Is there an award for getting all the merit badges?

[lifescoutforlife]

My son starting taking Theater MB and after being in "The sound of Music" wants in be in every play that comes to town. He just finished MB # 70 and still has a firm grip on his goal. It is nice to try different fields to see what you like or dislike, I always wanted to be a machinist till I was one, I hated it. But now I have a job that I truely enjoy.

[scouter01]

There isn't anything wrong with learning about something they have no interest in just to get the badge. As Dallin found with birdwatching, they may discover a passion they didn't know existed. Or they may find they never want to do it again.

I agree completely!! This is a point that I bring out in almost those exact words in Adult Leader Training as well as with Scouts.

As a general rule, MBs don't go very deeply into most subjects, but they do give a fairly good exposure to the subjects. Enough to know if it is something that you have some interest in (even though you thought you didn't) and want to pursue - at least to find out more about. Or, equally (or pehaps more importantly) it is good to know things that you don't really like.

YiS

I also agree, but if you are taking it just to say : I have done all the merit badges", then thats not really helpful. YOu should have at least aninterest in the general topic of the MB, and not just choose it for bragging rites. defeats the perpose IMHO

[cescout]

I think that there should be, someone who has the dedication to earn all of thoes MB, that is a lot of work!!

[riverwalk]

A Unit or group might want to recognize them. There should not be any official BSA award for it. It would be a lot of work for sure.

[OldGreyBear]

Way back when the Crew first started, it seemed like the young ladies were the most on the ball and organized part of the Crew. We had a Court of Honor at the beginning of the third year and I presented the 2 top ladies with the inaugral " Sacajawea Award" for showing the men the way.

It was a Sacajawea coin on a leather thong with a few wooden beads on each side. 4 years latter both young ladies are quite often seen wearing it, even though the leather has been replaced quite a bit. Unit devised recognitions can mean more than most

[scoutaholic]

... There should not be any official BSA award for it. ...

I think anyone who is willing to work that hard for such an accomplishment should get an award for it. Why should it not be an official BSA award?

[jr56]

Actually, the information you have gained by earning each and every merit badge is your award.

[AquilaNegra]

I also agree, but if you are taking it just to say : I have done all the merit badges", then thats not really helpful. YOu should have at least an interest in the general topic of the MB, and not just choose it for bragging rights. defeats the purpose IMHO

Scouter, you don't necessarily KNOW that you have an interest until you've been exposed to it. #1 son took American Labor because it was the only badge that fit into his schedule. He wasn't looking forward to it, but it turns out he LOVED it. While I may not necessarily have agreed with the point of view of the union steward who taught the class, #1 said seeing another point of view really made him think and reason out why he believed some of the things he did.

I do think that a Scout who simply looks to Merit Badge Mills to gain every badge he can is completely contrary to Scouting. It is, however, the MILLS that are the problem, not the Scouts.

[Quailman]

Actually, the information you have gained by earning each and every merit badge is your award.

That and a four pound merit badge sash.

[jr56]

True, maybe more like 5 pounds. But what a bunch of knowledge.

[muletrain]

Just want to say congratulations to your son and your family for their dedication. It takes a lot of family support and sacrifice to help a young man achieve this goal. It would be nice to see more scouting families with that much dedication to their scouting sons.

[milominderbinder2]

Thanks for bringing this thread back up.

I just read the great article in Scouting Magazine about the Scout who earned all the Merit Badges.

Coincidentally, the sash is exactly the right size for 123 merit badges.

- Craig

[lifescoutforlife]

Just want to say congratulations to your son and your family for their dedication. It takes a lot of family support and sacrifice to help a young man achieve this goal. It would be nice to see more scouting families with that much dedication to their scouting sons.

It is no easy trask to do this, support from the family has to be there. My son is after the same goal, wheather he makes it or not is up to him. He is a very active scout and OA member and doesn't miss very many outings that the troop or OA goes to. Just last night he figured out that all the merit badges will fit on his sash so he took a piece of paper and cut it out the same size as a merit badge and taped it to the bottom of the back side of his sash, on the paper circle it says "my goal". Right now he stands at 76 merit badges and is going to camp a few weeks this summer. His goal for this year is by the end of 2008 have around 95 to 100 finished. Driving him around to all the places that he needs to go drives me crazy enough, but as long as he goes after this goal I will support him in it. Dallin the one that this thread started about is his reminder that it can be done.

[milominderbinder2]

How many palms are they earning?

- Craig

[scoutaholic]

How many palms are they earning?

- Craig

If they complete their Eagle Board of Review before their 13th Birthday, and time all the palms right, they could potentially earn 20 palms (7 bronze, 7 gold, and 6 silver). Of course, they wouldn't wear all 20. They would wear 6 Silver and 1 Gold.

[milominderbinder2]

What is the most palms ever earned?

- Craig

[AquilaNegra2]

Not sure, but there's now a site that shows the Scouts who have already accomplished this -- all 24 of them http://MeritBadgeKnot.com

[pipestone1991]

Not sure, but there's now a site that shows the Scouts who have already accomplished this -- all 24 of them http://MeritBadgeKnot.com

Wow.

[lifescoutforlife]

I see the list is up to 36 scouts now, 3 of them are brothers from the same troop.

[pohsuwed]

Thank you for noticing www.meritbadgeknot.com. The list is now up to 39 individuals with another awaiting verification. If you know of others who have earned all the merit badges, please let them know about the list as well as our petition that we will be submitting to BSA to recognize this accomplishment (or similar accomplishment, i.e. four silver palms--we don't know exactly how this idea will end up). Thank you!