Journey King has been named the very first female Eagle Scout in the Cimarron Council and in the state of Oklahoma. She lives here in Ponca City and is a Senior Patrol Leader of local Troop 501.

Journey King joined the Boy Scouts of America on February 1, 2019, which was the earliest date that girls were allowed to join the Boy Scouts. King’s brother is an Eagle Scout and as they grew up together, she recognized that he seemed to have such a great experience in scouting. As a result, this influenced Journey to want to become involved and have the opportunity to get that experience as well.

“From the start I knew that I wanted to be a part of the Inaugural Class of Female Eagles. In scouting there are seven ranks, which in order are: Scout, Tenderfoot, Second Class, First Class, Star, Life and Eagle,” said Journey King.

“In the ranks Scout through First Class, you are working on your skillset. Examples would be first aid, knots and lashings, cooking, camping and outdoor ethics, navigation, aquatics, citizenship, leadership, community service and scout spirit,” added King.

Journey King has earned 28 Merit Badges in her time in scouting. She is a member of the Order of the Arrow, which is the National Honor Society of Scouting. She has gone to two BSA summer camps. In 2019, she went to summer camp as a camper and earned the Dog Iron Award for the execution of scouting values and in 2020 King was a part of the aquatic staff at summer camp. It was there that she earned her BSA Lifeguard Certification and her Red Cross Lifeguard Certification.

Some examples of different troop activities she has participated in are going caving, kayaking, high ropes course, zip lining, repelling, climbing, paddle boarding, archery, hiking, swimming and orienteering.

For King’s Eagle Scout Service Project she designed and led the building of the Living Hope Pregnancy Center Meditation Space. This space is a flagstone patio with a statue of an angel and concrete benches. It includes wooden panels for privacy and plants to soften and give the area color. Living Hope Pregnancy Center uses it for daily prayer meetings, counseling and recently, because of COVID-19, it has been used as an extra waiting area due to the restrictions on the number of people in the building.

Journey King is a Senior Patrol Leader in Troop 501, which is an all girls troop. This troop is chartered at the First Baptist Church and King’s next project in the troop is starting a recruitment movement. They will meet on Monday nights from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. For more information on this please call 580-716-2249.

“I want to be an inspiration for other girls to know that you can do anything you set your mind to, even if it seems impossible. I am so thankful for everyone who has helped me to get where I am today!” said Journey King, Eagle Scout and Senior Patrol Leader of Troop 501 of Ponca City.