, and other sundries in support of our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan and also to the families of our wounded war heroes through the Fisher House Foundation. He is also an avid spokesperson for early detection of breast cancer. Over the years, he and his family have passed out more than 10,000 breast cancer awareness pins advocating early detection.

On May 22, 2009, Chuck received the Silver Buffalo Award, Scouting’s highest commendation for service to youth, at the National Meeting of the Boy Scouts of America in Orlando, Florida. He previously received the Silver Beaver and Silver Antelope awards for his service to Scouting. Robert Mazzucca, Chief Scout Executive of the Boy Scouts of America, states,

Charles has dedicated his life to serving young people through the Boy Scouts at both the local and national levels. The Silver Buffalo Award recognized the immeasurable impact Charles has made on generations of young people in Illinois and across our country.