Miranda Machalek recently became the first female from Festus to attain the rank of Eagle Scout in Scouts BSA, formerly the Boy Scouts of America.
Machalek, 15, joined Troop 474G that meets at Simpson Elementary School in Arnold because there was no similar group closer to her home. She is a sophomore at Festus High School.
“This is a female troop,” Machalek said. “There were no female troops down here (Festus) when they started letting females in Scouts.”
Miranda Machalek displays her Eagle Scout project, benches for the Open Door Animal Sanctuary.
She is not the first female Eagle Scout in Jefferson County. That distinction belongs to Amalia Phye of Dittmer, who attained the rank in January. She was not only the first female Eagle Scout in Jefferson County, but the first in the Greater St. Louis Area River Trails District.
She officially became an Eagle Scout Sept. 28 in a ceremony at Zion Lutheran Church in Pevely.
“If felt very rewarding,” she said.
Machalek’s achievement caught the attention of the Festus City Council, which issued a proclamation during their Oct. 10 meeting recognizing her for becoming the first Eagle Scout from Festus.
The Jefferson County Council also honored her with a proclamation that declared Nov. 13 as Miranda Machalek Day.
Formerly a participant in Girl Scouts, Machalek switched to Scouts BSA in 2018 when it opened its membership to females.
“I was in Girl Scouts a couple of years,” she said. “I came over to the Cub Scouts in Pack 467 in Pevely, which had been all boys.”
She said saw her older brother, Andrew, enjoying his time in Boy Scouts and decided Scouts BSA suited her better. Andrew also recently became an Eagle Scout.
“I had grown up around the program because of my brother,” she said. “I felt it was more beneficial to me. I felt I wanted to be outdoors more.”
She later joined Troop 474G and her troop leader, Kristi Buck, said she appreciates Machalek’s achievement, as well as her contributions to the troop.
“She is the first from Troop 474G to make Eagle Scout,” Buck said. “She’s very hard-working. She always does what she can do to help others. I believe this will encourage other girls from our troop to make Eagle Scout. We’re just very proud of her achievement.”
For her Eagle Scout project, Machalek oversaw the construction of outdoor furniture for the Open Door Animal Sanctuary in House Springs.
“I led a group of people into making two picnic tables that convert into benches,” she said. “It’s a picnic table in two parts with a hinge that converts to a bench. My brother did his Eagle Scout project there.
“They have volunteers and they needed a place to sit down for lunch or for potential adopters to have a place to sit and play with the dogs.”
She said that the project took a considerable amount of time to plan and execute. She delivered the items to Open Door Aug. 12.
“Start to finish, with the planning it took about three months,” Machalek said. “The construction took about one day. I went around during planning and the Festus Home Depot generously donated the materials, basically everything I needed. I got help from people in my troop and my family.”
Amie Moschetto, Open Door’s volunteer and event coordinator, said the benches-picnic tables are a nice addition.
“They’re beautiful,” Moschetto said. “They’re great quality. They make a nice addition and people have been using them. I really appreciate her doing these benches.”
Machalek is the daughter of John and Barb Machalek of Festus.