On July 1st Rev. Kristin announced that St. James’ would become a charter organization for the Boy Scouts of America and that I would be joining as the Scoutmaster of the new Boy Scout Troop. In conversations with the church and local scouting leadership, I shared a vision of the troop being an inclusive environment where all are welcome. We chose the troop number 829 as it is widely known as a phone prefix for the town of Mount Airy, and we felt it reflected the vision of the boy scout troop and future St. James’ Scouts BSA units being a place for all of Mount Airy to be welcomed and for our troop to be in the service of the church and Mount Airy.
Today is an important next step. To highlight the significance of 829 as our troop number, and our focus of inclusion, the founding members of the troop decided to make August 29th (8/29) our charter date. So today is our birthday!
We have great things planned for the upcoming year. We will be meeting on Fridays at the church (when we aren’t camping) starting on September 6th. We will be working on leadership, community involvement, the environment, STEM, sports, hiking, water activities and camping (of course). 😊 Most of all, we will be having FUN!
Please join me in welcoming Troop 829 in taking its first steps. We look forward growing together with the church. In the near future, we will also be looking to start up a Cub Scout Pack and a ScoutsBSA Troop for Girls.
Please come visit us at one of our scheduled meetings or the Ministry Fair on September 8th. If you have any questions or would like any more information, please reach out to me at scoutmaster@bsatroop829.com
Yours in Service and Scouting,
Bill Cunnane
Troop 829 Scoutmaster