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SPRINGVILLE — When the announcement was made in 2017 that girls would be able to join the Boy Scouts of America — now called Scouts BSA — Isabelle Clements knew what she was going to do.
“My mom and I heard about the change, and I was like, ‘I really want to start right now,’” Isabelle Clements said.
Friday night, Clements got her wish, along with the newest members of Troop 1456 in Springville. The group of girls got together for their first meeting, which included team-building exercises. Clements said she was excited to grow with her new team.
“Girls are strong, girls are independent. We can do what guys can do,” she said. “This is such an amazing program.”
Clements said she was especially excited to learn these skills because she had been tagging along during her older brother’s Boy Scouts events.
“I would just be sitting in the corner, just watching like ‘OK,’” she laughed.
Leaders said the change is giving this group an opportunity to be pioneers in the program.
“They all get to learn together, they get to learn the scouting experiences together, take on scouting skills together, and they are going to grow,” said Felice Clements, scouts leader and Isabelle’s mom.
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These girls are going to bring a kind of flare to things, but they are also going to get those scouting skills that the boys do,” Clements said. “They’ve always been able to learn them but not officially get anything for it.”
Leaders say the new change gives girls an opportunity to become an Eagle Scout, which is the organization’s highest rank, as early as 2020.
Read more:
In historic shift, Boy Scouts to expand girls’ participation
In its latest momentous policy shift, the Boy Scouts of America will admit girls into the Cub Scouts starting next year and establish a new program for older girls based on the Boy Scout curriculum that enables them to aspire to the coveted Eagle Scout rank.
