100 Years of Legacy, Leadership and Adventure
Welcome to 2024 and the SRAC Centennial
Even though our council has been continuously chartered since 1924, individual troops had been active in the area that would become the Suwannee River Area Council for years before that.
Thomasville had the honor of being the first town to start a troop in the region that would later be served by the Suwannee River Area Council. The driving force behind that first troop was Will Watt, an enterprising young businessman with a strong dedication to meeting the needs of local youth. After graduating from Presbyterian College in 1908, he returned to Thomasville to work for his family’s hardware business.
In June 1912, Watt travelled with a few Thomasville boys to Staunton, Virginia to take part in a summer camp program put on by the local Scout troop there. About fifty Scouts and adult leaders convened at a campsite on the South River near the town of Grottoes, where they spent two weeks practicing first aid, signaling, boating, swimming, and campcraft
Watt must have liked what he saw. Once home from the trip, he wasted no time gathering community support to start a Boy Scout troop in Thomasville.
UPDATE: Our centennial planning committee has recently completed the design work on a new “popup exhibit” for the centennial. This exhibit consists of three 2’x3′ panels on easels, that can be setup at various activities and events throughout the year to continue educating members of scouting and the public about the history of our council. You can see the panels and their content below (click to enlarge). Watch for these to be displayed at the Council Service Center and select events soon!
Also, recently completed and sent to the printer, is our new book recounting the 100 year history of the Suwannee River Area Council, the book is titled, “Scouting from the Big Bend to the Wiregrass” and will be on sale at the Scout Shop for those that were unable to pre-order. Expected to arrive by March 1st.
#SRAC100 CSP Design Contest Update!
As you know, we recently held a design contest for submission of ideas for the #SRAC100 Centennial CSP. From all of the submissions that were submitted, the committee had a tough time selecting a winner. So, they selected two! In fact, the selections turned out to be one from a youth and one from an adult.
We’d like to congratulate Dillon Bradshaw a Cub Scout from Pack 23 and Jacob Blakesley an Assistant Scoutmaster from Troop 5! Both submitted great designs and we’re awfully proud to have them represent our council for the Centennial! Below you’ll see both CSPs. Both Dillon and Jacob will be recognized Annual Council Banquet in the Spring of 2024 for being the winners of the contest.
Along with these CSPs, we’ll have a Centennial dangle patch to also wear on your uniform, which represents our #SRAC100 logo above (final design is TBD) and we’ll have a book detailing the 100 Years of Legacy, Leadership and Adventure in the Suwannee River Area Council. The complete story of Will Watt and that first troop in Thomasville, plus much more are chronicled in this MUST HAVE book!
To guarantee that you get yours, you can begin pre-ordering now at https://councilstuff.com/664-SRAC100 and reserve your patches and your book(s) today!
PRO-TIP: There are specially priced bundles on this pre-order site that will not be available at the Scout Shop when the items go on sale there.
