Colonial Virginia and Heart of Virginia Councils vote to proceed with merger

At the December 11 Colonial Virginia Council Board meeting Directors reviewed the proposed merger resolution and voted to approve the final version of the draft merger agreement allowing them to “to continue forward in the planning process toward a consolidation with the Heart of Virginia Council (HOVC) into a new, combined council.”
 
On December 12 CVC sent an email update entitled Potential Scouting Merger Update detailing the current proposed merger status with Heart of Virginia Council.
 
It also included a 20 page attachment compiled by the CVC Merger Assessment Committee with comparative data between HOVC and Tidewater Council, who had previously shared a document entitled Six Fundamental Truths citing advantages of a merger with them. The attachment also includes responses to the claims cited in the TWC challenge to the original proposed merger between CVC and HOVC.
 
On December 17 the HOVC Board of Directors approved proceeding with the next steps of the proposed merger, issuing a letter on December 18 with an attached FAQ with details.
 
Both letters emphasize this is not the final vote on the proposed merger. More feedback will be gathered during the next phase of the process, following the timeline detailed in prior communications.  Roundtables to gather feedback from units are scheduled for January with voting member meetings in February.
 
At this point there is nothing to suggest that the planned merger will not take place as planned in mid-2026, at which time Nawakwa Lodge 3 and Wahunsenakah Lodge 333 leadership will have six months to develop and present a “unified plan for consolidation to the new Executive Board. Upon approval, that plan would be implemented within one year of the merger’s effective date” according to the FAQ.
 
I will explore the ramifications of that in an upcoming article.

 
UPDATE 12/29/2025: It appears the proposed merger with HVOC is not sitting well with some members of Colonial Virginia Council who are now voicing opposition. Check out recent comments on the CVC Scouters Facebook page and the Hampton Roads Scouting Alliance web site and Facebook page.