ST. LOUIS (KMOX) - The Boy Scouts of America is celebrating its 115th birthday this Saturday and when it happens, the organization will be under a new name.
On Saturday, Feb. 8, the organization will officially change it's name to Scouting America.
Joe Sadewesser, who is the CEO of Greater St. Louis Scouts joined KMOX News Thursday to discuss the name change.
"That's a big part of what we're celebrating: a rebranding of the organization," said Sadewesser on 'Total Information A.M.' "Folks may have seen that already for the last couple of months, (Saturday) will be the official launch."
Sadewesser says even though the organization has been known as Boy Scouts of America for a long time, girls have been involved in the organization for many years.
"Since the 1970s, girls have been involved in our older scout programs," said Sadewesser. "But over the last several years, all of our programs have become available to both boys and girls."
"I got sons and daughters and it's great for them to experience these programs. It's a little difficult when the name on the door says boys, so that's a big reason why."
Sadewesser says locally, Greater St. Louis Scouts have stayed ahead of the curve.
"We actually launched that a couple of years ago already and have referred ourselves as Scouting or Greater St. Louis Scouting," said Sadewesser. "This really brings everything to the fold helps makes sure the programs are available to all young people."
The historic rebrand has been followed by a small uptick in more young people joining-about 16,000 new scouts, up less than 2% from the prior year.
Cub Scouts, the youngest scouting level, saw an increase of almost 3%.
To celebrate the name change, the St. Louis Wheel will be lit in Red, White and Blue colors, joining the Empire State Building, Niagara Falls and other landmarks across the country.