Scouting America Troop #3257 Holds Court of Honor

Troop #3257, a girls’ troop of Scouting America (formerly the Boy Scouts of America) had a Court of Honor ceremony on Tuesday, April 8 at the American Legion Post 27 in Plymouth. This is a special occasion that typically happens four times a year in every troop. Scouts can receive ranks and merit badges during a Court of Honor, which they have been working towards for six months or more.

This troop started one year ago as the first all-girls troop in Marshall County. The Boy Scouts opened membership to girls in 2019, and now over 175,000 nationwide are participating. The name was changed to Scouting America earlier this year to reflect the change of policy. This way, girls too can earn their Eagle badge and have the same opportunities as boys do. This is not to be confused with the Girl Scouts, a separate organization with different opportunities.

Several girls completed the requirements for the fingerprinting merit badge and received them at this spring’s Court of Honor. There are 139 different merit badges, including hiking, first aid, art, cooking, and many more. Chelse Corwin, Olivia Wandland, Oreanna Atkins, and Lydia Thada all earned their fingerprinting badge. Both Atkins and Thada also received their Tenderfoot rank, the second rank on the way to Eagle. The next ranks are Second Class, First Class, Star, Life, and finally Eagle.

A big part of the scouts’ mission is serving the community. There are many different service projects that can be done, such as clearing trails, removing invasive plants, and helping with events. Most of the ranks require scouts to do service in the community, including Eagle. The Scout Law says to be trustworthy and helpful. It also says to be loyal, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean, and reverent.

The Troop currently has 5 girls: Oreanna Atkins, Lydia Thada, Chelse Corwin, Serenity Cowger, and Olivia Wandland. They meet at the American Legion Post 27 in Plymouth from 7-8:30 on Tuesday evenings. If you would like to join, contact Tiffany Atkins (Scoutmaster) or Peter O’Daniel (Asst. Scoutmaster) at Troop3257g@yahoo.com. Or, if you would like to support the troop, you can visit them at the Plymouth Farmers’ Market. They will be there with a pancake breakfast every 4th Saturday of the month. They look forward to seeing you soon!

[Pictured here back row: Peter O’Daniel, Mark Honer, Tiffany Atkins, Duane Dollarhite; front row: Olivia Wandland, Serenity Cowger, Chelse Corwin, Oreanna Atkins, Lydia Thada, Becky Thada]

Submitted by Lydia Thada