Senate Concurrent Resolution 645

(As Adopted by Senate and House)

A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION COMMENDING AND CONGRATULATING FORMER AND CURRENT SCOUTS AND ADULTS OF BOY SCOUT TROOP 1 IN JACKSON, MISSISSIPPI, FOR 100 YEARS OF SCOUTING IN MISSISSIPPI.

WHEREAS, Boy Scout Troop 1 in Jackson, Mississippi, was chartered 100 years ago in April 1916 by St. Andrew's Episcopal Church (now St. Andrew's Episcopal Cathedral), and we join the scouting community in observing this Centennial Anniversary event; and

WHEREAS, Scoutmaster N. Pugh Lightcap, who served from 1920 to 1926, began leading boys and young men from the area on exciting hiking and camping trips through Mississippi wilderness as part of the then Dawning International Movement called Scouting; and

WHEREAS, he was followed in turn by a succession of adult leaders dedicated to fostering this youth movement including William "the Colonel" Cabaniss, who himself was a Troop 1 Eagle Scout and then Scoutmaster for 35 years from the 1950s through the 1980s; and

WHEREAS, St. James Episcopal Church became a co-sponsoring organization along with St. Andrews and provided a Scout Hut for the Scouts in which to meet and plan adventures, learn scouting skills such as first aid and knot tying, decorate with trophies and pictures from their treks, and a place to store their tents and gear; and

WHEREAS, thousands of Jackson area boys have grown into adulthood through the experiences of camping, hiking, and teamwork, as well as from studying core values embedded in the 12 points of the Scout Law and the three points of the Scout Oath; and

WHEREAS, generation after generation, Troop 1 Scouts have forged lifelong friendships and learned invaluable life lessons from sharing the experiences of stunning mountain vistas, foggy morning lake sunrises, and star-filled heavens, as well as from enduring together the burned camp meals, forgotten rain ponchos, and painful hiking blisters; and

WHEREAS, generations of Troop 1 Scouts have backpacked to the craggy peaks of the New Mexico Rockies at Philmont Scout Reservation, canoed and portaged through the rugged wilderness in the Boundary Waters of Canada from the Northern Tier Boy Scouts Canoe Base in Minnesota; and sailed and scuba dived in the warm Gulf waters from the Florida National High Adventure Seabase; and

WHEREAS, scouts from Troop 1 have represented their troop, council and communities at national and international scouting Jamborees, National Order of the Arrow Conferences and other events across the United States and around the world; and

WHEREAS, as Troop 1 Scouts have earned thousands of merit badges that have exposed them to skills such as rock climbing and life-saving values such as citizenship in the community and emergency preparedness, trades such as welding and surveying, and professions such as medicine and nuclear science; and

WHEREAS, the Scouting Spirit lives on strong today in Troop 1 in Jackson Mississippi as they continue to strike out on adventures to Glacier National Park in Montana, Chickamauga Military Park in Tennessee, biked paths through West Virginia, urban hikes through Chicago and New Orleans, canoe treks down the streams of Mississippi, and continue to enjoy good old-fashioned weekend campouts and cobbler cook-offs at iconic campgrounds such as Andrew Jackson Council's Hood Scout Reservation in Mississippi; and

WHEREAS, Troop 1 is thriving today as one of Mississippi's strongest troops with over 100 boys and 20 adult leaders who currently have combined over 782 nights camping, 1,550 miles hiked and 421 hours of service to their communities; and

WHEREAS, Troop 1 has produced approximately 250 Eagle Scouts who are among the 4% of Scouts nationally who reach the pinnacle of the Scouting Movement and who today are leaders throughout our community, state and our nation:

WHEREAS, it is with great pride that we commend former and current Scouts and Adults of Troop 1 for 100 years of scouting in Mississippi.

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI, THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES CONCURRING THEREIN, That, we do hereby commend and congratulate the former and current Scouts and Adults of Troop 1 for 100 years of Scouting excellence in Mississippi and encourage them on this auspicious occasion with the famous words of the Scouting Movement founder Lord Baden Powell who told the Boys to: "Be Prepared!"

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That this resolution be presented to Troop 1 Scoutmaster William G. Cheney, Jr., forwarded to the Andrew Jackson Council of Boy Scouts of America, and made available to the Capitol Press Corps.