The troop was rechartered to Friendship Presbyterian Church in May of 1959 as Troop 149 under Scoutmaster Starr Lee. There were 9 scouts in the troop when it was first chartered. Troop 149 has met continuously since that time, with ups and downs of activity level, size, and adult leadership, and is chartered by the Men’s Club of Friendship Presbyterian.
Paul Matthews accepted the position of Scoutmaster in August of 1994, and the troop grew from about 4 active Scouts to our current size of about 60 youth and about 60 registered adults, who help out in various capacities ranging from troop committee positions, to assistant Scoutmasters, to merit badge counselors and event coordinators. Both moms and dads are welcome and encouraged to participate on trips and activities.
Troop 149 is the largest troop in the Cherokee District, our 9-county area, and provides extensive leadership at the District and Council level through our adult volunteers. As of 2005, nine adults with Troop 149 have received the District Award of Merit, the district’s highest recognition for adult volunteers. Two of our adult leaders (Paul Matthews and Mike Floyd) have been recognized with the Silver Beaver, the Northeast Georgia Council’s highest recognition for Scouting volunteers. The troop has also won numerous awards, ranging from the best web site/marketing award, to the Unit Safe Scouting Award.
Our regular troop meetings are held on Tuesday nights from 7-8:30 pm at our sponsoring church. Please try to be on time because we usually try to start at 7 when possible. Also make sure your parents are there to pick you up at 8:30. For each meeting, a duty patrol is chosen to set up, lead the flag ceremony, and clean up. The members of this patrol will need to be at the meeting a few minutes early and stay a few minutes after.
The meetings start with a flag ceremony. The duty patrol will bring in the flags, and will lead the group in the Pledge of Allegiance and the Scout Oath or Law. Then there will be a Patrol Competition inspection, where leaders inspect each patrol for points. After this is done, the Scouts will sit down and the meeting will continue with announcements, presentations, and other important business. Then the Scouts will break up into groups and participate in other activities. These activities range from advancement, to trip planning, and much more. After this, there will be a game (if time permits), and then have the closing cirle.
Scouts in leadership positions, with adult guidance, plan and carry out the instructional and fun activities at the meetings, plan the program calendar, and are responsible for leading and carrying out the troop’s activities. There is at least one camping activity each month, ranging from activities such as waterskiing, canoeing, and backpacking, to wilderness survival, to snowskiing, camporees, and rifle/shotgun instruction weekends. We also spend a week at Camp Rainey Mountain in Clayton, GA, each July; and every summer have a long-term camping adventure. In 1996, eight Scouts and three adults took a touring trip through the U.S. and Canada. In 1998, 2001, 2003, and 2005, the troop chartered sailboats from Ft. Lauderdale to spend a week sailing, snorkeling and fishing in the Bahamas. In 1998, 2000, 2002, 2004, and 2006, older Scouts and adults from the troop spent two weeks hiking in the Sangre de Cristo mountains in New Mexico at Philmont Scout Ranch, preparation for which included hiking the entire 80 miles of the Georgia Appalachian Trail over five weekends each year.
Scouts also work to help pay their way on our activities through fund-raisers such as the Council's popcorn sales, troop chicken barbecues, and our annual Pancake Breakfast with Santa.
Scouts in Troop 149 also provide considerable service to the community, with an average of several projects in process each month. These projects have contributed well over 7,000 hours of work to the community in services including constructing birdhouses, butterfly gardens, and flower beds; building and maintaining nature and hiking trails; assembling and coordinating the luminaries for Friendship Presbyterian’s Christmas Eve services; maintaining the Friendship Preschool’s playground area; building gazebos, tables, retaining walls, fences, and benches for schools, churches and parks; teaching skills to Girl Scouts and Cub Scouts; and providing volunteers for numerous community activities and agencies.
