Get prizes, learn about scouting at free outdoor event Saturday

When Miracle Dutton first joined the Boy Scouts, she was so shy she practically wanted to hide at events and meetings.

“I was very shy, quiet,” Miracle said. “I was more of a follower back then than I was a leader. And I was always scared to try new things and to try to take control over stuff.”

Over time, however, Miracle transformed from something of a wallflower to a trailblazer. She’s the first female Eagle Scout in Kansas history.

“I feel proud of myself,” said Miracle, who is now 18. “I feel like I’ve come a long way from where I first started out.”

Leaders of Scouting USA are hoping for a similar transformation in what used to be known as the Boy Scouts. Girls were officially invited to join Cub Scouts or Scouts BSA, formerly referred to as Boy Scouts last year. For many years, girls ages 14-21 have been able to participate in the Boy Scouts of America Venturing program, which features “high adventure” outdoor activities such as kayaking or rappelling and “challenging real world projects.”

“The misperception is that we opened the program up to young ladies,” said Michael Redondo, district executive for the organization’s Quivira Council, which is based in Wichita. “What we actually did was open the program up to what we call family scouting. That’s the new model that we’re trying to embrace in the program now.”

In years past, Redondo said, there were many families where a son would go on scouting activities and a daughter would be left at home because she wasn’t allowed to join. Often, she would go along and participate in the same activities and not receive credit for it.

“Some boys who went through this program had sisters who easily probably earned the rank of Eagle Scout, but just don’t have credit for it because they weren’t getting advancements signed off throughout the brother’s tenure with scouting,” Redondo said. “So now, the whole family has the opportunity to be involved in the program, including young girls.”

Normally at this time of year, the organization would be going into elementary schools as part of its annual membership drive. The COVID pandemic has put a stop to that.

Instead, the Quivira Council will host a drive-thru sign-up event from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 7, at the scout office at 3247 N. Oliver. Staff will be on site to answer questions and volunteers from various scout units will be showcasing what scouts can do – socially distanced, of course – and serving treats.

Scouting programs are offered for kids kindergarten through 21.

All children who complete registration on site will leave with vouchers to All Star Sports, Bite Me BBQ, and the Sedgwick County Zoo. Visiting families won’t even have to leave their vehicles to take part, Redondo said.

“We’re just having to be creative and think outside the box this year,” Redondo said.

Staff will be on hand to answer any questions, he said, including how the organization is working to keep scouts safe during the pandemic.

In an unexpected way, the pandemic may provide a boost for Scouts USA. Many families, looking for a safe way to combat cabin fever, took up camping this summer.

“That is no joke,” said Frank Bialza, the manager of Bite Me BBQ in Wichita and an Eagle Scout and avid camper himself. “I noticed that during the pandemic that some of those outdoor activities were significantly more crowded” in the summer.

Bite Me is offering a free children’s meal for those who join the Quivira Council at Saturday’s event.

“I just really want people to continue to get outdoors to be able to learn how to thrive outside and just have that knowledge because it is so healthy for you to be outside,” Bialza said.

Bialza and Redondo both credit the scouting program for helping them learn what they needed to to be successful in life.

“The scouts really are a great place to build good character, and just get a general good direction for people and young men and women of any age,” Bialza said. “This molded me into a quality human being, and I just hope that we can continue to provide that…for the future children and future scouts.”

Miracle called Scouts “a great program” – so much so she plans to become the Junior Assistant Scoutmaster for the Girl Troop in Caney, which is on the Oklahoma border near Coffeyville.

“I haven’t been to one Scout event where the kids weren’t having fun,” she said. “It’s great for leadership development.”

Scouting also teaches perseverance, a lesson Miracle had to use often during her project. The Caney Valley Historical Society and Museum Complex in downtown Caney includes the Little White School House, which was built in 1892 and now serves as a museum.

Miracle decided to replace the museum’s deteriorating front porch and wheelchair-accessible ramp that went to a door no longer used.

“The more we were cleaning up the ramps … the more problems we found,” Miracle said. “We ended up adding to my project. We found a lot of rotten wood and had to replace it. We also had to replace all of the door frames on both doors.”

Work on the project stretched from one month to almost three. The historical society originally promised to pay for the new ramp and porch, but the added expenses proved to be more than it could handle.

Miracle organized a pair of Krispy Kreme fundraisers and was able to raise the $1,100 needed to cover all the costs of her Eagle Scout project. She also gave the Little White School House a fresh coat of paint.

As she faced one obstacle after another over the course of the project, she often asked herself what she’d gotten herself into, Miracle said. But she didn’t let those obstacles stop her. As pleased as she is about completing her project, she said with a laugh, “I’m also glad that it’s over, too.”

Her Court of Honor for becoming an Eagle Scout will be on Dec. 13, where she will also be honored for attaining the Venturing Summit Award, the highest award given in the Venturing program. She’s only the third Scout in the Quivira Council to earn the Venturing Summit Award, and the first female to earn both awards.

When she’s not taking online college courses, Miracle works at the Quivira Scout Ranch in Sedan. She sees something of herself in a few of the campers.

“I’ve met some shy kids at the beginning of the week, and I’ve seen them come out of their shell at the end of the week when the session is over,” she said. “That’s one of the best things about working there, is seeing kids grow up like that.”

This story was originally published November 5, 2020 at 1:54 PM.