Aydnn King, top, and Dalylah Rybolt, above, are two of the five Eagle Scouts from Troop 74G, Maryville, Missouri. The girls are among the first in the nation to be a part of the Boy Scouts and to earn their Eagle Scout rank.

Aydnn King built shelves for the Maryville Middle School band room to hold musical equipment as her Eagle Scout project.

For her Eagle Scout project, Dalylah Rybolt removed four trees, repaired and painted the entrance gate, removed a dirt pile, and replaced a flagpole at Groves Cemetery in Skidmore.

Aydnn King and Dalylah Rybolt are two of the five Eagle Scouts from Troop 74G, led by Scoutmaster Cammy Ungles and Assistant Scoutmaster Cathy Rybolt, in Maryville, Missouri. The girls are among the first females in the nation to be a part of the Boy Scouts and to earn their Eagle Scout rank. Both girls are children of Tarkio High School graduates and have grandparents living in Atchison County, Missouri.

Eagle Scout is the highest achievement or rank attainable in the Scouts BSA program of the Boy Scouts of America (BSA). Since its inception in 1911, only four to six percent of Scouts – over 2.5 million youth – have earned this rank. Since the Boy Scouts began allowing girls to join their membership in 2019, around 1,000 girls have earned their Eagle Scout rank. Aydnn and Dalylah will take part in the Eagle Court of Honor May 23 at American Legion Post #100 with a reception to follow.

Over the past two years, many girls have jumped at the chance to join the Boy Scouts, especially those girls who enjoy the outdoors and participating in activities that are part of the Boy Scout heritage. Aydnn, who is the daughter of Lauren and Nic King, said that she was recruited by other scouts, “but I also joined because I like camping. My experience for the past two years has been wonderful and exciting with all the camping, meeting new people, and working on projects.” She added, “Completing my Eagle project was one of the most eventful and confusing things I have ever done in my life. My Eagle project was building shelves for the Maryville Middle School band room to help hold music and even instruments. The reason I chose this is because the band teacher wanted new shelving and was grateful for a Boy Scout to do it as an Eagle project. We had to clean out the room, including getting rid of the old shelving and then build new shelves that would help organize things and get rid of the clutter.” Aydnn went on to say, “Getting the highest rank of scouting is an accomplishment, but if I waited longer it would have made me and the others learn more things then we did. In the end of these two full years, I have accomplished Eagle Scout rank, being inducted into Mic-O-Say and Order of the Arrow.”

Dalylah is the daughter of Paul and Cathy Rybolt. Dalylah said that she joined Scouting BSA because it was a way for her to meet new people and push herself to her limits. “It took a lot of patience and perseverance to get where I am in scouting today. When I went to Camp Geiger in July 2019, it was the first time girls were allowed to attend. I had so much fun and I couldn’t wait to return the next summer. My first year at camp, I received the top archery award for our week, even shooting better than the instructor. My second year at Camp Geiger was very different due to COVID-19. Although everything in the world was uncertain, Scouts still tried to maintain some type of normalcy. I was one of the first female tribesmen tapped into the tribe Mic-o-say in the summer of 2020. This was an exciting time that I was able to share with my parents, as they also were tapped as honorary warriors. In the fall of 2020, I was inducted into Order of the Arrow, Scouting’s National Honor Society.”

Aydnn and Dalylah’s troop has stayed very active. They hold a camp-out every month and work on merit badges and perform service projects. Dalylah said, “Throughout my scouting adventure, we have completed numerous service hours at Groves Cemetery in Skidmore, Missouri. I talked with the cemetery board regarding some beautification and revitalization ideas. My Eagle project consisted of removing four trees, repairing and painting the entrance gate, removing a dirt pile, and replacing the flagpole. In addition, I have earned 37 merit badges, with more in progress. I am frequently asked what my favorite and least favorite merit badges were.  My favorite merit badge so far has been archery or crime prevention and my least favorite was definitely the 20 mile hike!!! When I earned the rank of Eagle Scout I was very relieved and glad to have completed the most stressful and yet rewarding part of scouting. It is an honor to be in the inaugural class of female Eagle Scouts.”