Richard Bodorff to Be Honored as BSA Lower Shore Distinguished Citizen

Richard Bodorff

The Del-Mar-Va Council, Boy Scouts of America, is honored to announce that Richard Bodorff, a partner at Wiley Rein LLP in Washington, D.C. and proud Eagle Scout, has been chosen to receive the 2019 Boy Scouts of America Mid-Shore Distinguished Citizen Award. The award will be presented to Mr. Bodorff on Tuesday, August 20, 2019 at the Tred Avon Yacht Club in Oxford, MD.  This year’s event is being co-chaired by Al Smith and Bill Lane, both past recipients themselves, and valued community members. Giving back to the community has been a focus of Mr. Bodorff’s.  Dick has served terms totaling nearly 30 years on the boards of the YMCA of the Chesapeake, the Academy Art Museum, the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum, and the Pickering Creek Audubon Center.  He has chaired the boards of both the Y and the Art Museum and is currently Vice Chair at the Maritime Museum.

During Dick’s tenure as Chair, the Y merged with the Dorchester and Cecil County Ys, acquired the Cross Court Athletic Club, and raised $7 million to construct a 25,000 sq. ft. facility in St. Michaels.  The Y is now the largest human services organization on the Shore with nearly 40,000 members and a budget in excess of $14 million. At the Maritime Museum, Dick served as chairman of the Presidential Search Committee which identified the current CEO, and co-chaired the Capital Campaign Committee. Dick was instrumental in initiating the Kittredge-Wilson Speakers series, the digital media lab and establishing a Director of Children’s Education position at the Art Museum.  Dick initiated or revitalized planned giving programs at the Y, and the Maritime and Art Museums, which resulted in more than $10 million in the aggregate in new commitments. Dick is a past commodore of the Poplar Islands Yacht Club and a member of the Chesapeake Bay Yacht Club, the Tred Avon Yacht Club, and the Talbot Country Club.

Mr. Bodorff has served on the boards of his alma mater, Denison University, Granville, Ohio; the Broadcasters Foundation of America, New York, NY; Commonwealth Public Broadcasting Corporation, Richmond, VA; and the Association of Public Television Stations (APTS), Washington, DC.  Dick served as chairman and vice chairman of the Commonwealth Public and the APTS boards respectively.  He is Secretary and General Counsel of the Broadcasters Foundation.

At Wiley Rein LLP, Mr. Bodorff represents TV and radio licensees before the Federal Communications Commission.  He is the recipient of the Ward Quaal Leadership Award from the Broadcasters Foundation and was inducted into the Hall of Fame by the Minority Media and Telecommunications Council.  He is a graduate of the Vanderbilt University School of Law, Nashville, TN.

Dick holds the rank of Eagle Scout and is a Vigil member of the Order of the Arrow.  During his Scouting years, Dick worked at the Northwoods Wilderness Scout Reservation, Watersmeet, Michigan; and the Philmont Scout Ranch, Cimarron, New Mexico.  Mr. Bodorff welcomes the opportunity to give back to the Scouts through the August reception so that others may benefit from Scouting as he did.

Over 10,000 youth are served by the Del-Mar-Va Council, Boy Scouts of America annually. Special efforts are made to reach urban, rural, minority, handicapped, and underprivileged youths, who will benefit most from Scouting’s values-based programs.

Individual seats at the event are $150.  Event sponsorships are also still available.  Register online at www.dmvc.org/midshore or simply click the image below.  For more information contact the Del-Mar-Va Council at 443-523-9816.