Boy Scout Earns Every Merit Badge

Online, November 14, 2010 (Newswire.com) - Two days before turning 18, Chief Seattle Council Eagle Scout David Gentry finished the last of 129 badges, Inventing. He built a prototype for a tent insert that uses handwarmers to heat the space. It was one of eight new badges added in 2010. "Eight!" he says with an exasperated grin.

"I had it all planned out a couple of years ago, but BSA started adding new ones. When SCUBA came out, I thought it was going to be the end for me," Gentry says. "It's not just an overview, but full PADI certification. That's a little more intensive and expensive than visiting an art museum."

The toughest badge, however, proved to be Soil and Water, due to the options he chose. Bugling, which required ten months of lessons to be able to master the calls, was also a challenge. Others, like Art and Fingerprinting, were completed in a single day. In the 129 currently available, there are badges for every Scout, regardless of schedule or skill level.

The program is an introduction to different professions, hobbies, and fields of study. David's journey has included everything from Chemistry to Farm Mechanics. David ran both the Tacoma and Seattle half-marathons for Sports, competed on a riflery team and earned his NRA sharpshooter award for Rifle Shooting, and participated in an active dig for Archaeology. Scouting's merit badges are fun with a purpose, helping boys prepare for their futures by exploring career possibilities, making professional contacts, and tapping into talents they might not know they had. David discovered an affinity for Pottery during the month-long class he took to earn that badge. He acquired a new hobby while searching for geocaches, and found out he's pretty good at snowboarding.

The Boy Scouts of America does not yet keep official records of how many Scouts have earned every badge, but Troy Pugh of MeritBadgeKnot.com counts David as the 129th Scout in the history of the BSA to have achieved this. To put this into perspective, in its hundred year history, there have been more than 100 million Scouts. Of those, there are an estimated 2 million Eagle Scouts. 129 of those have gone on to finish every badge.

David will graduate from his homeschool in June 2011. He has not yet decided on his college or major, but the experiences in Boy Scouts have given him a good base for whatever career he chooses.

A special Court of Honor to present David with his final badges will be held Thursday, November 18, 2010 at 7:00 pm at First Christian Church, 4885 Southwest Hovde Road, Port Orchard, WA. The public is welcomed to attend. Dessert will be served.