Monroe Boy Scout attempting to earn all 131 merit badges
Published 12:01 am Monday, April 25, 2011
MONROE– To help himself keep organized, David Singleton, 17, has a whiteboard with small pictures of the Boy Scouts merit badges in three different columns: not yet started, in process and completed.
As of last week, 95 badges were on the completed column.
He only has 36 left to go.
David is currently in a race against time to earn all 131 merit badges before his birthday on Nov. 15. These badges include all active merit badges plus four historical merit badges and one archaic merit badge.
He may get recognition by doing this, but his goal is to get all the knowledge he can.
“I want to be the kind of person you ask something in general and I can answer you,” he said.
The Boy Scouts of America does not keep statistics of how many teens earn all of Scouting’s merit badges. It is believed that fewer than 10 of the 57,000 boys who earn Eagle Scout status each year in the country achieve this goal, said Deron Smith, spokesman for the Boy Scouts National Council.
David earned his first badge back in 2005, but it wasn’t until last fall when he decided to get all of them. He had 42 back then.
“I am behind schedule of where I want to be, but I am right on track,” David said. “I want to be done in October.”
On average, he completes two merit badges a week. Some of them required hours or days to complete. In others, he spends between four to eight hours on each one. That time doubles when you take into consideration the paperwork and traveling to receive some of the badges. He also needs to find a registered merit badge counselor who knows about the topic and to schedule a time for David to shadow him.
Sometimes, that has been the most challenging part. The Boy Scouts may not have an available counselor for the specific badge or there’s the need to reschedule, David said.
He is already the member who has earned the most badges in the history of his troop, Troop 53, assistant Scout Master Bill Martinoli said.
“He’s dedicated,” he said about David. “When he has a goal in his mind, he completes it.”
Earning a badge gives a recruit a better view of the world and can help him decide what career to pursue, Martinoli said.
David has learn about shooting, fencing, first aid, climbing, scuba diving, law, architecture and entrepreneurship, among other things. He thinks he may get into translating because he likes languages and talking with people.
His communications skills have greatly improved since he started working on his badges, said Anne Singleton, David’s mother.
“He is learning in so many areas which he would not have thought to pursue on his own,” she said.
Alejandro Dominguez: 425-339-3422; adominguez@heraldnet.com.
