Margaret Huettl first female Eagle Scout in area
Huettl built gaga ball pit at Zion Lutheran for Eagle Scout Project
Trending
Margaret Huettl, a 2020 Minot High graduate and a freshman majoring in biology education at Minot State University, just became the first or among the the first young women in the area to completed the work to earn the rank of Eagle Scout through Scouts BSA.
The former Boys Scouts of America begin allowing girls to participate a few years ago and Huettl joined a local troop on the first day in 2019 that girls were allowed to join the program.
"Most of the girls in the crew had brothers in Boy Scouts," said Huettl. "We wanted to be in a program that would allow us to do the types of activities they did, like camping, canoeing, and going to summer camp. At the time, Venturing was the closest I could get to being in a scout troop."
Huettl said some of her friends had been involved in Girl Scouts, though she was never a member of a Girl Scout troop.
She had also been involved in some Boy Scout activities before joining the troop.
"A friend and I joined the Minot Fire and Rescue Explorer Post when it started in 2016 and continued until it disbanded in 2018," she said. "In May of 2018, Venturing Crew 9752 was founded. Venturing is for youth who have completed the eighth grade and are ages 14 through 20. Instead of troops, the units are called crews. Crews can choose to be girl/boy only or co-ed. Initially, we were a girl-only Crew but went co-ed about a year ago because our brothers and their friends wanted to join. All six of our founding members, including myself, are still actively involved in the crew."
Girls in the troop enjoy many vigorous activities that help them develop skills they will use for the rest of their lives.
As a member of Scouts BSA Troop 5401, Huettl said she enjoyed activities such as summer camp, service projects, motorboating, kayaking, swimming, skating, and hanging out with her troop at camp outs.
"I've learned leadership, time management, and communication skills that can be applied to every aspect of my life," said Huettl. "I've also learned water boils 12.7% faster if you stop watching it and that on a campout, bears and snoring adults sound the same."
The coronavirus pandemic added some challenges, but did not stop the scouts.
"When the pandemic started, all of our activities were canceled," said Huettl. "We did a couple of virtual campouts where everyone camped in their backyard. We started doing our weekly meetings over Zoom, working on merit badges and playing games. Luckily, we were able to meet in person or outside for most of the summer. We were even able to attend summer camp at Camp Wilderness in (Minnesota). We went back to online meetings after Halloween and finished off the year that way. Instead of a Christmas party, we did a Secret Santa exchange with homemade holiday treats. We are now back to in-person meetings and have been preparing for the upcoming Klondike Derby, an annual outdoor winter competition between troops held the first weekend in February. "
For her Eagle Scout project, Huettl built a gaga ball pit at her church, Zion Lutheran Church in Minot.
" Gaga ball is a variation of dodgeball played in an octagonal ring," she explained. "Zion was planning projects to enhance their outdoor area, so I talked with them to see if I could build something for the church. In total, 238 hours were put into the project, and it took just under four months to plan and complete. The pit is just over 26 feet in diameter and has eight, ten-foot-long sides that are 30 inches tall. It took about six hours to assemble, and I was very lucky to have 20 of my close friends, adult leaders, and family members helping me. "
More work is involved in earning an Eagle Scout award.
Huettl said that every prospective Eagle Scout has to fill out a project workbook that includes a project proposal, project plan, and project report. The proposal for the project needs to include "before" pictures and answer questions such as how the project will benefit the beneficiary of the service project, whether any permits will be needed to complete the project, what supplies, tools, and materials are to be used, and how much the project is expected to cost. The proposal has to be receive approval from the the scout's unit, the beneficiary of the project, and the district advancement chair, said Huettl.
The plan for the project goes into greater depth and includes details about exact quantities used, costs, safety, and logistics such as how the Scout will have helpers get to the site of the project and whether there will be bathroom facilities for them to use.
The project report is completed after the project is finished and includes a reflection on how the project went. A Scout will describe the most difficult part of being a leader, whether the project stayed within budget, and how many hours were spent on the project. Pictures are included of the finished project. The project report also must be signed by the scout, the Scout's unit leader, and the beneficiary of the project.
Huettl said that an honor court will be held at some point in the future for her Eagle Scout award, but that hasn't been planned yet.
A couple of the girls in her troop will be doing Eagle Scout projects sometime later this year and Huettl plans to help them with their projects as she was helped.
Huettl said her younger brother Andrew, who is a junior at Minot High School-Magic City Campus, completed his Eagle Scout project two years before she completed hers. His project was a brick-paved fire pit. They are the children of John and Julie Huettl of Minot.
"I have a a time extension that allowed me to keep working towards Eagle after I turned 18," said Huettl. "Otherwise, I would've only been in my troop for six months before aging out. In January of 2019, BSA announced a temporary change in extension policy to allow any youth, boy or girl, who registered for Scouts BSA for the first time between February 1, 2019, and December 31, 2019, to receive an extension, as long as they were 16 but not yet 18 on February 1, 2019. Outside of this special case, normal extensions are very rare and only granted in cases with extreme circumstances. My extension will expire on March 1, 2021, and then I will become an adult leader in my troop."