Athens, Ga. – Over 200 Boy Scouts earned merit badges in a multitude of subject areas at the 2006 Boy Scout Advanc-A-Rama (Cherokee District, Northeast Georgia Council), which was held Saturday, September 30th on The University of Georgia campus.

Boy Scouts from Alabama, Georgia and South Carolina representing the Atlanta Area Council, Blue Ridge Council, Chattahoochee Council, Flint River Council, Greater Alabama Council and Northeast Georgia Council were in attendance.

The scouts attended classes in art, citizenship in the world, energy, fire safety, first aid, fly fishing, forestry, metalwork, reptile and amphibian study, sculpture, space exploration and wood carving, among other topic areas.

Representatives from UGA’s Air Force ROTC program, Lamar Dodd School of Art, Hugh Hodgson School of Music, the Red Cross, the Oconee River Chapter of Trout Unlimited, Weyerhaeuser’s Trus-Joist plant and Athens Mayor Heidi Davison, among other organizations, provided their knowledge and expertise to teach the scouts.

For the past 20 years, this twice a year event has been hosted by the Navy Supply Corps School in Athens. However, after the School facilities were placed on the base closure list in the spring of 2006, members of the faculty and administration of UGA’s Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources stepped forward and offered their facilities, faculty, staff and student expertise to ensure the continued success of this growing event.

“We are very grateful to the faculty and staff of the Warnell School for offering to host the event this fall,” said John Doyle, lead organizer of the fall 2006 event. “Most all of the scouts and the parents in attendance were pleased with how well this Advanc-A-Rama was organized and with all the new classes that were offered.”

“We hope this new relationship with The University of Georgia and Warnell School will last for many years to come.”

Any Northeast Georgia Boy Scouts interested in attending the Spring 2007 Advanc-A-Rama should contact John Doyle at (706) 714-8139, or visit the Boy Scouts of America Northeast Georgia Council website at www.nega-bsa.org.

***Pictures of local scouts available at: http://testweb.forestry.uga.edu/slideshow/stock/. Choose the Advanc-A-Rama gallery for pictures and captions, and click the highlighted picture to acquire a downloadable version.