Troop History

Boy Scout Troop 149 has been chartered to Friendship Presbyterian Church and its Men's Club since May of 1959. There were 9 scouts in the troop when it was first chartered under Scoutmaster Starr Lee. Troop 149 has met continuously since that time, with ups and downs of activity level, size, and adult leadership. Paul Matthews accepted the position of Scoutmaster in August of 1994, and the troop has grown to its current size of well over 60 active youth and about as many registered adults, who help out in various capacities ranging from troop committee positions, to assistant Scoutmasters, to merit badge counselors and event coordinators. Troop 149 is the largest troop in the Cherokee District, our 9-county area, and also provides extensive leadership at the Cherokee District and Northeast Georgia Council level through our adult volunteers. Our Scouts also provide leadership beyond the troop level, for instance as summer camp staff and as leaders of the Order of the Arrow, Scouting's honor society.

Some "Points of Pride" for Troop 149 include:

• The troop is recognized annually by the Council as a "Quality Unit" and has also won numerous awards, ranging from the best web site/marketing award, to the Unit Safe Scouting Award.
• At least nine adults with Troop 149 have received the District Award of Merit, the district’s highest recognition for adult volunteers; and 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. Troop volunteers have also been recognized as Scoutmaster of the Year, Scouter of the Year, Assistant Scoutmaster of the Year, Committee Chair of the Year, and Committee Member of the Year, for all units in the Cherokee District.
• The troop takes part in 10-12 camping trips per year, including a week of resident camp at Camp Rainey Mountain in Clayton, GA, and weekend activities such as backpacking, wilderness survival, rafting, canoeing, bicycling, caving, snow-skiing, waterskiing, and rifle and shotgun shooting. High-adventure activities have included 6 two-week trips to Philmont Scout Ranch in northern New Mexico, as well as six sailing trips in the Bahamas.
• As of January 2009, 75 young men have earned the top rank of Eagle Scout in Troop 149, including 53 during Paul Matthews' tenure.
• Our troop carries out dozens of community service projects every year, which are selected, coordinated and staffed by our Scouts. Since we began tracking service projects in 1995, well over 200 service projects have been logged, representing some 13,000 hours of direct service and over $33,000 in donated materials and supplies. These projects are very diverse, and range from roadside cleanups; to sending care packages to overseas military; renovating playgrounds, landscaping, and mulching at local churches and schools; sorting canned goods at the food bank; building outdoor classrooms, concessions stands, gazebos, retaining walls, and storage buildings for local schools and non-profits; recycling Christmas trees; retiring US flags; and many, many more. (See Troop 149 Service Projects for more on service projects)

Troop Meetings

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.