By Edward Lynn
Editor
EAGLE GROVE, Iowa — Local Scouting America troop member Katie Dawson made local history Friday evening when she became Fort Dodge’s first-ever female Eagle Scout. The milestone also marked her as the second female Eagle Scout in Wright County—and in Eagle Grove Troop 1059, which has long been North Iowa’s leader in efforts to welcome girls into the scouting ranks.
Dawson earned the prestigious rank after completing her Eagle Scout Board of Review in the basement of Eagle Grove Evangelical Lutheran Church, even as Good Friday services continued in the chapel above.
“I’m so happy,” Dawson said following the review. A Scout since 2018, she joined Troop 1059-G, as the girls’ troop was called at the time, almost immediately after girls were first allowed into the organization originally known as the “Boy Scouts of America”.
That organization, officially rebranded as Scouting America (as of 2024) to reflect and respect the involvement of the more than 176,000 girls and young women currently participating in scouting—including over 6,000 who have earned the rank of Eagle Scout.
North Iowa’s trailblazing local troop, 1059, was part of a pilot program that opened scouting to girls. The troop originally split into 1059-B for boys, led by Scoutmaster Rick Dawson (no relation), and 1059-G for girls, led by Scoutmaster Craig Voss. Today, the troop is unified under the Troop 1059 banner, with Dawson continuing as Scoutmaster and Voss serving as Assistant Scoutmaster.
“I got in as soon as I possibly could,” miss Dawson said, recalling how she had originally aimed to earn both the highest awards in Girl Scouts and what was then Boy Scouts in hopes of earning double promotions upon entering the military. “My whole goal was to stump the military recruiter and ask if I could get two promotions instead of just one… because I always thought it was really funny.”
While her Girl Scout troop disbanded before she could complete her final levels, Dawson stayed the course in Scouts BSA—now Scouting America—with unwavering commitment.
“She’s very good at public speaking—one of the best that we’ve had,” said Dr. Jim Brockhohn, a member of the Board of Review. “Sometimes you ask a candidate questions and they say yes or no. She goes on and on, which is good… I could talk to her even longer.” Brockhohn also called Dawson’s application book “the best I’ve seen” since he began sitting on Eagle boards in 1989.
Carol Meyer, another Board of Review member, added, “It was probably one of the more fun board reviews. She just made it fun—very interesting. I think she’s going to do great things.”
Review committee member Chris Charbonneaux praised the thoughtfulness behind Dawson’s service project, which involved building a Gaga Ball pit. “She found a need, and then she filled the need… She went through some leadership challenges, and it was all amazing. Observation was five stars.”
“Every project is different,” said Scoutmaster Rick Dawson, noting that each project seems more and more challenging.
And as Meyer noted, Dawson’s Eagle Scout rank carries added meaning: “This is the first female that I have done [a board review for]. So I think that’s just really special.”
Rick Dawson, the troop’s longtime Scoutmaster, said it’s hard for him and for Voss as well to see scouts walk away from scouting. “That’s heartbreaking for us,” he said. But that makes it all the more special when a scout sticks with it all the way to the Eagle Scout rank, the scoutmasters agreed. Miss Dawson’s achievement adds up to a total of eleven Eagle Scouts so far for the pair. “We’re having fun,” Scoutmaster Dawson said, “that’s what it’s all about for us. Having fun, and helping the kids.”
As for her future plans Dawson, who just turned 18, said she’d consider restarting a Girl Scout troop herself someday but acknowledged the challenges in getting people to participate in outdoorsmanship centered activities like scouting in a tech obsessed modern world. “It is really hard to get people into scouting,” she said. “I’ve tried—I even have a little recruiter patch because I got a couple of people in. But it’s really hard to drag people out of their rooms nowadays, off their phones.” But before that, she plans to follow in her father’s footsteps, and join the military.
