This year marks the second annual Highland Games hosted by the John Ross District Boy Scouts, but this year’s event will be very different – girls will be allowed to participate.
While girls have been participating in the Boy Scouts of America for some time, they have only been recognized as Venturers or Explorers. They were unable to win awards or rise to the rank of Eagle Scout. Earlier this year, the Boy Scouts lifted those laws.
Locally, the change will be kick-started with the games, the largest event the girls have participated in to date.
Cherokee Council’s Pack 3062, which meets in Rossville, is the first pack in the area to register girls as Boy Scouts, said publicity chairwoman Shauna Rogers.
“When you are able to put Eagle Scout on a resume, you get a lot more attention, and now girls are going to have that option,” she said.