PARKERSBURG — West Virginia University Athletic Director Wren Baker will be the featured speaker at the 56th annual Kootaga District of the Buckskin Council Boy Scouts of America Community Leadership Dinner in April.

The dinner is slated for 6:30 p.m. Thursday, April 10, at the Parkersburg Country Club in Vienna. A reception with a cash bar starts at 5:30 p.m.

“I want to thank Wren Baker for taking the time from his busy schedule to speak about Scouting at our annual leadership dinner,” said Christopher Burk, district commissioner for the Kootaga District. “The (Scouting) program brings the best out of young people.”

Baker has served as WVU’s vice president and director of athletics for two years, during which the football team has earned a bowl victory, the men’s soccer team appeared in the College Cup and the baseball team made a Super Regional for the first time.

According to his bio from the school, Mountaineer student-athletes have demonstrated success in competition along with best-ever academic achievement during his tenure, while the athletic department posted its second-best fundraising totals ever during the 2024 athletic year. He’s hired five head coaches and created a 20-year facility master plan.

Baker is WVU’s 13th director of athletics and came to Morgantown from the University of North Texas, where he had been the associate vice president and athletics director since 2016. With earlier stops at Missouri, Memphis, Northwest Missouri and Rogers State, he brought more than 20 years of experience to WVU.

Baker and his wife, Heather, a Bokchito, Okla., native, have two daughters, Addisyn, and Reagan.

A release from the district describes Scouting as allowing boys and girls to “start with their best right-now selves and grow into their absolute best future selves” through hands-on learning and achievement.

“Scouting America wants to raise young people to be good citizens and good leaders for their community and all levels of society,” said Bob Fehrenbacher, a member of the West Virginia House of Delegates and chairman of the 2025 dinner. “Every week, millions of Scouts raise their hands and make a promise. It is not a pledge to an organization. It is a lifelong commitment to themselves, their families and the community they share.”

Proceeds from the dinner support all Scouting programs throughout the Mid-Ohio Valley, Fehrenbacher said. The district has a fundraising goal of $95,000 to help with programs and other expenses, including Camp Kootaga in Wirt County.

This year’s dinner menu includes a choice of chicken or prime rib. Tickets are $150 each. Ticket or sponsor information is available by contacting the Parkersburg Scout Office at 304-422-4507 or Kootaga District Executive Andrew Murphy at 330-631-5244.

The Kootaga District serves Scouts and volunteers in Wood, Jackson, Wirt, Roane, Ritchie and Calhoun counties in West Virginia and the communities of Belpre, Little Hocking and Coolville in Ohio. The district and Camp Kootaga can be followed on Facebook.