A prospective employer once asked Richard Mathews to name a challenge he’d overcome. Mathews could have told a story from his years as a state prosecutor in Flint, Michigan. Instead, he described how, as a teen, he conquered his own fears, performed a mock water rescue, and won the merit badge for lifesaving.
Mathews reveres the Boy Scouts of America. He credits his involvement with giving him the confidence to try jury cases—a skill that eventually landed him an in-house job at Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Michigan. As an adult, he spent his weekends volunteering with the Boy Scouts, even after his two sons grew out of the program.
