Scouts BSA

February 1, 2019 was the historic launch of the Scouts BSA program (formerly called the Boy Scouting program) to include young women 11 to 18 years of age. The Alamo Area Council now serves over 1300 girls in Cub Scouts, Scouts BSA, Venturing, and Sea Scouts. Here is a story shared with the Council from the Scoutmaster of Girl Troop 346, Ann Specht:

It is hard to believe that we are celebrating the first year of Troop 346-G. I am amazed at how well the girls have come together as a Team. They have worked hard to earn their ranks and merit badges. We have our first 2 Star Scouts and the rest of the Girls are making sure they completed the First Class Rank so they can earn the Operation First Class.

Highlights of our First Year:

• Serving on Staff at the Council Wide Campout
• Attending Bear Creek Adventure
• Community Service – Medina River Cleanup, Garner State Park River Clean up, helping at Eagle projects, and trimming bushes for elderly neighbor.
• Attending our first Summer Camp at Bear Creek and participating in the Ranger program.
• Day Trip to Austin via Amtrak. We visited the State Capitol, Bob Bullock Museum, and the Austin Visitors Center.

Fun things in the future:

Celebrating our first anniversary as a Troop, the girls planned a campout for the first weekend in February. We are camping at Lake Corpus Christi State Park with cooking demonstrations, hiking, a campfire program and US Flag retirement. They invited our linked Boys Troop to join us for the fun.

• Doing our first bridging in 2 weeks.
• 4 Girls attending NYLT over Spring Break.
• Serving on Staff for the CWC – Council Wide Campout
• Going back to Bear Creek for Summer Camp 2020. We have 3 Girls that plan on serving on Staff. THEY LOVE BCSR!!!
• High Adventure trip to the Summit for the Summit Experience in June 2020.
• A few girls are already training for Philmont with hopes of attending in 2021.

Thoughts about our first year:

From Scout Mia –Being part of Girls Troop has inspired me to be more adventurous and to grow close with nature. I have learned so much and have made new friends in the wonderful experience I have had. I truly love being a part of this history making experience with Scouts BSA Troop 346 Girls.

From Committee Member Shelly McGee – I’m glad we were able to find Troop 346-G after Rose earned her Arrow of Light in Cub Scouts, Rose and I have enjoyed the camping and backpacking that we get to do with Troop 346-G. I really enjoyed being able to attend a BSA summer camp with my daughter. Rose was able to join Cub Scouts as a Webelos 1 in January of 2018 and received her Arrow of Light on International Women’s Day on March 8, 2019. I think that the first year of girls in Troop 346 has shown that when girls (and women) are given the same access, they can succeed at the same level.

From Scoutmaster Ann Specht – There are no words to express how blessed I feel to serve as Scoutmaster for Troop 346-G. It’s been just over a year since I was asked to become the Scoutmaster and I wouldn’t change any of it. We started with 5 Scouts and as of today we have 17. We have 9 Girls that have brothers in the Boys Troop and it’s rewarding to see the Girls learning the same skills and values, BSA have been teaching Boys for decades. I’ve been involved in Scouting for 30 years and thought I knew a lot about Scouting. I’ve learned a lot in the last year about being a Scoutmaster and have more to learn. I am amazed at how eager the Girls are to learn Scout skills and they are having fun. We are looking forward to what the future holds for us and where Scouting takes these young ladies.