| Greater Tampa Bay Area Council (#089) | |
| Type: | council |
| Owner: | Boy Scouts of America |
| Country: | United States |
| F-Date: | 2016-05-01 |
| Chiefscouttitle: | Scout Executive |
| Chiefscout: | Mike Butler |
| Chiefscouttitle2: | Council President |
| Chiefscout2: | Benson Porter |
| Chiefscouttitle3: | Council Commissioner |
| Chiefscout3: | Nick Digirolamo |
Greater Tampa Bay Area Council serves Scouts in West-Central Florida with the council headquarters in Tampa, Florida. Youth are served in the following nine counties: Citrus, Hardee, Hernando, Highlands, Hillsborough, Pasco, Pinellas, Polk and Sumter.[1] Greater Tampa Bay Area Council was formed on May 1, 2016, by the merger of Gulf Ridge Council with West Central Florida Council.
The council is split into eight districts:[2]
Flaming Arrow Scout Reservation (FASR) is a 677-acre Boy Scout Camp located in the pine flatwoods outside of Lake Wales, Florida, on the shores of three spring fed lakes.
Sand Hill Scout Reservation is a Scout camp of over 1212acres in the west central Florida region, located near Spring Hill, Florida.[3] Sand Hill Scout Reservation belongs to the Cub Scouts, Boy Scouts, Varsity Scouts, and Venturers of the Greater Tampa Bay Area Council and is intended for their instruction and enjoyment.
Camp Soule serves the Scouting Community in the West Central Florida area. It is located on 50acres of pristine wilderness, in the heart of Clearwater, Florida. It offers protected trees, wildlife, and beauty centered in the most populous county of Florida. Camp Soule offers four improved campsites (with Adirondack shelters, latrines, and showers), six primitive campsites, a dining hall, trading post, large activity fields, Olympic-size swimming pool, pool house, BB gun range, Cub Scout and Boy Scout archery ranges, two cabins, Council campfire ring, chapel, and a full time ranger on property.[4]
Bigfoot Wilderness Camp (BWC) is a hidden gem at Green Swamp, east of Dade City, Florida. It is located within a 30000acres wildlife preserve owned by the State of Florida - Southwest Florida Water Management District. The facility includes a 1200square feet cabin with electricity and indoor plumbing on the banks of the Withlacoochee River, two small box stoves for heating, showers both indoor and outdoor, a campfire area, an outhouse latrine and four adjacent primitive patrol campsites. There are 5miles, 8miles, and 10miles hiking loops starting and ending at the cabin. These loops intersect with segments of the Florida National Scenic Trail which extends over 35miles to the north and 10miles to the south.
Centrally located in the Hillsborough County community of Odessa, Camp Brorein is the council's oldest camping facility. Located in Odessa Florida, this camp has been dedicated to the advancement of Scouting from its founding in 1923.
Camp Alafia is a primitive camp near Lithia and east of Tampa in Hillsborough County. The property is bounded to the west by the Alafia River and contains several campsites beneath an oak canopy.
| Uh-To-Yeh-Hut-Tee Lodge 89 | |
| Owner: | Greater Tampa Bay Area Council |
| F-Date: | 2016 |
Uh-To-Yeh-Hut-Tee Lodge #89 is the Greater Tampa Bay Area Council's Order of the Arrow lodge, one of eight in Section E-5 covering the state of Florida (except the Panhandle).
Uh-To-Yeh-Hut-Tee Lodge 89 was formed in 2016 with the merger of Seminole Lodge 85 and Timuquan Lodge 340. The merger was effective during the weekend of August 5 – 7, 2016. The transition team chose the name, which means lighting, and the totem, which is the Bull. Uh-To-Yeh-Hut-Tee Lodge has been serving the Greater Tampa Bay Area Council and local communities since 2016.
The lodge is organized into six chapters corresponding to the council's districts:
Chartered in 1936 while under the name Kiondashama, the lodge name was changed to Seminole by September, 1938.[6] Seminole is the name of a Native American people whose original homelands included portions of Florida.
In 1951 Seminole Lodge lost its charter, but just one year later they were once again active. Seminole was the oldest lodge in the section and at the time of the merger was celebrating its 80th anniversary. The lodge has had one member serve as national chief in 2003, Nick Digirolamo.
The first Brotherhood members of Timuquan Lodge were Selwyn Fuller, Joe Reed, Roger W Irving and Charles Martin.[8]
At the time of the merger Timuquan Lodge was celebrating its 70th anniversary.