Twelve-year-old Isaiah White knows why he likes Boy Scouts.

“Summertime,” White said. “Every summer, on Saturday, Mr. George takes us swimming.”

The Rev. George Brown, Scout Master of Pack and Troop 773, based in Jemison, knows there’s more to scouting than swimming.

“It builds character, teaches survival skills,” Brown said. “To sum it up, it makes them an elite type of person, the kind of people you have to have around.”

The pack, which includes more than 10 local boys, stays busy. Already this year the scouts have received merit badges at the Black Warrior Council Merit Badge Day in Tuscaloosa, earned the Blue Pig Award for participation at District Camp, received the Quality Centennial Unit Award for 2009 at the District Banquet Awards Dinner, and attended the Alabama Scout Day.

In the near future, the group plans to present the colors at the dedication of the new Jemison Municipal Complex, to camp at Brierfield State Park, and to attend Trailblazers Weekend at Camp Tukabatchee.

With so much going on, Brown needs some help, which he gets from Cub Scout Den Leader Edith Powell, Cub Scout Master Alvin Winters, Assistant Scout Master James Wright and Pack Committee Chairman Sam Reed, among others.