Middle Georgia group to attend Boy Scout Jamboree

The 100th anniversary of scouting in the United States will be celebrated in a big way by a group from Middle Georgia.

Thirty-six boys and four adult leaders will represent the Central Georgia Council as BSA Jamboree Troop 1922 and attend the Boy Scout National Jamboree at the end of July. They will join about 45,000 other scouts and leaders from all 50 states for the weeklong Jamboree held at Fort A.P. Hill in Virginia.

The group from Middle Georgia also will be taking a few days to see the sights in Washington, D.C.

Jamboree is like a “big giant summer camp,” said Charles Crawford of Troop 251, sponsored by Greater Bellevue Baptist Church.

“There are activities like motorcross bikes, kayaking, fishing, a lot of other activities, along with the opportunity to earn a large majority of the 126 available merit badges.”

Since Scouts are traditionally between the ages of 12 and 18, Crawford said Jamboree will usually only come around once in a scouting career.

The first Boy Scouts of America National Jamboree was held in 1937, and 27,000 scouts camped at the National Mall near the Washington Monument, according to Boy Scouts of America. Since that time, 16 national jamborees have been held. The last was in 2005.

The youth leaders for Troop 1922 are Michael Williams (senior patrol leader), Tyler Storms (assistant senior patrol leader), Crawford (scribe-hometown news correspondent) and Hank Harrison (quarter master). Adult leaders include Hank Personius (scoutmaster), Leroy Bunddraige (first assistant scoutmaster), Hinton Harrison (second assistant scoutmaster) and Ben Smith (third assistant scoutmaster).

“Going to Jamboree is a once in a lifetime experience,” Crawford said, “and one that a Scout will remember the rest of their lives.

“It is a good learning experience and exposure to a part of the Boy Scout program that a lot of boys don’t get to have.”

Contact Alline Kent at 396-2467 or allinekent@cox.net.