DALLAS — Norman Rockwell's iconic images defined the Boy Scouts throughout the 20th century. Rosy-cheeked Scouts, solemn faces framed by short hair, looked as if they were gazing at goodness itself. They never appeared cynical or sardonic.

Times were simpler when the Boy Scouts of America was born in 1910. Most of the country lived in rural settings. People were familiar with hunting, fishing and outdoor labor. By mid-century, boys still practically lived outdoors, traveling the neighborhood on bicycles and playing sandlot ball until sunset. Fast food and video games lay in the distant future, and most of white America had not reached out to other races.

As the Boy Scouts enter their second century in 2010, membership has been declining for five years. Smart phones, iPods and laptops present stiff competition to a youth organization based on camping, hiking and quaint practices such as taking care of a pocketknife.

The challenge is how to reach out to families and convince them that Scouting is worth their time.

"I couldn't spell 'blog' two years ago," said Bob Mazzuca, chief executive for the Irving, Texas-based Boy Scouts of America. "Now I write one."

Today, a tradition-bound organization must change without abandoning its devotion to God, the outdoors and straight living, Mazzuca said during an interview with The Dallas Morning News.

He talked about three specific areas targeted for change:

—Integration of new technology into Scouting programs. This includes small things, such as a new uniform pocket for a smart phone, and large ones, such as a partnership with MIT to help Scouts earn a newly created Inventing merit badge.

—Focus on bringing more Hispanic boys into Scouting. The Boy Scout Handbook has been translated into Spanish. But Mazzuca said it will take more than translating Anglo concepts into Spanish. "It means understanding what resonates in a community," he said.

—Becoming advocates for children's health. "We are now talking about the first generation in history that is likely to be less healthy than the previous generation," he said. In 2011, Scouting will launch an initiative to improve child health. "We have not positioned ourselves as advocates for children," Mazzuca said.

Another challenge — no one is quite sure how serious it will become — is how to handle court cases in which former Scouts say the organization did not do enough to keep pedophile adults from sexually abusing them.

If past years are any indication, the Scouts will begin the next 100 years with millions of dollars at their disposal to handle that problem and any others that crop up. It's a big, rich organization.

Mazzuca earned $1.2 million in 2008, according to the income tax return filed by the Boy Scouts of America National Council. The organization reported revenue of $150 million and total assets of $500 million in 2008, the most recent year for which financial data is available.

The Boy Scout museum, which sits in a building adjacent to the national office in Irving, holds a collection valued at $45 million, including an impressive array of Norman Rockwell paintings.

Essentially, Mazzuca and the BSA national council set policy for thousands of Cub Scout packs and Boy Scout troops across the nation. So, no matter where you live, processes such as earning merit badges and advancing to Eagle Scout are uniform.

Part of the national council's revenue comes from a $15 annual fee paid by each Scout and adult volunteer. United Way provides funding in some communities, including Dallas. The Scouts actively solicit money from philanthropists, foundations and corporations.

The national council also operates and maintains vast wilderness areas for camping, hiking, canoeing and environmental-conservation programs. By the time of the next National Scout Jamboree in 2013, a recently acquired 10,600-acre site in West Virginia will become the permanent site of the event.

The jamboree, which normally is staged every four years, has been held in recent decades at Fort A.P. Hill, a U.S. military installation in Virginia. Thousands of Scouts will attend this year's event, which begins Monday, to celebrate the BSA's centennial year.