Wild Game Dinner marks 34 years as South Georgia Scouting reaches for next generation

ALBANY — More than a century after organized Scouting first took root in southwest Georgia, local leaders say the program is working to preserve its traditional mission while adapting to a new generation of young people.

That effort will get a major boost Oct. 8, when the South Georgia Council of Scouting America hosts the 34th annual Lem Griffin Wild Game Dinner, Auction & Gun Raffle at the Exchange Club Fairgrounds in Albany.

The fundraiser supports Scouting programs throughout the council’s 28-county service area, helping pay for camps, professional staff, volunteer training, youth safety programs and financial assistance for families that otherwise might not be able to participate.

For South Georgia Council President Mike Johnson, the program’s endurance is personal.

Johnson said he entered Scouting as an 8-year-old Cub Scout while living in Hawaii and eventually became an Eagle Scout. While much about Scouting has changed, what hasn’t changed, Johnson said, is the purpose underneath it: supporting the physical, mental and emotional development of young people so they can reach their full potential as responsible, active citizens.

“Our whole mission is still the same,” he said. 

What has changed, however, is how the organization operates in a modern world — from incorporating technology to broadening participation and strengthening youth-protection training.

Johnson pointed particularly to the inclusion of girls throughout the Scouting program. The South Georgia Council’s first girls troop was organized at St. Teresa’s Catholic Church in Albany, he said, and several members have since earned the rank of Eagle Scout.

“They’re thriving,” Johnson said. “Their leadership is strong.”

Scouting America also has expanded training for adult leaders as the organization evolved, with Johnson saying the changes have placed an even greater emphasis on youth safety and properly preparing volunteers.

The program is now confronting a different challenge: rebuilding membership. Johnson said council staff and volunteers are again recruiting in schools throughout south Georgia after access became difficult during the COVID-19 pandemic. With 28 counties in the council, that means reaching 28 school systems and a large number of individual schools with relatively few staff members.

“That’s a lot of ground to cover for a handful of people,” Johnson said. “Fortunately, they’re opening the doors back up to us. That’s been the biggest challenge lately, just trying to recruit new members, and of course raising funds is the other, which is what our Wild Game Dinner’s about.”

Families who do not catch a recruiting visit at their child’s school can enroll on their own. Johnson said parents in any of the council’s 28 counties can find their nearest pack or troop and sign up at BeAScout.org, which matches families to local units by ZIP code. Programs serve young people ages 5 to 18, beginning with Cub Scouts in kindergarten and continuing through Scouts BSA for youths ages 11 to 18.

The council also needs adults, Johnson said. Packs and troops are run largely by volunteers — den leaders, scoutmasters, committee members and merit badge counselors — and all of them go through Scouting America’s youth-protection training before working with youths.

“It’s a team effort,” Johnson said. “Everything’s a team effort.”

Despite the Wild Game Dinner being a much-loved Albany tradition for more than three decades, Scouting’s presence in southwest Georgia reaches back even further.

Historical records trace organized Scouting in Albany to December 1911, little more than a year after the Boy Scouts of America was formally incorporated nationally. Albany attorney Daniel Huntley Redfearn helped organize the city’s early Scouts and served as scoutmaster.

By 1912, Albany Scouts had grown into multiple troops, and the movement soon expanded into smaller south Georgia communities. Troops were established in communities including Colquitt, Shellman and Smithville during the following decade.

Over the years, individual councils were created, reorganized and merged as Scouting expanded across the region. The modern South Georgia Council was formed in 2012 through the merger of the Albany-based Chehaw Council and the Valdosta-based Alapaha Area Council.

The organization itself took another step in its evolution in 2025 when the Boy Scouts of America officially became Scouting America, a change intended to reflect an organization now serving both boys and girls.

The Wild Game Dinner has its origins in the Chehaw Council era, and now in its 34th year, the fundraiser bears the name of the late Lem Griffin, whose involvement helped establish what became one of the council’s signature annual events. Johnson said Griffin envisioned something that went beyond simply asking the community for donations.

“Lem wanted to create an event that gathered people together socially for an evening of enjoyment, that could also support local Scouting in a big way,” he said.

That social element has become part of the event’s identity.

Johnson recalled organizers deciding to hold the dinner even during the COVID-19 pandemic. Working with local leaders and health officials, he said, organizers established protocols but remained unsure whether the public would attend.

About 600 people showed up.

“This is one of those events that people like to come to just to be with each other,” Johnson said.

This year’s dinner will feature an assortment of wild game and traditional dishes prepared by Austin’s Fire Grill and Oyster Bar. A silent auction will include merchandise, outdoor equipment, artwork and other donated items, while the live auction is expected to feature about 30 experiences, including hunting and fishing trips, and vacation packages.

While council officials say they hope the event will raise about $80,000, Johnson says the value of Scouting is hard to measure on a balance sheet. According to Johnson, the outdoors program gives young people experiences they might not otherwise encounter while teaching them how to lead and, eventually, how to become responsible adults.

For him, some of the clearest evidence comes years later.

Johnson recalled recently hearing from a former Eagle Scout who had just enrolled his own son in Tiger Cubs — and volunteered to become the boy’s leader. That cycle, Johnson said, is what keeps him committed after a lifetime in the program.

Johnson also pointed to Eagle Scout service projects as an example of what Scouting can contribute beyond its own membership. Eagle candidates must plan and lead a service project benefiting the community or a nonprofit organization rather than an individual or Scouting itself, he said.

Those projects often leave something tangible behind in the communities where Scouts grow up.

The Oct. 8 Wild Game Dinner begins with a reception and silent auction at 5:30 p.m., followed by dinner at 6:30 p.m. and the live auction and gun raffle at 7:30 p.m. 

Individual tickets can be purchased for $100, with business and organization sponsorships ranging from $1,000 for a Star Scout sponsorship, which includes a table and eight tickets, to $5,000 for a Platinum Eagle sponsorship, which includes two tables, 16 tickets and top billing in the event program. Life Scout and Eagle Scout packages are available at $1,750 and $2,500. 

Gun raffle tickets are $25 each or five for $100 for a chance at one of four firearms, and buyers need not be present to win. Organizers ask that reservations be made by Sept. 30. Registration is available online at sgcbsa.org/content/136135/Wild-Game-Dinner, and checks may be mailed to the South Georgia Council, Attn: Wild Game Dinner, 3005 N. Ashley St., Valdosta, GA 31602.

Residents who cannot attend can still support the council by donating auction items or by volunteering with a local pack or troop. Families interested in enrolling a child, and adults interested in serving as leaders, can find local units at BeAScout.org.

For additional information or questions about the dinner, sponsorships or auction donations, contact Chehaw District Executive Michele Edwards at (229) 881-9155.