100 Years of Scouting Celebration Benefit held on Thursday

TOP PHOTO: Scouts with Troop 310 prepare to display the colors at the 100 year Boy Scout celebration and Benefit.

By Charlotte Underwood

LAFOLLETTE, TN (WLAF) – Campbell County Boy Scout Troop 310 held a 100 Years of Scouting Celebration Benefit Dinner on Thursday evening at ClaiHill Farms in LaFollette.  The event was catered by Classy Threads & Catering. 

The event celebrated a century of scouting in Campbell County from 1921 to 2021. According to the troop, the first Boy Scout Troop in Campbell County was formally organized on Sept. 27, 1921. The Scouts’ LaFollette Council was officially established as 33 local businesses and civic leaders initiated the Scouting movement with 60 boys and young men. 

“If you think about this it’s pretty astounding. Scouting started in 1910 and for little ‘ole Campbell County to have one by 1921 is amazing,” said Scout Master Chris Thacker. 

Smoky Mountain Council President Logan Hickman spoke about the importance of keeping scouting alive in Campbell County.

“Chris Thacker and Crystal (Chris’s wife) and all the assistant scoutmasters have done a great job in revitalizing scouting here in the county,” Hickman said. 

“Scouting is a dynamic organization. Now we’ve opened it up to the girls, and I think that’s awesome. Families now want to take their kids to the same activities. Scouting is about including everyone,” Hickman said.  

Eagle Scout Stewart Thacker gave a scout’s perspective on the benefits of scouting. 

“Every young man that enters scouts comes out better than when they started. We strive to instill the values of determination, pride and service. We want to give back to the place that has given us so much,”  Stewart Thacker said. 

There was a presentation to the troop from former LaFollette Scoutmasters by Eagle Scouts John Troutman (1976) and David Reynolds (1978). Troutman and Reynolds presented the troop with a scrapbook of Eagle Scout ceremonies and other memorabilia from troop 435. 

According to Thacker, scouting is about being prepared. “Growing up these days is not easy and having a good support system is a must. That’s what scouting is all about,” Thacker said.

He also said a big thanks to everyone for being a support system for Troop 310.

During the ceremony, Eagle Scout John Troutman, Vanessa Dupuy of Classy Threads & Catering, Lansden Hill of Pyro Shows, Logan Hickman with the Smoky Mountain Council and Donn Claiborne with ClaiHill Farms all received certificates of appreciation for all they have done for troop 310. 

Troop 310 in LaFollette is sponsored by Cedar Hill Baptist Church. It started in 2015, and Chris Thacker has been the Scoutmaster since the beginning. The troop will continue to host a number of 100th anniversary activities throughout 2021. 

The evening concluded with a fireworks display by Pyro Shows sponsored by Lansden Hill.

“The legacy of scouting should live on in our youth. Scouting is the best program out there. Scouting can take a kid on so many adventures and provide opportunities. We couldn’t do this without the contributions of the community throughout the county. It takes a village to raise a child and we got the whole county for the troops,” Chris Thacker said.

For more information contact Troop 310 Scoutmaster Chris Thacker at 423.494.6221. aitgchris@gmail.com. Check them out on Facebook as well. (WLAF NEWS PUBLISHED – 09/24/2021-6AM)