The Pacific Harbors Council of the Boy Scouts of America is preparing to welcome girls to the Boy Scouts of America. More than 100 young girls from across Western Washington have already registered for Cub Scouts and starting next year, older girls can join Boy Scouts and be eligible to work toward becoming Eagle Scouts.
Marlee Perez is 7 years old and she has plans to join Boy Scouts just like the rest of her family.
“I wanted to be a scout because I wanted to do everything my brother did,” Perez said.
Marlee’s dad is a scout leader. Lee Perez has watched his older boys go through the program and now he’s excited about that opportunity for his daughter.
“She’s growing up and she’s getting these skills she probably wouldn’t get anywhere else. It’s just amazing to watch her grow and smile and have a good time and make friendships, some friendships for life,” Perez said. “I look at it is this way, what part of the scout oath, scout law can any youth not learn from, whether it be a boy or a girl, you talk about scout oath scout law, you talk about being reverend, being kind obedient, cheerful, being kind, those are great things that even our young ladies can learn.”
Amy Miseli will be one of the first girls to join the scouts.
“It’s definitely fun and you learn lots of leadership skills which are very important. I’ve learned so much through this program. I’ve also made a lot of new friends,” Miseli said.
Amy has dreams of becoming an Eagle Scout.
“Having grown up around my brother being involved in the scouts I got to see how it is, I got to see what a wonderful program it is and that made me want to get involved too,” Miseli said.
Her mom knows what a great opportunity it will be for Amy.
“If I’m honest I’m a little jealous because it’s an opportunity I didn’t have. She’s a little sister of an Eagle Scout, I’m also the little sister to two Eagle Scouts so she’s getting an opportunity that I would have loved,” Charlene Miseli said.
She hopes more parents in the area consider the opportunity for their kids.
“It’s a great character development program, it’s a good well-rounded program, it’s going to give their children daughter or sons, it doesn’t even matter, the opportunity for fun, adventure, a great place for the family to come together to do an activity,” Miseli said.
The Pacific Harbors Council will be hosting a boot camp for teenage girls who may be interested in joining the Boy Scouts in 2019. The event will take place at Camp Thunderbird on Summit Lake, just outside Olympia. If you are interested in attending you can find registration details here.
