During the early morning hours on May 27, the adventure trip for the boys of Cub Pack 581 (Altamaha District) of Midway, became a reality for those who never traveled on a tour bus.
The Pack’s destination was to visit several places in Atlanta. Just before noon, the Pack arrived at the CNN Center and toured some of its attractions. Photos were taken and videos were made at the entrance of the building. This is where the group ate lunch after visiting Centennial Park, which was built for the 1996 Summer Olympic Games in Atlanta.
The Pack then journeyed to participate in the annual Spring Scout Day at Truist Park. This was a day of celebration of area Cub and Boy Scouts. Families and friends were invited to the ballpark so everyone could enjoy watching the Braves take on the Phillies. An on-field parade with the Scouts occurred prior to the game.
The boys participating in Scout Day event were Tiger Cub Scout Cayden Stevens, Wolf Cub Scouts Brock Peterman and Stratton Ward, Bear Cub Scouts Jarrius Robertson and Julian Lowe, Webelo Cub Scouts Mekhari Bacon, Charles Ben Opper, Jaylen Anderson, Chad (C. J.) Barrett Jr., Landon Barrett, and Westley Smith.
The Scouts were accompanied by either their parents, grandparents, or friends to a boy’s family. The chaperones who accompanied the boys were Jordan Stevens, Rhiannon Peterman, Sethan Ward, Luke Lockhart, Andre Wall, Mekhi James, Mekhayla James, Jarrod Robertson Jr., Kendall Barrett, Josiah Mack, Jayden Brown, Aydra Hart, Sage Hart, Jaiyla Anderson, and Caheim Anderson. Also touring with the Pack were Scoutmaster Stephanie Armstead and Avery Armstead of Troop 3499, Atlanta Area Council of Rex.
Some memorable experiences while participating in the on-field parade were to refrain from touching the grass, taking photos and videos can only occur while moving, refrain from asking for autographs, or stopping at the dugout/ home plate area, and parade participants ended back where they started, at the 3rd Base Ramp area.
The seating area for the group was on the fourth level of the stadium and it took approximately 10 to 15 minutes to get there after climbing numerous flights of stairs. However, once at the seating area, the boys got into the baseball spirit. Between the time of the opening pitch and the bottom of the ninth inning, there were lots of food purchased, tense moments, foul balls, strikeouts, runner is safe, bases loaded, runs batted in, a change of pitchers and lastly, Sean Murphy of the Braves hit a home run and that was the highlight of the game. The boys and all the fans stood and cheered, even though the victory went to the Phillies. Participating Scouts and leaders will receive an Atlanta Braves Scout Patch for attending this event.
Even though Cub Pack 581 is sponsored by the Cosmopolitan Club of Midway, the trip to attend a Scout Day Braves game was the first since 2016 that was organized by Von Gilmore and Anitra Barrett Golden. The 2023 field trip was organized in part by the parents with a considerable amount of advice given by Kenneth Howard, Committee Chairperson Sarah Baker and Committee Members Jarrod Sr. and Shanetra Robertson, Angelica James and Valencia Anderson. Limerick Masonic Lodge No. 437 provides the site location for the Pack’s weekly meeting and contributed toward the trip to Atlanta.
Along with donations from families and friends, booth item sales at the Rice Fest, refreshment sales at the Midway Day, and camp card sales, the Pack wishes to acknowledge the financial support given by McIntosh Seed of Darien, where John Little and Cheryl Peterson serve as executive administrators for this program.
On Saturday, June 4 all of the boys advanced in rank at the annual Cub Pack 581 Awards program. They received their earned patch, belt loops and pins. This also includes Lion Cub Scout Sebastian McWhorter, Webelo Cub Scouts Stephen Noah Mullice and Jaxson Armbrister.
Three members of the Liberty County Fire Services came and gave a demonstration to help the boys earn their First Responder pin. The Scouts gave recognition to those three volunteers, Lt. Webb and Firefighters O’Brien and Foster.
Following this event, three boys crossed the bridge from Cub Pack 581, where Herman Baker serves as its Cubmaster, and they were received by the future leaders of Troop 581. John Lewis, president of the Cosmopolitan, and Antonio Williams, worshipful master of Limerick Lodge No. 437 expressed how excited they are of seeing the boys’ enthusiasm toward advancing higher in the world of scouting. Many photos were taken of the trip to Atlanta and the Award program.