William F. "Rick" Cronk (born October 4, 1942) is an American businessman who was co-owner and president of Dreyer's Grand Ice Cream. He is a former national president of the Boy Scouts of America and chairman of the World Scout Committee of the World Organization of the Scout Movement.
Rick Cronk | |
|---|---|
| 32nd National President of the Boy Scouts of America | |
| In office 2006–2008 | |
| Preceded by | John C. Cushman |
| Succeeded by | John Gottschalk |
| Personal details | |
| Born | October 4, 1942 Lafayette, California |
| Occupation | Chairman of the World Scout Committee |
Business
editAfter graduating from the Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley with a bachelor's degree in 1965, Cronk started his career with Eastman Dillon & Co. In 1972 he started a restaurant chain called "Vintage House" in the same vein as theme eatery pioneer Victoria Station. The chain struggled and in 1977 Cronk and T. Gary Rogers purchased Dreyer's, then a popular ice cream company operating exclusively in the San Francisco Bay Area. Cronk built Dreyer's from a $6 million company to a $1.5 billion company. In 2003, Cronk retired after 26 years, having expanded Dreyer's to be the number one ice cream in the United States.[1]
Scouting
editCronk joined the Boy Scouts of America as a Cub Scout. As a Boy Scout he advanced to Life rank. As an adult, Cronk became a volunteer leader to support his sons, all three of whom are Eagle Scouts.
Cronk served as a district chairman, council president, area president and chairman of the World Scout Foundation. He received the Silver Buffalo Award in 2001.[2]
Cronk was the National Commissioner of the Boy Scouts of America from 1999 to 2004. He then became an executive vice president in 2006 before becoming the president in 2006.[3]
At the 2008 World Scout Conference, he was elected to a three-year term on the World Scout Committee, and subsequently elected the chairman of the committee. He was also presented with the Bronze Wolf award.[4] Cronk is a member of the National Executive Board of the Boy Scouts of America, the organization's governing body.[5]
References
edit- ^ "About Dreyer's". Dreyers. Archived from the original on February 1, 2009. Retrieved April 7, 2009.
- ^ "38th World Scout Conference – Summary". World Organization of the Scout Movement. Archived from the original on May 29, 2010. Retrieved July 23, 2008.
- ^ Curtis, Mark (December 24, 2008). "Lafayette's Rick Cronk Retires from Boy Scouts". Lamorinda Weekly. Moraga, Ca. Retrieved September 29, 2009.
- ^ "List of recipients of the Bronze Wolf Award". scout.org. WOSM. Retrieved May 1, 2019.
- ^ "Boy Scouts of America Annual Report 2011" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on November 14, 2012. Retrieved December 17, 2012.
External links
edit- "THE CRONK FILE". USA Today. May 23, 2006.