Columbia Falls girl part of scouting history

Columbia Falls sophomore Kaylee King made history by becoming part of the world’s inaugural female class of Eagle Scouts earlier this week.

King was officially granted the distinction, along with the rest of her pioneering cohorts, on Feb. 8, the anniversary of the creation of Boy Scouts of America.

King advanced to Eagle Scout rank, the highest bestowed by the organization, in an astonishingly brief period of time after having joined Boy Scouts of America just two years ago in 2019, when the organization opened its traditional scouting experience to girls in a program now known as Scouts BSA.

Having grown up with a father and an older brother who were both Eagle Scouts, King was aware of the array of experiences and skills a traditional scouting program renders, and was eager to join Scouts BSA. She became a founding member of Troop 1941G of Columbia Falls, the first all-girl troop in the area, when it was created in 2019.

“I grew up watching my brother go through the program, and I just wanted to be a part of it because I enjoyed doing all the activities. So it was kind of perfect for me to join when there was an option,” King said in a recent interview with Hungry Horse News.

After joining, King, who is now the troop’s senior patrol leader, wasted no time in pursuing her Eagle Scout rank, a prestigious distinction that only 6% of BSA members attain and which is acquired through a rigorous process that involves earning 21 merit badges in areas including business, civics and the environment.

A major part of earning the rank also includes orchestrating and completing a service project that greatly benefits the community.

King’s community service project was building a flag retirement fire pit at the Montana Veteran’s Home.

The project, which features a large concrete slab containing three integrated concrete benches facing a triangular shaped, stone-facade fire pit, was completed in January after King contacted, coordinated and led a team of community members and businesses, who donated their time and materials, in building the structure.

The idea for the retirement pit came to King after she had participated in a flag retirement ceremony at the Home several years prior. The event, meant to include veteran audience members, took place in November and because of a storm ended with onlookers observing from the windows.

Even from a distance, King remembers seeing the joy the event brought many of the Home’s residents. It was then she decided to create a designated area where the respectful burning of worn-out flags could be repeated, by any civic organization, for veterans to view.

King strategically placed the fire pit and seating in front of the Home’s TV lounge, an area with large windows that can accommodate numerous viewers, so that regardless of the weather, residents would be able to view a flag retirement.

The fire pit’s design, triangular in shape and topped with a blue-coated steel cover, emblazoned with stainless steel stars, was inspired by a traditionally folded American flag. Materials for the project, entirely donated by local businesses, are estimated at a value of $12,500 and approximately 264 volunteer hours in labor were required to construct it.

King, along with other members of Troop 1941G, held the pit’s inaugural retirement ceremony on a crystal clear evening last Friday, and hopes it will be the first of many.