RAYMOND — A Raymond girl was recently chosen as one of 12 Boy Scout delegates nationally to represent Maine in Washington, D.C. 

Isabella Messer, 10, was selected as a youth delegate to help present the Boy Scouts of America annual Report to the Nation to Congress. 

“It was a real honor. I was proud to be a part of it. I really enjoyed meeting the other Scout delegates and meeting the government officials,” Messer said. 

In the selection process for youth delegates, local Scout masters submit applications for individuals in their troops who they believe encompass the values of BSA. A committee in D.C. then reviews the submissions and selects the 12 Scouts from across the country. 

Tyler Brackett, a senior in high school and member of Troop 83 in Portland, was also selected. 

Messer was one of the first female delegates to represent BSA and was also the youngest member of the delegation. 

She and the other delegates were in D.C. March 9-14. While there, they visited the U.S. Naval Academy, worked on a service project at the Korean War Memorial, received private tours of the Supreme Court and the Pentagon and met President Trump. 

Messer said visiting the Oval Office was “really cool because the door was camouflaged on the back side. We walked behind the president’s desk, and then he walked in. He looked a lot different than what I’ve seen on TV.” 

She was one of the founding members of Pack 51 in Windham, Maine’s first Cub Scout Pack to welcome girls into scouting. She was also a founding member of Scout Troop 851 in Raymond, Maine’s first female troop to cross over into Scouts. 

Messer said she wanted to be a Boy Scout because her father was an Eagle Scout. “He taught us stuff, and I thought it was really cool. I wanted to become a Boy Scout,” she said. 

She also runs a beekeeping business, collecting and filtering honey for sale and giving presentations about beekeeping to Scout and school groups. 

Messer’s mother Alissa, who writes the Lakes Region Weekly’s Inside Raymond column, said Maine hasn’t had representation in the delegation in many years. 

“This year, it was fantastic. We had two Mainers. There are opportunities opening for girls that were never there before,” she said. 

Isabella said, “I was really excited when I went.  I am proud that we had the opportunity.” 

Jane Vaughan can be reached at 780-9103 or at jvaughan@keepmecurrent.com. 

Isabella Messer was chosen as one of 12 delegates nationally to represent Maine and the Boy Scouts of America in D.C. recently. 

5th grader Isabella Messer, third from left in the front row, got to meet President Trump while in Washington, D.C.