DSF: Tell us about yourself and what made you decide to go to UNC-Chapel Hill.
DM: I grew up in Charlotte, North Carolina, and went to the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, where I joined Delta Sig the first semester of my junior year. I majored in economics with a business minor while on campus and went there because Davidson was one choice and North Carolina was the other. Davidson is a private school, and North Carolina had the number 1 public education for value at that time. So, my Dad said he would help me with a car, or he would pay for my education at Davidson, and that pretty much solved that.
DSF: What made you decide to join the Alpha Delta Chapter on campus?
DM: It was the brothers for sure, but it was more encouragement that it would be a good leadership opportunity, and I figured I’d give it a try. As a junior, usually it’s your last chance to get as much value out of joining a Fraternity. I definitely got the bang for the buck.
DSF: Did you hold any leadership positions in the chapter or on campus?
DM: I did. I was involved in special projects and fundraising for the chapter, as well as for the Catholic Campus Ministry, the Newman Center.
DSF: So when you graduated, what was the first thing you ended up doing when you got out of school?
DM: I was in corporate trust with First Union National Bank, which is now Wachovia. I had a fraternity brother, Will Sutton, who worked for the Boy Scouts right out of school. He knew I was involved and interested in the outdoors and asked would I be interested in the Boy Scouts, so we basically switched. I worked for First Union for several years and then interviewed and got a job with the Boy Scouts in 1994.
DSF: How has your job changed since you first started with the Boy Scouts organization?
DM: The entry level position is like a sales representative in a territory where you’re in charge of recruiting kids in the program, raising money for the territory and forming new partnerships with community organizations like churches and other groups. So, setting up a local Boy Scout troop at a community church is basically a guy like me going in and talking to the pastor letting them know that they needed the youth development program to complement their ministry.
That’s how I started off, and then I got into a program director position, which is a combination of raising money and overseeing the operations of the summer camping program. Through that, I moved from Wilmington, NC where I started, to Charlotte in 2000. I worked there for four years, and then moved to Denver, Colorado in 2005 as the Director of Camping Services.
DSF: Tell us a little more about the Denver operation, and where you fit into that structure?
DM: In my role, I have about 180-200 employees that do all of the camping operations on a year-round basis. Now, most of those 200 people are seasonal, like college kids who come and work for us, but we have part-time people throughout the year and maintenance and property staff. The Denver Area Council is one of over 300 Boy Scout Councils in the country. Denver has a membership base of about 60,000 kids. Of the full-time professional employees, we have probably 40 people like me above and below, maybe six or seven are above my role and 30 or so working their way up.
DSF: Were you personally involved in scouting while you were growing up?
DM: I was. I didn’t get my Eagle Scout, but I was involved in scouting and enjoyed the outdoor experience that it provided.
DSF: Did what you learned in the Scouts mirror anything you learned in the Fraternity?
DM: The Fraternity and the Boy Scouts have a lot in common from the perspective of providing leadership development and character development with young men. These young men get their leadership development through different methods, a lot of which they don’t even realize. Like in scouting, we use the outdoors as a method to teach citizenship, character development and other skills. That’s the hook to get the kids involved, and then they develop the skills that were talked about earlier. The Fraternity does that too. My impression of the Fraternity was it was a bunch of guys like Animal House, and then when you get in there and go into a chapter meeting, it is clearly like a business in a lot of ways and teaches you to get out in the real world and have some responsibility.
DSF: Can you tell us a little more about your specific roles on a day to day basis as the Director of Camping Services?
DM: Operating the programs is one role, whether it be resident camping during the summer and winter, or other camping programs. All the variety of programs that we offer, I am in charge of the operations of those, whether it be volunteer-driven or actually employee-driven. Our programs run from a six-year old fun day where he gets to learn about trout fishing and shooting a BB gun, to guys going into the back country in Indian Peaks Wilderness and going down snow fields with ice axes, helmets, climbing rope and so on. It’s a broad spectrum. We do winter camping where they go snowshoeing, ice fishing and cross country skiing, and they camp out in little igloo-type structures. And, we have intensive fly fishing weekends and rock climbing weekends and so on. Then, I also oversee the promotion, marketing, and getting the participants for all of those programs.
The property superintendents, the rangers as we call them, also report to me and are responsible for the maintenance, upkeep and security of the property. I don’t do as much of the capital development like construction, but the person I report to does all of the large capital projects.
DSF: How many camps are there in your area?
DM: We own two properties in the Denver Area Council. One is called Peaceful Valley Scout Ranch, which is about 3,600 acres that is to the southeast of us in Elbert, Colorado. Camp Tahosa is our alpine camp located west of Boulder. It is about 300 acres that is nestled about 9,000 feet up in the Indian Peaks Wilderness. It’s stunning and gorgeous.
DSF: While not involved in all of the capital projects, tell us about the responsibility for the budget of your area and what that entails.
DM: The camps and programs make up about a quarter of our organization’s budget, maybe a little more than a quarter. I am responsible for the budget, and to be honest, I deal with that more than anything else it seems. Planning for future years as well as managing the current year takes up a great deal of time. We do about $1.5 million in my area in the actual operation of the camps.
DSF: It seems as though you are a more behind-the-scenes guy as opposed to leading the programming. Is that true?
DM: I am more behind the scenes, but I get my foot in the door all the time. Even when I first started out, I would take kids out and do trips, but now it’s mostly managing others to do it. Last Friday, our Executive Director and I went to pick up a crew off the trail, and we hiked up to about 10,000 feet and met them. We got a bunch of photos with the kids and it was kind of cool to see the Executive Director out there in climbing boots. I get out there and do that a lot.
DSF: What is the most rewarding part about your work for you?
DM: It’s nice to be able to make a living and still be able to see the value in the work you do and what you contribute to the community. There are times when I actually see the youth displaying their leadership skills that they gained from the program, and it really revitalizes what you do, and you realize that you really are doing something that is making a difference in the lives of young people.
DSF: Earlier this summer in Iowa, a Boy Scout Camp was hit tragically with a tornado and there were numerous deaths and also some amazing bravery and leadership shown by the Scouts who were not seriously injured personally. Can you talk a little about how that situation affected your camps and staff?
DM: There were a couple troops from that area who were at our camp that particular week as opposed to going to the camp that was hit. Many Boy Scout Troops visit different camps each season and this particular summer, they were attending our camp. These Troops were affected by it pretty seriously, and knew some of the kids who involved in the situation.
It really helped us regain a focus. While I don’t think we had our eye off the ball at all, as the Boy Scouts say “be prepared”, we are prepared in situations like that, but it definitely gave some renewed energy on focusing on our emergency procedures, our communication, and what we need to do in case of an accident. We had a mass casualty event, which is what you call an event where a number of people get sick, a number of years ago, and how you deal with it and prevent it in the future is very important.
DSF: Where do you see yourself going in your career?
DM: It’s a challenge. Being an executive director in this field is the ultimate goal. But then again, I love the outdoors too, and the focus of the Executive Director gets outside of the programs area. Like I said, that’s only about a quarter to a third of the whole operation, so it’s walking that fine line about getting my foot in the programs area, but also getting an executive role in the organization.
DSF: What do you like to do in your spare time?
DM: I have a lot of hobbies, all in the outdoors – mountain biking, cycling, climbing, backpacking, and hiking if I have the time. My wife, Susan, and I have three young kids, all little girls, so the family is my main hobby right now!
DSF: What is a piece of advice that you would give to Delta Sigs about being successful?
DM: One would be to do what you enjoy and what you’re passionate about. You always say that something you enjoy is something that you’ll do well. That’s not always true, but I’d say that you will get a lot more out of something that you’re passionate about.
Secondly, be diligent and work hard while you’re young. The things you do today will pay off in great dividends later on.
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