Amentum’s John Heller to be honored with the 2026 Mike Daniels Technology Good Scout Award
Scouting America’s National Capital Area Council recognizes the Amentum CEO for his impact on the region’s innovation economy and his commitment to inspiring the next generation through STEM education.
September 17, 2026, WASHINGTON, DC – Scouting America National Capital Area Council (NCAC) is proud to announce John Heller, Chief Executive Officer of Amentum, as the 2026 Mike Daniels Technology Good Scout Honoree. Mr. Heller is being recognized for his visionary leadership within the technology and engineering fields, his unwavering dedication to STEM education, and his commitment to fostering future leaders, especially in the Nation’s Capital Region. The award was renamed in 2025 as the Mike Daniels Technology Good Scout Award in honor of the event’s founder.
As CEO of Amentum, a Fortune 500 global leader in advanced engineering and technology solutions, Mr. Heller leads a workforce of approximately 50,000 employees across more than 70 countries. Under his leadership, Amentum works with the U.S., allied nations and commercial companies to deliver solutions for space exploration, nuclear energy development and operations, national security, and critical digital infrastructure around the world. A West Point graduate, Mr. Heller also brings his leadership and commitment to advancing technology and the government contracting industry through his role as chair of the Board of Directors for the Professional Services Council (PSC) and by giving back to veterans and STEM causes.
“Scouting fosters integrity, leadership, and service. These values build strong communities and fuel innovation and progress,” said John Heller, CEO of Amentum. “Mike Daniels embodied these qualities throughout his remarkable career, and it is a true honor to receive an award that bears his name. At Amentum, we are committed to advancing STEM education and empowering future leaders to tackle the challenges of tomorrow. I share this recognition with my team, whose dedication and passion inspire the meaningful work we do every day.”
The Award will be presented to Mr. Heller at the 2026 Mike Daniels Technology Good Scout Award Luncheon on November 5, 2026 at the Capital One Hall at Tysons, VA. The award luncheon will bring together hundreds of business and community leaders in the National Capital Region’s technology community to celebrate leadership, service, and character.
This year’s theme, “Scouts In Action,” recognizes the impact Scouts make through service while highlighting the shared commitment of Scouting and the technology sector to build a better future. As America celebrates 250 years of progress and ingenuity, today’s technology leaders are investing in the next generation by helping young people develop the STEM, leadership, and critical-thinking skills that will drive tomorrow’s innovations.
This award recognizes Mike Daniels, who founded the Technology Good Scout Award Luncheon in 1997. He passed away last year after an impactful career that included leadership roles at CACI (Chairman), DARPA, Network Solutions, the Northern Virginia Technology Council, and SAIC. Mike is known as a titan in the technology community nationwide, and had an enduring, passionate commitment to Scouting, both of which helped shape this event into a powerful platform for celebrating values-driven leadership.
The event will begin with a reception from 11:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m., followed by a lunch and program until 1:30 p.m on November 5, 2026. More information is available at Technology Good Scout – National Capital Area Council.
Over the years, the award luncheon has raised millions of dollars in support of Scouting and STEM programs across the National Capital Area. These contributions have directly impacted thousands of young people — empowering them with the skills, confidence, and character to become tomorrow’s leaders.
###
About Scouting America and the National Capital Area Council
Scouting America provides the nation’s foremost youth program of character development and values-based leadership training, which helps young people be “Prepared. For Life.®” Scouting America welcomes all of America’s youth into its programs. Our goal is to give them fantastic experiences in the outdoors, and elsewhere, where they can grow with us in a safe environment. More than 130 million Americans have been through our programs since our founding, and currently more than one million youth are served by 477,000 adult volunteers in local councils throughout the country. To learn more about Scouting America’s mission, or to sign your child up for Scouting, visit https://beascout.scouting.org/
Scouting America National Capital Area Council (NCAC) was organized in 1911 and today stands as one of the oldest and largest councils in America. Scouts from the NCAC do over 400,000 hours of community service each year. The Council territory includes the District of Columbia; Frederick, Montgomery, Prince George’s, Calvert, Charles, and St. Mary’s counties in Maryland; and in Virginia the counties of Arlington, Fairfax, Prince William, Loudoun, Fauquier, Spotsylvania, Caroline, King George, Stafford and Culpeper as well as the independent cities of Alexandria, Falls Church, Fairfax, Manassas, Manassas Park and Fredericksburg in Virginia. For more information, please visit www.ncacscouting.org/
Three Scouts and three adult leaders from Troop 380 (Capitol Hill) spent August 2–9 on a wilderness canoe trek at Maine High Adventure Base at Matagamon, on the northeast edge of Baxter State Park. After a two-day drive from Washington, the crew designed its own route with an MHA guide — favoring rivers over lakes, moderate whitewater, and a real share of portaging — then spent eight days paddling, portaging, and camping in the largest undeveloped forest east of the Mississippi. Along the way they navigated wind and current across open water, cooked every dinner over an open fire, purified their own water, and stored food beneath overturned canoes in the North Woods style.
The trek was youth-led from the first evening. Scouts ran the cooking rotation, built the fires, tracked mileage against the map, and made the daily calls on when to push for the next campsite and when to wait out the wind. One of the week’s best moments came early, when the crew leader assigned a fellow Scout to run dinner before stepping away — a small act of delegation that set the tone for the rest of the trip. By the final days the adults were mostly passengers.