Georgetown Edition | September 2022

NONPROFIT

BY TAYLOR CRIPE

Troop 4050 practices color guard and „ag ceremony formations.

Patrols, led by an elected leader, discuss opportunities for merit badges.

EARNING AN EAGLE The Eagle Scout badge is a prestigious award earned by scouts in Boy Scouts of America. To get the coveted badge, scouts must complete a series of tasks to prove they are worthy of their rank.

Step 1: Be active in your troop for six months after achieving the rank of Life Scout. Step 2: Demonstrate that you live by the principles of the Scout’s Oath and the Scout’s Law in your daily life. List the names of individuals who could provide a reference for you.

From left: Assistant Scoutmaster Amanda Werry, Scoutmaster Teresa Hutmacher and Committee Chair Nikki DeLeon help lead and guide the girls in Troop 4050.

Ariana Cavazos is a female Eagle Scout in the San Gabriel District area.

PHOTOS BY TAYLOR CRIPECOMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER

Troop 4050 San Gabriel District’s rst all-girl Boy Scouts troop fosters leadership skills

Step 3: Earn a total of 21 merit badges in di’erent categories.

T he opening ag ceremony for the Boy Scouts of America Troop 4050 in Georgetown begins. Two scouts walk steadily forward, one presenting the Ameri- can Flag while the other presents the red and white troop ag. With a three-nger salute, the scouts and leaders recite the Pledge of Allegiance and the Scout’s Oath. While this may seem like a typical BSA opening ceremony, one thing sets this troop apart from other BSA groups. Troop 4050 is the rst all-fe- male BSA troop in the San Gabriel District of the Capital Area Council. “We have a very diverse group of girls,” Troop 4050 Committee Chair Nikki DeLeon said. The troop held its rst meeting in February 2019 after BSA agreed to let girls join its ranks. “A friend of mine asked if my daughter might be interested in join- ing Boy Scouts,” DeLeon said. “Then she said, ‘Hey, I’m starting this all-girl Boy Scout troop, and I’m going to be scoutmaster. Do you want to be the assistant scoutmaster?’” From there, leaders were able to recruit several girls to their group, and a new troop was launched. “People were very responsive and curious,” DeLeon said. “Many of the girls had older brothers who were scouts, so they were excited to earn the same ranks as their brothers.”

Now, Troop 4050 has 16 girls who meet on Tuesday nights at the Christ Lutheran Church in Georgetown. One of those girls, 18-year-old Ariana Cavazos, is the rst girl in the San Gabriel District to earn her Eagle Scout badge. Cavazos, who is going to Texas A&M University in the fall, earned her Eagle Scout badge by deep clean- ing and refurbishing Christ Lutheran Church’s barbecue pit and creating two rewood storage racks. “ BOY SCOUTS OF AMERICA HAS MORE STRUCTURE AND IS BETTER AT TEACHING THE GIRLS LEADERSHIP.” TERESA HUTMACHER, SCOUTMASTER Cavazos said she will carry the skills from BSA with her, and feels lucky to have been in the troop. “Being in this troop denitely helped my condence and leadership skills,” she said. During the meeting, Scoutmas- ter Teresa Hutmacher and Assistant Scoutmaster Amanda Werry watch as the girls separate into their patrols, a team of scouts based on their rank. Most of the meeting is run by the older girls, who are patrol leaders. “This way they learn leadership skills,” Hutmacher said. “The girls

also elect their own patrol leaders.” This is one diœerence between Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts, and why Hutmacher and Werry, both of whom have daughters in Troop 4050, wanted their girls to join BSA. “Once you reach a certain age, Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts are just completely diœerent programs,” Hutmacher said. According to the Girls Scouts of the USA, their activities, ranks and merits are based on age group. For example, Brownies are girls in second and third grade. However, in Boy Scouts participants move through the seven ranks based on goals and tasks. “The rst four ranks are built on camping skills, such as knot tying, rst aid and cooking,” Hutmacher said. “The nal three are based in leadership and community service.” Werry said because scouts are required to earn 21 merit badges, it gives them the opportunity to “dabble in diœerent trades,” noting her daughter took welding in high school after trying it in Boy Scouts. Hutmacher said there is nothing wrong with Girl Scouts. Two of her daughters, along with several other girls in Troop 4050, do both. “It’s just diœerent,” she said. “BSA has more structure and is better at teaching the girls leadership. Girl Scouts is more based on what the girls and their leaders want to do.”

Step 4: As a Life Scout, serve in your troop for at least six months in a leadership position, such as patrol leader or troop guide. Step 5: As a Life Scout plan, develop and lead a service project helpful to any religious institution, school or your community. The project must bene”t the institution, not BSA. Step 6: As a Life Scout, participate in a scoutmaster conference. Step 7: Successfully complete your board of review for the Eagle Scout rank.

Troop 4050 Capital Area Council San Gabriel District Meets at Christ Lutheran Church, 510 Luther Drive, Georgetown 512-617-8611 www.bsacac.org Hours: Mon.-Fri. 9 a.m.-5 p.m., Sat.-Sun. closed (Capital Area Council o„ce)

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GEORGETOWN EDITION • SEPTEMBER 2022

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