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Boy Scout Troop 109 Looks To Raise $50,000 To Finish New Building That’s 75 Percent Complete, Dried In

By Jesse Wood

June 14, 2014. Seven years since fundraising began and seven years since building plans were drawn, Boy Scout Troop 109 finally broke ground on its new 4,200-square-foot facility located on the Boone United Methodist Church property in late August 2013.

Sale shows off the building permit on June 5.
Sale shows off the building permit on June 5. Sale has been with Troop 109 since he came to the area for college 45 years ago.

Now with 75 percent of the building complete and dried in, the scout troop is looking to raise about $50,000 via prominent sponsorship opportunities on the building and property to finish the construction. To date, more than $160,000 has been spent on the building.

“The biggest think right now is trying to pay as we go, so we are in fundraising mode, so we can get things finished up,” longtime Scoutmaster Arvil Sale said on Tuesday.

Below are the sponsorship opportunities:

  • Assembly Area – $25,000 (taken)
  • Program/Activity Area – $15,000
  • Building Landscaping – $10,000
  • Scoutmaster’s Office – $5,000
  • Upstairs Restrooms – $5,000
  • Downstairs Restrooms – $5,000
  • Exterior Decorating – $2,500 (taken)
  • Signage – $2,500 (taken)

For years, the 75-year-old Boy Scout Troop 109 has been operating inside the Family Life Center in the Boone United Methodist Church, which chartered the troop. Soon, Troop 109 will have a space all to itself. The land was donated by the United Methodist Church; architect Randy Jones donated the building plan drawings’ and contractors and construction crews wishing to stay anonymous are helping to build the facility.

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The ground breaking ceremony took place in September.

Just after the groundbreaking in September, Sale said that the new building, which will consist of 2,100 square feet of meeting space upstairs and 2,100 square feet of storage space downstairs, will provide adequate storage for all the equipment that it utilizes for camping and other projects. The new facility will also allow the troop to leave a project idle for a while. Because other groups use the Family Life Center, the troop, which consists of 50 to 60 members, must pack away everything accomplished before others use the space.

While that has worked fine in the past, Sale said it will be nice to have a facility of its own. And after watching that groundbreaking, Sale said the troops were getting excited.

“Well, it’s very encouraging,” Sale said. “Until I see it come out of the ground, it will be a sigh of relief.”

Sale, Joe Miller, a former scoutmaster, and Jim Furman penned a letter a while back to Boone Area Chamber of Commerce members seeking support.

In the letter, the trio noted that Boy Scout Troop 109 has supported the community with “countless acts of support” that include:

  • Greenway improvements
  • Adopt-A-Street program
  • Food for Hunger Coalition
  • Trail maintenance on Blue Ridge Parkway and much more

Sale said that if anybody would like to help out, the Boy Scout Troop 109 would greatly appreciate the assistance. The troop is also selling Richard Tumbleston prints called ‘Raven Knob.”

Boy Scout Troop 109 is a member of the Blue Ridge district of the Old Hickory Council of the Boy Scouts of America.

For more information about Boy Scout Troop 109 or the ‘Raven Knob’ prints, call Sale at 828-964-2865 or click to Facebook or http://bsat109.org.

Also, you can contact Great State Bank at 828-264-4260 or Tom Fisher 828-773-3164 about sponsorship levels.