2026 Friends of Scouting Luncheon Huge Success! - Keynote Speaker David Pollack
February 26, 2026
23rd Annual Friends Of Scouting Luncheon Held Feb. 24
The Cherokee Area Council of Scouting America's 23rd annual Friends of Scouting Luncheon was held Tuesday at the Chattanooga Convention Center, and featured keynote speaker David Pollack, a University of Georgia legend and ESPN College Gameday host.
"We are grateful to the Chattanooga community, including the many table hosts and sponsors," officials said.
"With the help of nearly 500 attendees, the luncheon raised $252,462, or 153 percent of the luncheon goal, and 77 percent of the total Friends of Scouting Campaign."
This annual luncheon serves as the council’s largest and
most important annual fundraiser.
"We are especially thankful for our event sponsors including Presenting Sponsor, First Horizon Foundation; Scout Level Sponsor, Publix Super Markets Charities; and Cub Scout Luncheon Sponsors, 3LS Professional Services, Cadence Bank (now a part of Huntington Bank), Chattanooga Gas, Elder’s Ace Hardware, EPB, Eric Buchanan & Associates, Mountain View Auto Group, Pinnacle Financial Partners and Speek, Turner & Newkirk PLLC."
23rd Annual Friends Of Scouting Luncheon Held Feb. 24 - Chattanoogan.com
Former Georgia LB David Pollack shares stories at Scouting America luncheon in Chattanooga
CHATTANOOGA, TN – The Cherokee Area Council of Scouting America is proud to celebrate the outstanding achievements of Troop 2, chartered to St. Elmo Presbyterian Church in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Congratulations to Scoutmaster Ed Sunder and Troop 2, as five outstanding young people have earned the rank of Eagle Scout: Caden Gildernew, Phinehas Doe, Nathan Sunder, James Tracy, and Lyle Vaughn. The Eagle Scout rank places service at its core, and these new Eagle Scouts exemplify that ideal through impactful projects benefiting the Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum, Dade County Schools, Lookout Mountain Trails, the Town of Flintstone, Georgia, and Chattanooga Valley Middle School. Collectively, these projects contributed more than 600 hours of community service, engaging a multitude of volunteers and supporters. Since its founding in 2007, 26 young people have earned the rank of Eagle Scout through Troop 2. Among their many shared experiences, these Scouts fondly recall attending—and serving on staff at—Camp Sidney Dew in Armuchee, Georgia, as well as Skymont Scout Reservation in Altamont, Tennessee. They also attended Seven Ranges Scout Reservation in Kensington, Ohio, over several years. All five have now graduated from high school and are pursuing further education and careers in the Chattanooga region. Adding to this milestone celebration, the Sunder family of Flintstone, Georgia, marked an extraordinary achievement as Nathan Sunder became their sixth Eagle Scout. The youngest of six, Nathan joins his older brothers—Isaac, Samuel, John, Bennett, and Eddie—in attaining Scouting’s highest rank. The Sunder brothers completed Eagle Scout service projects that contributed nearly 800 total service hours. Project beneficiaries included Cloudland Canyon State Park, Audubon Acres, Chickamauga City Parks, and Chattanooga Valley Middle School. Looking back, their parents, Ed and Betsy Sunder, reflect, “It was a joy to watch the Scouts work together and see the boys become young men. Our boys have learned valuable skills, life lessons, and made lifelong friendships through Scouting.” Betsy grew up in a Scouting family and attended both Philmont and Sea Base as a youth member. Ed has served as a Cub Scout and Boy Scout leader for the past 22 years. Looking ahead, Troop 2 is partnering with Reflection Riding Arboretum and Nature Center alongside Cub Scout Pack 4 to welcome boys and girls ages kindergarten through 12th grade into the adventure of Scouting. Key volunteer leaders include Scoutmaster Brian Purvis, Cubmaster Joy Smith, and Assistant Cubmaster Jim Daughdrill..
Aiden Castellanet - Student Body President from Signal Mountain Middle High School Interview from CityScope Magazine
The Adventure Begins!
100 years ago in 1925, the Chattanooga Council built their second scout camp, Camp Tsatanugi, the namesake of Boy Scout Road in Hixson. It served as the summer camp for 25 years, and was used for other activities for even longer. Two of the buildings from this camp still stand, now owned by the Highland Sportsman Club, which has done a great job of preserving them. The largest building is Patten Hall, which was given by the sons of John A. Patten in his honor. It served as the dining hall for the camp.
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90 years ago, the Chattanooga Council celebrated Scouting's Silver (25th) Anniversary with a Scout Exposition at the Memorial Auditorium. Mrs. James F. Finlay, a respected civic leader and active community supporter in Chattanooga during the early 20th century and known for her involvement in youth development and patriotic programs, played a visible role in public events including the 1935 Boy Scout Exposition. There, she portrayed Miss Columbia in the grand finale, joining over 1,200 Scouts from the Chattanooga Area Council in a pageant celebrating American values and youth leadership. Her participation reflected a broader commitment to uplifting civic spirit, supporting local organizations, and encouraging leadership and character development among young people in the region. Portraying Uncle Sam alongside her was Estes Kefauver, who would later become a reform-minded U.S. senator from Tennessee, nationally recognized for exposing organized crime in televised hearings and championing consumer protection, antitrust laws, and early civil rights efforts. Excerpt for the Chattanooga News – Wednesday, February 13 th , 1935 “The Scouting Trail to Citizenship is the theme of the 25th Silver Anniversary Scout Exposition to be held at the Memorial Auditorium at 8:00 pm on Saturday, February 16, 1935. More than 1,200 boys of the Chattanooga Area Council will participate. For the prologue, boyhood activities from the Stone Age, the Crusades period, the Pre-Columbian Era, and the early Pioneer Era will be highlighted. One of the principal features of the exposition will be showing the evolution of signaling from caveman until modern times. The demonstration of pyramid building and wall scaling will be given by a group of boys of Troop 41, while members of Troop 11 and 53 will exhibit many forms of first aid. The Sea Scouting program will present several demonstrations of their activities. A group of African American scouts will demonstrate the practicality of various scouting equipment including the scout neckerchief and scout staffs. The exposition will culminate with a gigantic demonstration of pioneering skills, including constructing a log cabin in only 15 minutes!" Thank you to the Cherokee Area Council History subcommittee for composing this article!
The Original Scout Camp Mascot - Carranza the Mule
Chattanooga's First Scout Camp - Boulder Nook
Scout Shopping through History When you need a new scout uniform, you probably look online or head to the scout office on Lee Highway. Well, for most of Scouting’s history, this would not have been the case. The Scout office was just that, an administrative location. They distributed awards to Scoutmasters with advancement reports, but didn’t keep much else in stock. Until the 1990s, the majority of scout gear was sold through local department stores. Many alumni will recall that through the 1970s and 1980s the primary dealer in the Chattanooga area was JC Penney, at both Northgate and Eastgate Malls. Back to the 1930s, Loveman’s and Miller Bro’s department stores were the main distributors, often running ads in the scout newsletter. If they didn’t have something in stock, they would order it for you. In Cleveland the Hardwick Woolen Mills store became the main scout distributor early on. A Miller Bro’s location took over in 1968, JC Penney in the 80s, and Outdoor Adventures in the early 90s. Lafayette, GA had a retailer in the 1970s, a men's store called The Boston Store. The Tennessee Copper Company’s general store in Copperhill, the Smelter Store, was the main distributor for Polk County until closing in 1969. Ferris Maloof, then third-generation owner of the family’s general store, recalled filling this void in a 2024 interview with the history committee. “After the copper company’s store closed, I picked up the uniform business. I ordered from the National Supply, mostly uniforms. I had a few things like the cook kits and canteens and small stuff, I didn’t get in any really heavy stuff. Badges still had to be ordered by the scoutmaster from the office in Chattanooga.” Having settled into the new office on Lee Highway, in 1994 the Cherokee Area Council obtained an official Scout Distributorship License. This expanded the store at our scout office and ended the era of department store distributors in this area, centralizing everything in one convenient location. If you have memories of shopping for scout gear at any local place not listed in this article, we’d love to hear about it! Thank you Jordan Broadwell for composing this article!