William F. "Rick" Cronk (born October 4, 1942) is an American businessman who was co-owner and president of

Dreyer's Dreyer's Grand Ice Cream, Inc. (or simply Dreyer's) is an American ice cream company, founded in 1928 in Oakland, California. The company's two signature brands, ''Dreyer's Grand Ice Cream'' and ''Edy's Grand Ice Cream'', are named after its foun ...

Grand Ice Cream. He is a former

national president of the Boy Scouts of America The National Chair is the presiding officer of the National Executive Board of the Boy Scouts of America, National Executive Board of Scouting America, the governing body of the organization. The office holder is a volunteer elected by the member ...

and chairman of the

World Scout Committee The World Organization of the Scout Movement (WOSM ) is the largest and, after the Order of World Scouts (formed in 1911), is the second-oldest international organization in the Scout Movement, having been established in 1922. It has 176 members. ...

of the

World Organization of the Scout Movement The World Organization of the Scout Movement (WOSM ) is the largest and, after the Order of World Scouts (formed in 1911), is the second-oldest international organization in the Scout Movement, having been established in 1922. It has 176 members. ...

Business

After graduating from the

Haas School of Business The Walter A. Haas School of Business (branded as Berkeley Haas) is the business school of the University of California, Berkeley, a Public university, public research university in Berkeley, California. It was the first business school at a pub ...

at the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...

with a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...

in 1965, Cronk started his career with Eastman Dillon & Co. In 1972 he started a restaurant chain called "Vintage House" in the same vein as theme eatery pioneer Victoria Station. The chain struggled and in 1977 Cronk and T. Gary Rogers purchased

, then a popular

ice cream Ice cream is a frozen dessert typically made from milk or cream that has been flavoured with a sweetener, either sugar or an alternative, and a spice, such as Chocolate, cocoa or vanilla, or with fruit, such as strawberries or peaches. Food ...

company operating exclusively in the

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a region of California surrounding and including San Francisco Bay, and anchored by the cities of Oakland, San Francisco, and San Jose. The Association of Bay Area Governments ...

. Cronk built Dreyer's from a $6 million company to a $1.5 billion company. In 2003, Cronk retired after 26 years, having expanded Dreyer's to be the number one ice cream in the United States.

Scouting

Cronk joined the

Boy Scouts of America Scouting America is the largest scouting organization and one of the largest List of youth organizations, youth organizations in the United States, with over 1 million youth, including nearly 200,000 female participants. Founded as the Boy Sco ...

as a

Cub Scout Cubs or Wolf Cubs are programs associated with some Scout organizations, for young children, usually between 8 and 12, who are too young to be Scouts and make the Scout Promise. A participant in the program is called a Cub and a group of Cubs ...

. As a

Boy Scout A Scout, Boy Scout, Girl Scout or, in some countries, a Pathfinder is a participant in the Scout Movement, usually aged 10–18 years, who engage in learning scoutcraft and outdoor and other special interest activities. Some Scout organizatio ...

he advanced to Life rank. As an adult, Cronk became a volunteer leader to support his sons, all three of whom are

Eagle Scouts Eagle Scout is the highest Ranks in Scouts BSA, rank attainable in the Scouts BSA program of Scouting America. Since its inception in 1911, only four percent of Scouts have earned this rank after a lengthy review process. The Eagle Scout rank ha ...

. Cronk served as a district chairman, council president, area president and chairman of the

World Scout Foundation The World Scout Foundation (WSF) is an international, non-profit institution based in Geneva, Switzerland. Its mission is to develop World Scouting through the provision of financial and other support through the World Organization of the Scout Move ...

. He received the

Silver Buffalo Award The Silver Buffalo Award is the national-level distinguished service award of Scouting America. It is presented for noteworthy and extraordinary service to youth on a national basis, either as part of, or independent of the Scouting program. The ...

in 2001. Cronk was the National Commissioner of the Boy Scouts of America from 1999 to 2004. He then became an executive vice president in 2006 before becoming the president in 2006. At the 2008 World Scout Conference, he was elected to a three-year term on the

, and subsequently elected the chairman of the committee. He was also presented with the

Bronze Wolf The Bronze Wolf Award is an award presented by the World Organization of the Scout Movement for outstanding service by an individual to the Scout Movement. Just over 400 people have received the Bronze Wolf since its creation in 1935. WOSM has r ...

award. Cronk is a member of the

National Executive Board of the Boy Scouts of America The National Executive Board is the governing body of Scouting America. The role of the board is outlined in the organization’s congressional charter. There are currently 45 board members. The board is led by the National Chair, an elected vo ...

, the organization's governing body.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cronk, Rick Living people American food industry business executives Haas School of Business alumni World Scout Committee members Recipients of the Bronze Wolf Award 1942 births National commissioners of the Boy Scouts of America 20th-century American businesspeople Presidents of the Boy Scouts of America