We have a new resident at the Historic Cordele Boy Scout Hut. After an odyssey of more than two years, our new cooker has returned home.

Cordele Boy Scout Troop 270 has been cooking Boston Butts for the “Send My Butt To Camp” fundraiser for at least 8 years, with proceeds going to offset our Scouts expenses for Summer Camp and other outings. Each year, we have been blessed to have good friends of the Troop loan us their smokers/cookers. Some years, we’ve borrowed as many as nine grills.

This year, we’ll have a cooker of our own to supplement the loaners. A couple of years ago, Assistant Scoutmaster Britt Brinson was talking with a friend, Kenny Watson, who was the Ranger at Camp Patten at the time. Kenny had just purchased a propane tank to convert into a smoker, so Brinson asked if he could get him one, preferably a 1000-gallon cylinder. Kenny came through and Brinson purchased the container to donate to the Troop.

Work started in earnest in January 2022. A lot of people have had a hand in the project. Among the many who contributed were Justin Bailey, Britt Brinson, Terry Fennell, Jody Fletcher, John Frost, Jake Kelley, Jim Maxey, Bobby Wade, David Wade, Jensen Wade and Kenny Watson.

The Troop has also been blessed with good friends who purchase tickets for our fundraisers. Our Scouts will start selling tickets for our “Send My Butt To Camp” Boston Butt Sale after April 29, 2024. The Sale will run through May 20. We will start cooking the meat on Thursday evening, April 23. Customers may pick up their purchase on Friday, April 23 at the Historic Cordele Boy Scout Hut, located at 1101 South 3rd Street in Cordele.