Boy Scouts Get Tech-Savvy to Boost Membership

The Boy Scouts of America is trying to recruit a new generation of kids to join its troops with high-energy, high-tech activities that include thrill-inducing zip lines at a new adventure camp, apps and a television show.

The Scouts named two new leaders this week who say the key to boosting membership is engaging kids who may be distracted by an array of other activities.

The Scouts' membership has fallen from about 5 million in 1972 to about 2.7 million last year.

Wayne Perry, co-owner of the Seattle Mariners, is the Scouts' new national president, the group's top volunteer leader. He says the key is to offer activities that "break through all of the fog that kids face today on things that occupy their time and get them engaged."

(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press.  All Rights Reserved.)