From time to time I hear about mostly older guys making snide comments while walking past a fund raising table where girl members of a Scouting America troop are selling popcorn or other items to raise money to go to summer camp or other adventures. I have to wonder whether these guys make the same sort of comments when they walk by a table where girls are selling Girl Scout cookies. Tradition is good, but times change. I’m writing this while listening to Emerson, Lake, and Palmer on a vinyl LP and the sound of a V-8 breathing through a low restriction intake and exhaust still makes me smile. I love tradition as much as anyone, but REALLY?
A little background and a history lesson for my friends still completely stuck in a mythical version of the 1950’s or 1960’s:
In 1969, I had the opportunity to join over 34,000 boys and leaders for the Boy Scouts of America’s 7th National Jamboree in Idaho. While at the Jamboree, I remember seeing a grainy picture on a small black and white portable TV of a fellow named Neil Armstrong take “One Giant Leap For Mankind”. My views of our space program may make up an entire NPR Note at some point in the future.
After the Jamboree, my dad and I flew to JFK airport and joined up with a group from the First United Methodist Church of New Port Richey going for a tour of the Holy Land. In one of the great “surprise” moments of my mom’s life, I walked up and asked her to hold my passport for a moment. She didn’t realize I was coming on the tour and we were boarding the plane before she fully realized that I was going on the trip. During our stay in Israel, my dad and I visited the 1969 Israeli National Jamboree. I’ve got a patch from it in my patch collection. What was notable about the Israeli Jamboree was that the troops were coed. The boys on one side of the troop campsite, the girls on the other side, and the troop leaders in between. This was when it started to dawn on my 15 year old brain that the scouting program in other countries wasn’t always two separate organizations for Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts.
In 1969, the Boy Scouts of America began allowing girls to join Explorer Posts (for older teens) as associate members and as full members two years later. Venturing and other units for older scouts went coed in the decades that followed.
Fast forward a half century and the Boy Scouts of America finally opened the Cub Scout program to girls in 2018. It made sense the girls to be allowed in as it made family logistics easier for Den Mothers (aka Den Leaders) to be able to have their little girls tag along to den meetings with their Cub Scout brothers. This created a bit of an issue: What to do with the girls when they aged out of the Cub Scout program. The solution was to authorize all girl BSA troops in 2019 and In recognition of the changing youth membership, the Boy Scouts of America first rebranded itself “Scouting BSA” and more recently to “Scouting America”.
Fast forward to today: In Pasco County, all but one of the Cub Scout packs accept both boys and girls. There are several “family” troops that accept both boys and girls, including Troop 86 in Hudson. Family troops were formally authorized by Scouting America in December of 2025.
In Pasco County, we had three all Girl Troops registered as of July. One of the troops is in Dade City and another in Land O’ Lakes. For the last four years, Troop 7, meeting at the Presbyterian Church of Seven Springs, has been serving girls in West Pasco. My oldest two granddaughters and I attended summer camp with Troop 7 in 2025 together in Georgia and two of my granddaughters went to Camp Daniel Boone in North Carolina this summer. The number of all girl units went up by one this past week with the chartering of Troop 15, meeting at the First United Methodist Church of New Port Richey.
To summarize, parents now have a choice of what type scout troop they want for their kids: Boys only, girls only, or both boys and girls in the same troop.
Allow me to editorialize a bit now. My views are my own and do not necessarily reflect those of any other individual, Scouting America, The Greater Tampa Bay Area Council, or any unit sponsor.
I believe Cubs, Explorers, Venturing Crews and Ships are all fine with both boys and girls participating. Cubs are too young to care and Explorers, Venturing and Ships cater to youth who are well on their way to figuring out who they are. Scout troops serve youth going through that awkward transition from child to young adult, with all the baggage each of us had to deal with when we were that age. Boys only troops let boys be boys without having to deal with girls and girls only troops let girls be girls without having to deal with boys. Family troops attempt to serve both boys and girls, much like a traditional church youth group does. Needless to say, there is a heightened supervision requirement for family troops to keep the boys and girls from checking out each other on outings. I know that CAN work, but I’m personally more comfortable with separate boy and girl troops. My grandson is in a boys only troop and my granddaughters are in a girls only troop.
Why not have the girls join the Girl Scouts like we did when our daughter was a kid? The Girl Scouts have historically had a program worth considering. Our daughter was a Girl Scout. The Boy Scout program has historically been more outdoor activity oriented than the Girl Scout program. Girls hear about their brothers going white water rafting, rappelling, backpacking, sailing and all the other adventures Scouting America offers and, not surprisingly, girls want to enjoy those same type adventures. My grandson went with his troop to the Florida Caverns State Park last year. My granddaughters went with their troop earlier this year. I went as a leader both times. Even with separate troops, sometimes they do the same things at the same time. When I went with my granddaughters’ troop to summer camp last year, my grandson’s troop was in a different campsite at the same camp. I saw him occasionally and made sure he was having a good time at camp.
What about adult leadership? All units must have two deep leadership at all times and units with girls MUST have one or more female adult leaders on any outings. Moms have participated in Boy Scout troop adult leadership roles for decades. Proper training for ALL adults is a must. I am currently a trained leader in my primary position as a unit commissioner, plus I am trained as an assistant scoutmaster, committee chairman, and as a merit badge counselor.
The most important training is Youth Protection Training, now renamed “Safeguarding Youth Training”. It is REQUIRED for all adult leaders. The course covers abuse recognition, prevention strategies, and mandatory reporting requirements. Every registered adult leader in Scouting America is a mandatory reporter. (In Florida, EVERYONE is a mandatory reporter.) You don’t need to be a scout volunteer leader to take the course. You can go to https://my.scouting.org and create a free account and take the course for free. Just be forewarned: If you suffered abuse as a child or know a child that has been abused, the training can be intense.
I plan to write an NPR Note at some point in the future regarding steps we need to take to protect children from predators. Suffice it to say for now that teaching our kids about “stranger danger” doesn’t even start to address the issue.
To everyone, especially the old guys who fondly remember the good old days when Boy Scouts were Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts were Girl Scouts, please support our local scouting units without knocking which program a girl chooses to join. If you see Girl Scouts clustered around a table in front of the grocery store, buy a box of Girl Scout Cookies. Better yet, buy buy a case of them. Likewise, if you see girls, boys, or both selling Trails End popcorn, open your wallet and buy some popcorn. The Girl Scout cookies and the Trails End popcorn are both overpriced, but they are overpriced to allow the kids to learn to earn their way to camp and other adventures.
Off my soap box for now. I hope each and every one of you has a great Labor Day weekend.
Rob