By Dunae Reader
National Office of Development
Jim Jarocki has been on more than 100 campouts in his life, most of them with Scouting. But one from about 20 years ago stands out.
He and other Scoutmasters had taken the local Scouts BSA troop in Duluth, Minnesota, for a weekend camping trip along the North Shore of Lake Superior. It was the first fall campout, and spirits were high as they decided to explore the woods on a 5-mile hike. What should have been a challenging but enjoyable walk turned into a slightly more high-stakes experience as an enthusiastic 11-year-old, first-time Scout named Erik kept dashing ahead on the trail out of sight. The outing grew long and nerve-wracking, the mood dictated by whether the young Scout was visible. “He just had so much energy,” Jim recalled. “He was so excited to be outside and to be in Scouting. But I remember later, among the adults, we talked about how challenging he’d been. We talked about needing to look out for him.”
Over the next few years, Erik underwent a remarkable transformation. He matured and rose to leadership roles in the troop. He earned Eagle Scout and joined the Marines. Today, he’s a decorated pilot. “We like to think it was all due to us Scoutmasters,” Jim joked. “But to watch him grow from a little kid who was undisciplined on the trail to an officer in the Marines in his early 30s…it’s an incredible journey.”
Jim has seen stories like this play out in Scouting over many years. The same plot lines are reflected in his own experience, his kids’ experiences, and the Scouts he still mentors today. It’s stories like this, and a greater belief in the intrinsic power of Scouting to shape individual character, that led Jim and his wife, Kris, to give back to Scouting America at the national level through a planned gift.
A Family Scouting Tradition
Jim’s own Scout days started in fourth grade when he entered Cub Scouts and continued all the way to earning Eagle Scout in 1973. He has fond memories of canoe trips to the Boundary Waters each summer, including a standout one his first year as he and a friend faced the confounding experience of preparing dinner in the provided aluminum mess kit. “We thought, ‘How do you cook a meal in that?’” Jim laughed. “We stumbled along, and eventually, we got better at it. Hunger is a good motivator.”
He believes that cycle of being challenged, persevering, and then succeeding is an important experience in Scouting and credits his time in the organization with giving him a solid foundation for college and the professional endeavors that came next. After attending St. John’s University in Minnesota for an accounting degree and earning an MBA from Harvard Business School, he entered a career in banking that continues today.
In 1986, he married Kris Blakeslee, whom he’d met during his university years while she was attending the College of St. Benedict, a sister school to St. John’s. The pair crossed paths when Kris was getting fitted for her college ring by Jim, the campus ring salesperson. That early encounter makes for a fun fact: When they tied the knot, it marked the second time Jim had put a ring on her finger. They have now five adult kids: Alexander, Catherine, Christopher, Andrew, and Elizabeth.
Jim returned to Scouting when their sons, who all attained Eagle Scout, started Tiger Scouts in kindergarten. The couple enjoyed volunteering with the boys’ units and watching them develop alongside Catherine and Elizabeth, who participated in Venturing. “Scouting gave all our kids basic skills like first aid, camping, cooking, and swimming,” Jim said. “It also provided life skills, things like citizenship and financial management that you don’t necessarily learn in school, as well as how to lead and how to communicate. Beyond that, the spiritual part of Scouting reinforced what they were getting at home.”
Outside of local experiences, the Jarocki family has been fortunate to take their Scouting adventures one step further at the National High Adventure Bases — something Jim and Kris firmly believe more children should have access to. “Those are experiences that test Scouts,” Jim reflected. “The days are longer, the hikes are longer, and the adventures — whether it’s scuba diving, zip lining, or dog sledding — are bigger. Even the preparation and planning are greater.”
Jim has served as a leader at the bases with his children, once at Sea Base with Alexander and twice at Philmont Scout Ranch, once with Catherine and once with Christopher and Andrew. Elizabeth previously organized an all-girls trek to Sea Base, while the family has also been to the Summit Bechtel Reserve for the National Jamboree and Northern Tier for winter expeditions. The impact of these trips and witnessing the growth of Scouting’s high adventure activities, particularly at the Summit, inspired Jim and Kris to give back. In 2025, the couple committed a bequest through their estate for the Scouting America Foundation that will support the National High Adventure Bases through camperships, programming, or operational needs.
“We’ve always tried to be generous, and we think it’s important for all individuals to give to causes that they credit with helping them become who they are,” Jim said, emphasizing that the thought behind their gift went beyond him and Kris. “Scouting has played an outsized role in molding our family. We spoke to our children, and they all wanted to make a difference. This gift really was a family decision because Scouting has shaped all our lives.”
For the couple, the commitment concluded a meaningful exercise of deciding what they want their legacy to look like while also extending their giving to Scouting’s national level. “When you give to Scouting locally, you can see the immediate benefit — for example, more tents,” Jim added. “But when you give at the national level, you’re touching so many more lives. Giving to the High Adventure Bases means that thousands of Scouts are going to benefit from our gift.”
Their gift is also unrestricted, meaning that funding is discretionary and will support the bases’ greatest needs at the time. “We have faith and trust in the leadership of Scouting America now and in the future,” Jim said. “They’ll use it the best possible way to benefit the greatest number of Scouts.”
A Legacy Worth Celebrating
Today, Jim remains involved with their local troop even though the couple’s kids are now adults. Every Thursday morning, he and six or seven other Scoutmasters – self-dubbed the “the old farts” – get together for breakfast. “We just feel so strongly about Scouting,” Jim said. “It’s fun with a purpose.”
Over the table, they like to reflect on the connections and friendships that have lasted a lifetime. They like to envision a future where Scouts are still gaining leadership skills, making friends, and building memories, aided by gifts like the one from Jim and Kris. And sometimes, when they’re lucky, they’re joined by a familiar face: Erik, that wayward-Scout-turned-Marine from long ago, who reminds them why they do what they do and what Scouting makes possible.
As a gift left in your will or living trust, a bequest is one of the easiest ways that Scouting alumni and friends can choose to support Scouting America. Through a bequest, you can customize a legacy that reflects your personal values and your passions in Scouting. You can choose to give away a specific dollar amount, a percentage of your estate, or specific assets including cash, investments, real estate, or many other asset types. For more details on creating a bequest to support Scouting America’s National High Adventure Bases, contact Justin Rodstrom at justin.rodstrom@scouting.org or 302.373.9152.
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