After a long hiatus, Boy Scout Troop 26 will be making a return to Atmore in April.

Meetings for Troop 26 will begin on Monday, April 2, but things will kick off with an open house later this month to give insight about scouting.

The Boy Scout troop, which has not had any activity in the last four years will be led by Bratt, Fla. resident and Scoutmaster Tony Gibbs.

Gibbs brings 12 years of scouting experience to Troop 26 including six years as the Scoutmaster of Troop 20 in Bratt, Fla. and two years as an assistant Scoutmaster in Atmore.

The decision to bring back Atmore’s Boy Scout troop came from a spark in interest in the local Cub Scouts, Gibbs said.

“We’ve finally got a pretty good Cub Scout group together, so it looked like it might be a good time to get a troop back in Atmore,” he said. “Atmore has been without a troop for the last four years, but now there is a good group of parents and scouts that wanted to bring back this great organization.”

With an interest in scouting growing, the importance of having a local Boy Scout troop has been remembered.

Having a strong organization geared towards teaching children skills and leading them on a good path is a must, Gibbs said.

“Most of the adults involved have experience in scouting,” he said. “They think it would be something good to bring back to the community because it give the children something good to do. For the most part, it helps keep them out of trouble.”

Gibbs’ involvement in scouting is something that led to parents inquiring him about leading the return of Troop 26.

“I was the Scoutmaster for Troop 20 in Bratt, Fla. up until about 10 years ago,” Gibbs said. “I got back involved when my grandson got into the Cub Scouts. Some people were talking about bringing Troop 26 back to Atmore when they asked me to become Scoutmaster. It’s something that I’ve always enjoyed, so my wife told me to do it if I wanted to do it. It’s a fun thing for me, and something that I get to enjoy with the young scouts.”

The open house will be held at the newly renovated Boy Scout Hut located at the corner of Craig and Carney streets from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. on Saturday, March 17.

“We are going to try and set up a small camp site to display how scouts camp,” Gibbs said. “We are also going to show them how to do dutch oven cooking when scouts are camping, and at the same time, we will have a computer set up streaming different movies about scouting.”

For more information about Troop 26 returning contact Gibbs at 850-266-3900 or 850-327-3047.