7 October 2008
Trusting the Treasurer
Posted by admin under: scouters .
The Associated Press is reporting that a woman who was the treasurer for a Boy Scout troop stole $1,300 from them. She paid it back, but because she also stole money from another group she is being sent to prison.
Denise Hoeft (HAYft) had pleaded guilty in June to theft by deception. Authorities charged her with stealing more than $1,500 from the wrestling club and dropped a charge of stealing more than $1,300 from the Scout troop. She was treasurer for both groups.
Lincoln County District Judge Donald Rowlands on Monday gave the 44-year-old Hoeft 1 1/2 to three years in prison.
So, what can we learn from this experience. Honestly, I don’t think we can learn anything unless it is that sometimes people lie and steal. Obviously, choosing your treasurer is something you have to do with care ensuring that you get a qualified and honest person. Oh, wait. I’m not in fantasy land. In the real world treasurer is one of the hardest jobs to find someone to take on, I’ve found. Everyone knows what the deal is and they don’t even want to do their own paperwork much less the troop’s. So, you try and try to get someone in there who will do a good job and not take the boys’ money. My troop has been fortunate in having moms who were willing to step in and who have done excellent jobs. How do you ensure you have a good person taking a job that no one wants? The only answer I’ve come up with is the same one we always use. Whatever you do benefits your son and makes our society better. For some parents this doesn’t work because they know their son could benefit in something else and they don’t care that the boy would lose out on the unique benefits of Boy Scouts. For others, though, that take a moment out of their hectic schedules to think about it, the answer becomes clear. They have to step up and help out.
Also, we require two signatures on all checks. Hey, there’s trust and then there’s just being silly.
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