John R. Matthews was born and raised in Birmingham, Alabama and has lived in the Birmingham area for more than 40 years. John and his wife, Mary, have been members of Dawson Church since 1998, with Mary being a member for several years before that. John has 3 children, John Thomas (JT), Laura, and Margaret. John was introduced to Boy Scouts of America (BSA) when his son, JT, now an Eagle Scout, joined Dawson’s BSA Troop 83 in 2013. John has earned the Triple Crown of High Adventure, attending the Philmont Scout Ranch in Cimarron, New Mexico in 2016, Northern Tier High Adventure, in Ely, Minnesota in 2017, and Florida National High Adventure Sea Base, in Islamorada, Florida, in 2018.  John has been an Assistant Scoutmaster of Troop 83 since the Spring of 2013. He has served as the Troop’s Co-Quartermaster, and is currently the High Adventure Coordinator.