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Farragut Cub Scout pack welcomes den with nine girls

"We're just trying to give everybody the same opportunity," Cubmaster Scott Milliken said.

The Boy Scouts of America isn't just for boys anymore, and a den of girls in Farragut is taking full advantage of the organization's decision.

For years, the sisters of scouts in Cub Scout Pack 59 in Farragut have been tagging along to scout meetings and camping trips, but they didn't have a uniform and weren't recognized for learning scout skills.

"I was able to do it some, but I never got credit for it," scout Libby Renier said.

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Renier and the other girl members of Pack 59 are sisters of boys who were already involved with the program.

Pack 59 is a what the BSA calls an early adopter pack. Since they had at least four girls interesting in joining, they were able to create a den for them before the rest of the organization opens to girl enrollment this summer.

"We already had families in our packs for a long time. The group had encouraged family participation, but the issue was the girls were doing the work, but they weren't earning the patches," Cubmaster Scott Milliken said. "We're just trying to give everybody the same opportunity."

Right now, all the girls are in one den. The goal for the pack is for there to be enough girls so that they can have a different den for each school grade.

Milliken said in addition to letting girls be recognized for their learning, it makes parenting a scout easier.

"We have a lot of parents that are functionally a single parent household. My wife works Monday nights, so Monday night I may as well be the only parent because she can't be here. We've got a lot of people in the same situation," Milliken said. "Having the ability to engage both the boys and girls in your family in one program is the huge benefit of family scouting."

At the monthly pack meeting on Monday, four girls were honored for their accomplishments.

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