Subscriber Benefit
As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe Now
A new fund honoring the life and legacy of Jim Morris, one of central Indiana’s most influential business and civic leaders, will help send local children to their first Scouting America camp.
An Eagle Scout, Morris died in July at 81 after more than six decades of economic, social, and cultural leadership in Indiana and beyond. Crossroads of America Council of Scouting America—the new name for the organization long known as Boy Scouts of America—honored Morris’ longtime advocacy for scouting locally and nationally during its 29th Annual Governor’s Luncheon on Wednesday at Lucas Oil Stadium.
The group also announced the creation of the Jim Morris First Time Camper Fund, a scholarship benefiting first-time youth campers in the Indianapolis area. The new fund will pay for half of the cost for a child to attend camp. The fund’s initial seeding is $25,000, covering half the expenses for about 143 kids to go to camp. Crossroads of America Council has a web page where people can donate to the fund, with the goal of sending about 500 kids to camp annually.
Morris’ numerous civic contributions include serving on the National Advisory Board for the Boy Scouts of America. In 2022, he received the Silver Buffalo Award, Scouting’s highest award for adult volunteers.
Morris, who was vice chair of Pacers Sports & Entertainment at the time of his death, held many leadership positions during his long career. He served as chief of staff for then-Indianapolis Mayor Richard Lugar from 1967-73. He helped develop Market Square Arena and establish the Indiana Sports Corp. He also served as president of Lilly Endowment Inc. and, from 2002-2005, was executive director of the World Food Programme.
In an extensive 2022 interview with Indiana University’s Tobias Leadership Center, Morris recalled the significance of scouting in his life. The Terre Haute native said his mother encouraged him in scouting, and he remembered attending the 1957 National Jamboree in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania.
“Scouting was important to me growing up and it gave me a lot of experiences that I wouldn’t have had otherwise,” Morris said in the oral history interview.
Please enable JavaScript to view this content.