Follow the link below for the audible article: https://www.northwestgeorgianews.com/catoosa_walker_news/lifestyles/ringgold-scout-troop-produces-five-more-eagles/article_d27bfc6c-8d4c-11ef-bf8c-eb081e2841c3.html

This month, scouts across the area joined forces with Wreaths Across Chattanooga to lay wreaths from Cleveland to Chattanooga. Click the link below for more photos: https://www.chattanoogan.com/2024/12/19/496909/PHOTOS-Scouts-Join-Forces-With-Wreaths.aspx

The Cherokee Area Council of the Boy Scouts of America hosted hundreds of attendees this year to honor the accomplishments of the 2024 Eagle Scout Class at the annual Gathering of Eagles. Co-presenting sponsors Synovus Bank and EPB were there to support the work of these outstanding young people across the Tennessee Valley. The 2024 Eagle Scout Class contributed nearly 10,000 hours of service to their local communities through 59 different projects. "This Eagle Scout class is especially exciting as it is just the fourth in the history of the Cherokee Area Council that includes young women among its recipients," officials said. Top awards were given to three youth for Eagle Scout Projects of the year: • Shane Boyd of Jasper, for his project at Fiery Gizzard Trail conducting trail conservation and constructing a bridge at a location over a mile down the trail; • Grady Pitts of Signal Mountain, for his project at East Lake Salvation Army Library revitalizing and installing all new Library Bookcases; and • Cooper Hampton of Lafayette, for his project at Summerville Montessori Schools completely revitalizing their playground with interactive and educational elements. The Cherokee Area Council also awarded the National Outstanding Eagle Scout Award to adult Eagle Scout Clay Watson. This award honors lifetime achievement of Eagle Scouts for their positive actions reflected by accomplishments and devotion to their local community, state and nation. Adult volunteers and Scout leaders including Tim Knight, Leslie Miller and Jim Morgan received the Silver Beaver Award, given for outstanding volunteerism to the local Council. J.J. Jerman was honored with the Council’s first Alumni of the Year award for his tireless efforts to promote reengagement of Scouting Alumni across the region. This dinner served as the Council’s largest and most important recognition event for local Scouts and adult volunteers.The event was held on Dec. 3 at the Westin in downtown Chattanooga, and featured Jed Mescon as Master of Ceremonies, with congratulatory remarks from officials with U.S. Senators Blackburn and Hagerty.

A day on the water is always a fun time, but area Scouts not only had fun Saturday on the Hiwassee River, but got to show off their paddling skills on their handmade rafts, too. Saturday afternoon was the 46th running of the Great Hiwassee River Raft Race, and while it was a smaller group of scouts participating this year, it was no less an exciting and enjoyable event. Shannon Ward, Scoutmaster for Troop 1010 in Cleveland and race coordinator, explained the race is the culmination of a weekend for local Scouts and others from outside Cleveland. She said this year there were several Scout troops from the Chattanooga area, and two from around Atlanta. The Scouts stay at the Gee Creek Campground in Polk County, where they eventually put the finishing touches on their rafts, have them inspected, and then transported to Hiwassee Outfitters in Reliance. The rafts are launched from that site, then continue down the Hiwassee River to the ramp at U.S. Highway 411. “I think the biggest thing about the raft race is they take the skills that they learned in scouting and through Scouting adventures, and they actually put those skills to use,” Ward stated. Those skills include lashing bamboo together in a way that it can be paddled. Then they put that raft on inner tubes, and then they are ready to be placed on the water. “It's not only aquatic skills that they have to have, but also pioneering skills and engineering skills [to create the rafts],” Ward said. Dave Briick of Troop 540 out of Marietta, Georgia, said they also have to have paddling skills, which they learn through practice. “They have to decide who is going to go where on the raft, and how and when they are going to paddle,” Briick said. “If one paddles when another doesn’t, then they are just going to go around in a circle.” Troop 540 and 675, also from the Atlanta area, were not strangers to the Hiwassee River, as this was the fifth time for Briick and his troop. They were also no strangers to the local Scouts. “They come down for summer camp at Fort Adams every year, so we kind of have a relationship with them,” he said. “We share in Scout spirit.” Each year, the Great Hiwassee River Raft Race has a theme for the Scouts which includes them dressing up as characters. One year, they were pirates, another year, one team dressed up like the rock band Kiss characters. This year’s theme was Fright Night, and there were several teams that dressed the part. Troop 1010 had two teams — one named Vampire69 that were dressed as hippies ready for the Woodstock Music and Art Fair [which occurred in August 1969] and the other characters from "Scooby-Doo." The teams competed for paddles that they will then take back to their Scout headquarters and display them for all to see. The awards and paddles given out were for Scout Skills, Best Design, Best Overall, Fastest Time and Spirit Award. The race was a little bittersweet for Ward, as it was the first race since the death of longtime Scoutmaster Dr. Cecil Stanbery, who actually passed away around the time of last year’s raft race. He had coordinated the race for several years, and Ward said she had learned so much from him. It was also the last race for Troop 10 [boys] and Troop 1010 [girls], as the two will merge into one troop on Sept. 1, when the Boy Scouts of America become Scouting USA. These two troops will be the first in the Cherokee Area Council to merge following the decision by the national organization. https://www.clevelandbanner.com/news/scouting-skills-on-display-at-river-raft-race/article_9a091fa7-89c2-50ab-9b2d-01311d1a8a0a.html By ALLEN MINCEY Banner Correspondent Aug 26, 2024

Thank you for leading our future leaders Mack!

Last month Troop 172 & Ship 2556 had an amazing adventure at Sea Base High Adventure Camp, here's what one of their leaders had to say about the experience. " We enjoyed the trip of a lifetime at Sea Base Bahamas on a Catamaran, aptly named Adonai. Adonai is another name for God. We had such meaningful devotionals on the bow of the boat in the evenings. Captain Josh who also is a missionary, truly encouraged our crew to do our Duty to God. The trip can only be described as a choose your own adventure. Most of the things we wanted to do and see the captain and his first mate, Thomas, made happen. We dived beautiful reefs, Civil War shipwrecks, toured ruins, visited the only man powered lighthouse in the world, had a campfire on the beach of a deserted island, ate so much conch cooked in a variety of ways, swam with sea turtles and spotted Eagle Rays, found the largest conch shells we have ever seen, walked on one of the world's only pink sand beaches, dived the reef off the coast of Gillian's Island, survived a storm with winds of 45 knots and waves lapping over the bow, all in the beautiful clear waters of the Sea of Abaco. An adventure and memories that will always be treasured ." -Amanda Smith 

Some rainy weather didn't stop the Boy Scouts of America from placing thousands of flags at the Chattanooga National Cemetery in honor of Memorial Day Weekend. Dozens of scouts met at the National Cemetery Saturday. Their day started with hearing local veterans share the importance of mourning the loss of those who died for our freedom. " But it's good to see them take the time to come out and say thank you to show appreciation, to show remembrance because these people have sacrificed, and sacrifice and remembrance is important and what they're doing here today is remembering ," said Captain Mickey McCamish. Following the ceremony the scouts banded together, placing flags on more than 55,000 headstones. " We go out and remember and solute to the fallen soldiers who died for us ," said Stacie Wilson, scout with troop 316 & 1316. " Everyday on Memorial Weekend, I get in my uniform and I go out and salute all of the fallen soldiers ," said Deklan Barry, scout with troop 316 & 1316. " And I feel like it's very important to respect them and I feel like the most we could do is put out a flag and solute ," said McKenzie Roberts, scout with troop 316 & 1316. Deklan, Stacie and McKenzie are with troop 316 and 1316. They learned the meaning of Memorial Day from parents and teachers who lost a loved one in a previous war. " Planting the flags here gives us chance to kind of bring everybody together ," said Bryan Ballew, scout with troop 316 & 1316. " I always think of, in the scout law, one of the final principles is reverence, this is a prime example here of showing our respect for people that have passed and people that have served our country and it kind of helps kids visualize that principle more ," said Dillon D'Errico, scout with troop 316 & 1316. Though rainy conditions brought a somber mood to the ceremony, local veteran Mickey McCamish believes the scouts walked away from the cemetery with a greater understanding of why we keep the memory of fallen soldiers alive. " There may be a little movement in the flag, I don't think it's from the wind or breeze, I think it's from the breath of that veteran whose grave they're placing that flag on that says thank you for remembering ," said McCamish. https://www.local3news.com/local-boy-scouts-plant-thousands-of-flags-at-headstones-for-memorial-day-weekend/article_4121d3be-1aa0-11ef-b453-63d8a37f4b2a.html

Food to serve 2,388 meals was collected by local Scouts across 11 counties that include Hamilton, Catoosa, Walker, Dade, Marion, Grundy, Bradley, Polk, Rhea, Bledsoe and Sequatchie. These items were provided to the local food pantry network in collaboration with the Chattanooga Area Food Bank. Most of the food was collected during the door to door “Scouting for Food” drive held in April. Officials said, "To help alleviate hunger in our community, 'Scouting for Food' is an annual collection of nonperishable food items, coordinated across the 11 counties served by the Cherokee Area Council, Boy Scouts of America. The Chattanooga Area Food Bank, the largest recipient of items, will deliver goods to various food pantries across the community who will receive the food collected, and in turn, give the food to thousands of individuals or families in need." “We are deeply grateful for the nourishing meals that Scouting for Food will be able to provide to the families in need in our community,” said Melissa Blevins, president & CEO of the Chattanooga Area Food Bank. “In serving their community, the local Scouts are helping us provide food- and hope- to those neighbors in our community who are struggling and seeking food assistance.” Jennifer Franklin, Community Engagement Manager of the Chattanooga Area Food Bank, added, “Not only does this help us provide groceries for our neighbors in need, but also enables us to spread awareness in our community.” The Scouting for Food campaign involved door-to-door food collection efforts by Cub Scouts, Scouts BSA and Venturers. Scouts distributed informational door hangers throughout their designated neighborhoods and community areas. "The Scout Slogan is Do a Good Turn Daily," said Council Commissioner Zachary McCarty. "Our Scouts log thousands of service hours annually. This project was a great way to demonstrate to the community the values of Scouting that we teach to the youth of the program." Contact Amy Phillips with the Cherokee Area Council at 706-313-1949 for additional information or to make a belated donation. https://www.chattanoogan.com/2024/5/10/487137/1000s-To-Be-Fed-Thanks-To-Local-Scouts.aspx

Mason Keith, age 15, has earned the rank of Eagle Scout, the highest rank within the Boy Scouts of America program. He is a member of Troop 224, chartered to Elizabeth Lee Methodist Church in Chickamauga, under the direction of current Scoutmaster Don Gregg. Mason demonstrated leadership to others in a service project that benefitted a local community agency. He and his helpers built and installed a wooden storage box for children’s toys, and two wooden bench seats to be placed on the screened porch and outdoor sitting area at the Northwest Georgia Family Crisis Center. They also added signage to the security entrance gates at the Center. Northwest Georgia Family Crisis Center provides emergency services for victims of family violence as well as outreach services including support groups and referrals for individual counseling. Mason has fond memories of scouting. His favorite is when he attended the Klondike Derby at Skymont Scout Reservation last year. He said it was fun building the sled and, “I enjoyed all the events in the rain and mud!” Mason has said that Scouting can be challenging, but it is always rewarding after you overcome the challenge. https://www.chattanoogan.com/2024/4/23/486296/Mason-Keith-Earns-Eagle-Scout-Rank.aspx