Girls in Scouting Information

Dear Volunteer Scouters,
The programs of the Greater Tampa Bay Area Council continue to develop the Character and Leadership skills of many thousands of young people. The good that Scouting creates is because of the work you do. As we expect you know, the Boy Scout program began in the United States in 1910. Almost as soon as it began, younger boys started clamoring for a chance to participating in Scouting. It wasn’t until 1930 that the Cub Scouting program in the U.S was formally launched. Since that time, many millions of families have enjoyed the law of the Pack and learning from Akela. We are excited that beginning in August, girls and their families will be allowed to participate in the fun and the valuable life lessons learned in Cub Scouting. We thank you for your participation in scouting, this organization would not be where it is today without amazing people to support it. There have been many questions centered around this topic and even news coverage by the Associated Press. We want to make this a seamless transition and ensure that every girl feels welcome. The acceptance of girls in scouting is a monumental decision that gives us the opportunity to impact the lives of more young people. You can find resources below, including a video interview conducted on this topic with BSA Chief Scout Executive Mike Surbaugh. Our Council has a task force, chaired by Trish Guglielmi, to help our units transition into serving girls. We are happy to answer any questions or concerns regarding this topic and excited to start this new historic chapter. We remain grateful to you for all that you do to support and advance the mission of the Boy Scouts of America.
Yours in Scouting,

Jim Rees Scout Executive/ CEO Greater Tampa Bay Area Council

Jeff Rock Director of Field Service/Chief Operating Officer Greater Tampa Bay Area Council

MAY 9th 2018
ATTENTION: Cub Scout Girls Early Adopters

We acknowledge that some units would like to accept girls sooner than August 1^st and would like to give them the opportunity to do so. Applying for early admittance of girls (on June 11^th) takes two steps. Step one is answering three questions:

• Is your charter organization on board with the early acceptance of girls?
• Does your Unit have the leadership in place to accommodate girls?
• And will your Unit be offering a summer program?

If you are able to answer yes to all three of these questions that you are able to take the next step which is requesting permission for the Early Adopter program. This can be done by emailing one of three people Bill Guglielmi ([email protected]), Trish Guglielmi ([email protected]) or Jeff Rock ([email protected]).