Columbus organization changes name due to Boy Scout request

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) - A Columbus nonprofit that has been helping in the Linden area for about three years has a new name. However, it's not a change the group was looking to make.

Leaders with Remember Us Urban Legends said they felt forced into the rebrand by a much larger organization over trademark issues.

"The last couple months, it’s been stressful, as a new young organization, rebranding is not something we thought about," said Remember Us Urban Legends Founder and CEO Miguel Geno Tucker. "We were proud and confident being Remember Us Urban Scouts, so this was a challenge we weren’t expecting."

The organization used to be known as Remember Us Urban Scouts until this week. Since July 2020, it was working in the Linden community under that name. Part of its programming has included training teens in landscaping and hair braiding, and members have also shoveled snow for residents.

“I took the drug route," Tucker said. "That created a lot of trauma. I lost a lot of close friends, a lot of family members, a lot of relationships and I don't want to see our kids go through that same pain. We wanted to make sure we create a program that allowed young people to be exposed to new experiences and opportunities they traditionally don't get in urban communities.”

But earlier this year, what was Remember Us Urban Scouts at the time received a letter from the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) requesting the group changes its name due to trademark issues.

“I'm sure that, before it's all said and done, I will have said Remember Us Urban Scouts a few more times and that will continue to remind me of the big fish coming in and swallowing up the little fish," Adrienne Hood, vice president of the Remember Us Urban Legends Board, said. 

BSA sent NBC4 the following statement about the situation.

"The Boy Scouts of America (BSA) protects its trademarks, intellectual property, and brand. Scouting is an iconic organization whose identity is synonymous with leadership excellence and character development with over 113 years of service to America’s youth. When other organizations adopt BSA branding as their own, BSA will contact them to first ask that they voluntarily choose a distinct brand that is not confused with the BSA’s well-established image."

Remember Us Urban Legends officially launched this week, a rebrand that Tucker said cost thousands of dollars.

Tucker and Hood said they went ahead with the name change because they did not want to spend money on legal fees instead of on the kids.

"We were able to withstand this major blow and come back firing," Tucker said. "We’re here to stay. We're not going nowhere."