Sanpete native returns as Scout executive in Arapeen District
Daniela Vazquez
Staff writer
8-25-2016
EPHRAIM—After several years of demonstrating success through his volunteer efforts, L. Rawlin Bagnall III was named the new district executive for the Arapeen District by the Utah National Parks Council, Boy Scouts of America.
“I am honored and excited to be returning home to Sanpete County,” Bagnall said of his return home from Las Vegas, NV on Aug. 1. “As I transition into this role, I am committed to continuing to support the legacy of leadership laid by generations of Scouters in the area, who have impacted countless youth.”
The council said it took months of working through the selection process, but because Bagnall had impacted several districts including Snow Canyon, Zion, Cedar Breaks and Bryce Canyon, they felt he should lead the Apareen District which services Sanpete, Sevier, Wayne and portions of Garfield Counties.
Bagnall said all the awards and recognitions under his belt are because of a passion to serve and see how it impacts young people, and not something he sought.
“The real thing is when you impact young people,” Bagnall told the Messenger, “and you see how the program impacts them, it just gets you more excited and you want to keep doing it.”
Leaders have said his innovative program development, logo-branding, and staff development have also impacted Thunder Ridge, Maple Dell and Beaver High Adventure base, and leaders have said his efforts are still felt 20 years later.
He recounted a memory from 1999 when he and Field Director Jim Bethel were in the Maple Dell district.
“When we heard the staff talking about their experience and leadership, it was incredible,” he said. “What they didn’t realize is even though they were young, their example impacted us as leaders and that’s neat to have. We knocked it out of the park.”
Because of his achievements, Bagnall is no stranger to receiving awards. He has been the recipient of several BSA awards, including Eagle Scout Order of the Arrow (OA), Wood Badge, District Award of Merit and Tu-Cubin Noonie OA Lodge Council Service, and through a strong interest in the outdoors, he has served as the Assistant Camp Director and member of summer camp staff for almost 10 years.
Demonstrating his leadership skills early, Bagnall served as the Snow College Student Body President before he graduated. Later, he earned a masters degree in education from Southern Utah University, and went on to earn a doctorate from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas in International and Multicultural relations.
“I am confident that [Bagnall] will excel,” Dr. David Bonner, former district executive and current manager of LDS Philanthropies at BYU, said. “Because I saw him excel in the rain and the snow and cold while surrounded by hundreds of ‘wired’ twelve- to fourteen-year-old Boy Scouts…I trust him.”
Bagnall’s seat is held under District Chair Reed Rawlings and District Commissioner Brent White. The trio makes up the ‘Key Three,’ the organizations highest level of leadership on a district level.
Bagnall, son of Vivian Kosan Bagnall of Ephraim and the late Lewis Rawlin Bagnall, Jr. He is the grandson of the late Utahna Jensen Bagnall and Lewis Rawlin Bagnall of Ephraim. Although he can be considered a fourth-generation Ephraim resident, he spent time In Montana, and graduated from Billings Senior High in 1987 after a move his family made for his father’s work.
After high school, Bagnall enlisted in the U.S. Marines, and later served a two year mission in Tuxtla, Gutierrez, Mexico.
Throughout the years he’s traveled to various places in Wisconsin and North Carolina, before going to graduate school in Nevada.
“I can’t tell you how excited I am to be to be back in the community and the valley,” he said. “When this opportunity to take the position, I jumped on it. I just love being back home.”
