Cub Scout Grace Davis (left) recites the Scout Oath with other members of Packs 121 and 16 at Silver Lake Elementary on Monday in Everett. Davis, 7, made history as the first registered girl Cub Scout in the Mount Baker Council. (Andy Bronson / The Herald)

Cub Scout Grace Davis (left) recites the Scout Oath with other members of Packs 121 and 16 at Silver Lake Elementary on Monday in Everett. Davis, 7, made history as the first registered girl Cub Scout in the Mount Baker Council. (Andy Bronson / The Herald)

They’re among the first female Eagle Scouts in-the-making

Meet the new all-girls Cub Scout den of Silver Lake Elementary. One member is also a Girl Scout Daisy.

EVERETT — For 108 years it was a boys-only club.

Now, Grace Davis is part of the pack.

The 7-year-old girl with bright blue earrings made history as the first girl to be a Cub Scout in the Mount Baker Council.

She now has a chance to achieve the prestigious rank of Eagle Scout, just like her dad, uncle and great-grandfather.

Departing from century-old tradition, girls were allowed to join the Boy Scouts of America on Jan. 15. About 30 signed up in Mount Baker Council’s test “soft launch” of Cub Scouts dens for kindergarten through fifth grade.

The dens are single gender. Grace is among the four members in Pack 121’s new all-girls Tiger Cub den at Silver Lake Elementary School, where she is also a second year Girl Scout Daisy.

The Daisy and Tiger Cub meetings are back-to-back in the school cafeteria. This makes her a quick-change artist on the twice-a-month meeting nights.

At 5:59 p.m. she’s a Daisy in a vest, wrapping up the end of a troop meeting.

At 6 p.m. she’s a Tiger Cub in a button-down shirt and orange neckerchief with gold tiger clip.

For Grace, the clothes are the biggest distinction between the two sessions.

“You have a different uniform, and you have a hat,” she said of the Cub Scout getup.

Grace’s mom, Emily Davis, does double duty as a Daisy and den leader. She has to change her shirt, too.

“Both are great options for girls,” Emily Davis said. “When our son joined as a Tiger, Grace was 3 so she has been informally participating and kept saying, ‘When do I get to be a Cub Scout?’ ”

Dean Davis, 10, is a first-year Webelos — Scout-speak for “We Be Loyal Scouts.”

“I’m kind of glad my sister now gets to do it. It just seems fair,” Dean said. “How many times has she gone to my meetings and my pack times and not been able to do anything?”

Grace’s dad, Steven Davis, is on the Mount Baker Council board and an active Scouting volunteer.

“The Cub Scout program caters to our family because of our interests,” he said. “It’s a call to modern-day parents. We like to do things as a family. She has been around in tow and now she gets recognized for that.”

The rule that was passed by the national organization in October to include girls can be confusing, he said.

“From the public perception, I think a lot of people think, ‘Don’t they already have Girl Scouts?’ These are fundamentally different programs. They are two completely unrelated entities.”

Will there soon be boys joining the 25,000 Girl Scouts of Western Washington?

Not likely.

“Girl Scouts of Western Washington believes strongly in the importance of the all-girl, girl-led, and girl-friendly environment that Girl Scouts provides,” spokeswoman Stefanie Ellis wrote in an email. “Girl Scouts has more than 100 years of experience building a program tailored specifically to girls’ unique developmental needs.”

Ana Velasquez’s daughter, Edith, 6, is both a Daisy and newly minted Tiger Cub. “My oldest daughter in fourth grade could have joined, but she was like, ‘No, I’m going to stay in Girl Scouts,’ ” Velasquez said.

Before deciding to let girls in, the Boy Scouts loosened up in other ways. In 2013, openly gay Scouts were allowed to join and in 2015 it ended the ban on adult gay leaders. Last year, transgender troop members were welcomed.

Mount Baker Council, which serves Snohomish, Skagit, Whatcom, Island and San Juan counties, has more than 6,500 Scouts ages 5 to 18.

In late February, 96 girls had signed up for Cub Scouts in the state and 840 nationwide. The full launch for female Cub Scouts starts in August. In 2019, Scouting troops will be formed for older girls.

“We are embracing this change,” Mount Baker Council Scout Executive Kevin Nichols said. “This really enables us to meet the needs of the families who are interested. Families of today are much busier and they are more diverse than ever. There’s a lot of dual earners. There’s a lot of single-parent households. Many of our underserved communities, including fast-growing Hispanic and Asian communities, actually prefer to participate in activities as a family. Families seem to have less free time, so we can offer a program where both the girls and boys can participate.”

The only visible change so far? A new wardrobe item.

“It’s called a skort, a skirt/short combination that is available for girls to wear,” Nichols said. If they want.

Men wear kilts. Can boys wear the skort?

“I have not had any questions come up regarding that,” Nichols said, laughing.

The Boy Scouts’ inclusion of girls in the U.S. might be groundbreaking here, but not across the pond, where Tim LaBoutillier is from.

“In the UK they started allowing girls into Scouts a long time ago,” said LaBoutillier, who has a son and now a daughter in Cub Scouts. “It changed the whole system for the better. Life is coed. To have a non-coed system is kind of strange in a sense.”

As a teen, LaBoutillier earned the Queen’s Scout Award, the equivalent to Eagle Scout. He wants similar avenues available to his daughter, Nicole, a Mukilteo third-grader.

“Being an Eagle Scout is a game-changer when you start into a career, college, everything else,” he said. “To give girls the opportunity to gain that award as well is important. It follows them for life.”

“It’s leveling the playing field,” added his wife, Leslie.

Andrea Brown: 425-339-3443; abrown@herald net.com. Twitter: @reporterbrown.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Local News

Olivia Vanni / The Herald 
The Mukilteo Lighthouse. Built in 1906, it’s one of the most iconic landmarks in Snohomish County.
The Mukilteo Lighthouse. Built in 1906, it’s one of the most iconic landmarks in Snohomish County. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Mukilteo mayor vetoes council-approved sales tax

The tax would have helped pay for transportation infrastructure, but was also set to give Mukilteo the highest sales tax rate in the state.

Marysville Mayor Jon Nehring gives the state of the city address at the Marysville Civic Center on Wednesday, Jan. 31, 2024, in Marysville, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Marysville council approves interim middle housing law

The council passed the regulations to prevent a state model code from taking effect by default. It expects to approve final rules by October.

x
State audit takes issue with Edmonds COVID grant monitoring

The audit report covered 2023 and is the third since 2020 that found similar issues with COVID-19 recovery grant documentation.

Bothell
Bothell man pleads guilty to sexual abuse of Marysville middle schoolers

The man allegedly sexually assaulted three students in exchange for vapes and edibles in 2022. His sentencing is set for Aug. 29.

Larsen talks proposed Medicaid cuts during Compass Health stop in Everett

Compass Health plans to open its new behavioral health center in August. Nearly all of the nonprofit’s patients rely on Medicaid.

Everett
Judge sentences man, 73, for intending to have sex with ‘teen’ in Everett

The Arizona man sent explicit images to an agent posing as a 13-year-old. Investigators found images of child sexual abuse on his phone.

Community members gather for the dedication of the Oso Landslide Memorial following the ten-year remembrance of the slide on Friday, March 22, 2024, at the Oso Landslide Memorial in Oso, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
The Daily Herald garners 6 awards from regional journalism competition

The awards recognize the best in journalism from media outlets across Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon and Washington.

State’s draft of climate action plan open for public comment

Residents can submit public comments or climate-related stories online through Aug. 22.

The Edmonds School Board discusses budget cuts during a school board meeting on Tuesday, April 15, 2025 in Edmonds, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Edmonds school board approves 2025-26 budget

After facing an estimated $8.5 million shortfall earlier in the year, the board passed a balanced budget Tuesday.

A wall diagram shows the “journey of the ballot” at the new Elections Center on Tuesday, July 9, 2024 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
County Auditor: No need for feds to meddle with state or local elections

Garth Fell’s comments were in response to a report of Justice Department mulling criminal charges against election officials.

Edmonds Police Chief Loi Dawkins speaks after the city council approved her appointment on Tuesday, July 8, 2025 in Edmonds, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Edmonds City Council confirms new police chief

Assistant Chief Loi Dawkins will begin in the role Aug. 1. She has more than 23 years of law enforcement experience, including three years in Edmonds.

The Edmonds City Council discuss the levy during a city council meeting on Tuesday, July 8, 2025 in Edmonds, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Edmonds votes to place levy lid lift on the ballot

By a vote of 5-2, the council decided to put the $14.5 million property tax levy lid lift to voters in November.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.