Welcome to the Suwannee River Area Council!

Our council’s goal is to provide a quality, dynamic program of learning and adventure that builds well-rounded young people. The Suwannee River Area Council, Boy Scouts of America was incorporated on January 22 1924. Since then it has been our honor to instill in the youth we serve the character, values and traditions that make Boy Scouts of America stand apart in the crowd.

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2023 CAMP CARD SALE 

February 9, 2023 – April 28, 2023

 

The Suwannee River Area Council is pleased to announce the return of our Council-wide Camp Card Sale for 2023. We had banner years in 2021 and 2022 and look forward to earning our way through our scouting program in 2023. Our 2022 sale ended raising $31,965 for scouts in the Suwannee River Area Council. Our highest earning unit in 2022 was Pack 201, who raised $3,125 with only 6 registered sellers! We hope that every scout and unit will take advantage of this opportunity to pay your own way through their scouting career.

Here is your scout’s chance to earn their own way in Scouting by participating in the annual Camp Card Sale. Camp Cards are coupon cards full of discounts to businesses in your local area that your Scout/Unit can sell for $5 and keep 50% of the commission.

The purpose of selling Camp Cards is to allow Scouts to earn money towards their Scouting program. This could be for unit campouts, a new uniform, annual registration or unit fees, activities, summer camp, or more. To learn more about how to participate and to see what’s going to be on the cards, join us for an AWESOME Camp Card Kick-Off! Everyone is invited! Leaders, parents, and scouts. Even if your unit hasn’t decided yet or is not interested in managing the sale for your families, you can still participate!

For more information, see our Camp Card page!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SRAC!

Well… Almost!

 

Did you know that the Suwannee River Area Council was originally established in late summer 1924 at a meeting in Madison, Florida. Individual troops had been active in the area since 1912, but the founding of the SRAC marked a big milestone in the effort to make Scouting in our region more organized and effective. And, the SRAC has operated without interruption since 1924. This is a remarkable feat for a local council, and it represents the commitment of both our Scouters and our communities to serving local youth.

That’s right, in 2024 our council will celebrate 100 years of scouting as the Suwannee River Area Council! To celebrate, we’re working on a whole host of plans that will kickoff in late 2023 and run through 2024. We’re excited to be working on this celebration and we just can’t wait to share the details with you, as they are developed.

We’re currently forming an SRAC Centennial Committee, led by co-chairs, Josh Goodman and Ken Griffin. Our committee will have several focus areas for the centennial planning; to celebrate the council’s 100th anniversary with rich, engaging programs that will excite today’s Scouts and Scouters while also paying homage to the council’s remarkable past; to educate both our own Scouts and Scouters and the general public about the extraordinary history of this council and its century of service to youth; and to maximize this anniversary’s potential as an opportunity to promote Scouting in our communities.

If you may have interest in one of these focus areas, please feel free to reach out to Josh and Ken and they will connect you with the right focus lead to get involved. In the meantime, stay tuned to the newsletter, council website and our social media for upcoming news and information about the #SRAC100 Celebration!

Almost forgot! One thing that will be coming up soon, is that we want to replace this borrowed image you see in this article with an appropriate celebration logo. We’re thinking of having a design contest to get everyone scouts and adults in on the fun! So, watch for details on that coming soon in your inbox and social feed!

2023 National Jamboree 

July 16 – 28, 2023

 

FORWARD! Is the theme of the 2023 National Jamboree, Scouting’s one-of-a-kind flagship event. It’s a gathering of tens of thousands of Scouts, leaders, and Jamboree Service Team members that showcases everything that is great about the Boy Scouts of America.

The Suwannee River Area Council will be sending a contingent Scout Troop to the National Scout Jamboree consisting a total of 40 participants. The Jamboree will take place from July 19 – 28, 2023 at the Summit Bechtel Family National Scout Reserve. We will leave a few days early to have some fun as we travel to the Jamboree!

For more information, please visit out 2023 National Jamboree Webpage!

Registration Fee Increase

effective August 1, 2022

 
The Suwannee River Area Council is focused on customer service and transparency to its scouting family. Our volunteers and staff are mission-driven to grow the organization and deliver character education in a quality way. The organization is focused on that daily.  We owe it to our members to provide the highest quality customer service and resources possible.  We have big plans for this Council, all focused on you, our scouting family, and we need your partnership to deliver it!  Although Scouting is a less expensive program than competing activities, we recognize that it still costs money.  And we can all agree that the value is there!
 

With that, we need to inform you of the latest information on membership fees. Starting August 1, 2022, the Boy Scouts of America is increasing the membership fee for Cub Scouting, Scouts BSA, Venturing, Sea Scouting, and Exploring. While efforts are made to keep the annual membership fee as low as possible, with rising operating costs, the fee must be increased to maintain the program.

To ensure we have the resources to fulfill the promise of Scouting, the following fee structure will take effect August 1, 2022. This includes both National and Council fees.

  • $144 for Cub Scouts, Scouts BSA, Venturing and Sea Scouts participants (increase of $1 per month)
  • $72 for Exploring participants (increase of .50₵ per month)
  • $72 for all adult volunteers; includes cost of background check (increase of .50₵ per month)
  • $100 for a unit charter/affiliation fee
    $25 one-time joining fee for new program participants in Cub Scouts, Scouts BSA, Venturing and Sea Scouts (Not pro-rated)
  • $15 for Scout Life magazine; this is the first price increase since 2005

Value

  • All registered families of the Suwannee River Area Council will continue to receive:
    • Access to all Council camp properties for tent camping at no charge.
    • Access to University of Scouting, youth and adults, at no charge.
    • A special “thank you” decal to showcase the family as a Scouting family.
    • Excellent unit/customer service and program support through our new specialized model of position specific executives (staff).

Convenience

  • Fees will be collected at recharter per usual.
  • Effective since August 1, 2021 – fees through online registration for new members, at any time of the year, will be pro-rated for both national and council fees. Units will not have to collect national or council fees, as long as, the new youth or adult registers online.

We encourage you to review the FAQ and to discuss this with your unit’s leadership to understand how this change effects your family.

As always, Scouting remains a valuable investment. Even during the COVID-19 pandemic, when Scouts were forced to stay home, they still learned skills that will benefit them for the rest of their lives. They still helped those in need. They still became leaders in their units and communities. Scouting is needed now in America, just as much as it was in 1910.

Thank you for continuing to be a part of our scouting family. 

SRAC Health and Safety Action Plan

Updated January 11, 2022

The health and safety of all of our members is paramount to the Suwannee River Area Council (SRAC). We have put in place preventative measures to reduce the spread of COVID-19; however, we cannot guarantee that you or your child(ren) will not become infected with COVID-19. Further, attending activities, functions and meetings of SRAC and SRAC properties, including the Wallwood Boy Scout Reservation (Camp Wallwood) and the Council Service Center, could increase your risk and your child(ren)’s risk of contracting COVID-19.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention now recommends a shorter isolation period for COVID-19 patients, from 10 days to five — if asymptomatic — followed by five days of mask wearing. The Suwannee River Area Council has adopted the new CDC Guidelines for our membership, as well.

From the CDC release:

“Given what we currently know about COVID-19 and the Omicron variant, CDC is shortening the recommended time for isolation for the public. People with COVID-19 should isolate for 5 days and if they are asymptomatic or their symptoms are resolving (without fever for 24 hours), follow that by 5 days of wearing a mask when around others to minimize the risk of infecting people they encounter. The change is motivated by science demonstrating that the majority of SARS-CoV-2 transmission occurs early in the course of illness, generally in the 1-2 days prior to onset of symptoms and the 2-3 days after.”

For more information, please visit https://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2021/s1227-isolation-quarantine-guidance.html for the full release on this latest Guidance.

As new guidance from the CDC is released, the Suwannee Area Council will continue to adapt to the latest guidelines provided. See https://www.cdc.gov/ for additional information on the latest COVID-19 and any updated recommendations.

So... what's going on around #SRACBSA?

So, you came here looking for information on what’s going on around our council? Wow! That’s great, there are a number of ways to keep up with what’s up around SRAC. Obviously, this website is one of them. There also several other channels available to help you keep up with Scouting stuff.  We’ll list them below with links for accessing each one.

  • For detailed information on what’s coming up on the schedule of events, see our “Events” page
  • Subscribe to our electronic mailing list, so that you can receive our monthly e-newsletter.  You can subscribe by clicking here or you can simply text “SRACBSA” to 22828 and follow the text prompts.
  • Like our Facebook page
  • Follow us on Instagram
  • Join our SRAC Volunteers Facebook group , where members can also post announcementsof interest.
  • Attend a monthly roundtable meeting. 
  • Ask your Den Leader, Cubmaster, Crew Advisor or Scoutmaster.

The Suwannee River Area Council, Boy Scouts of America was incorporated on January 22 1924. Since then it has been our honor to instill in the youth we serve the character, values and traditions that make Boy Scouts of America stand apart in the crowd. Thirteen counties throughout south Georgia and north Florida are served by Suwanee River Area Council. If you are not involved in Scouting today please let us know how we can serve you!