• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
We Own Adventure

We Own Adventure

Scouting News for the DC Metro Area

  • Home
  • Newsletters
  • Sponsorship Opportunities
  • Sport Adventures
  • Submit Your News
  • Be an Influencer!
  • Scouting America National Capital Area Council Main website

Cynthia Griffiths

Three Brothers Earn Eagle and All Merit Badges!

October 30, 2023 by Cynthia Griffiths

On Sunday, October 22, 2023, three brothers from Troop 1131 in Burke, Virginia were celebrated at a very special Eagle Court of Honor. All three Sejas-Fernandez brothers, aged 20-14, accomplished earning the highest rank in Scouts BSA, the rank of Eagle Scout, and each also reached the extraordinary goal of earning all the merit badges available at the time. Pablo, the oldest brother has 137, Gabriel, the second oldest, has 138, and Anthony, the youngest, has 139. The last merit badge that the older two brothers worked on, the backpacking merit badge, was the first merit badge for the youngest.

Why did these three Scouts embark on the journey to earn every merit badge? It all started because of a mistake! Pablo explained that one night when they were attempting to sew his first merit badges on his sash for Scout Sunday, they went online to find the proper way. Although they wound up actually sewing the first patch on the wrong side of the sash, during this research, they saw two articles about two Scouts who had earned all 137 merit badges. Pablo recalled, “I was captivated. I said to myself, ‘I only have six. How will I get all 137?’” So, during a process that included a mistake, he was inspired to accomplish the goal of earning all 137 merit badges.

When Gabriel remembered coming across a video of a Scout on the news who had earned all the merit badges he reflected, “I can’t explain how or why we were motivated by that video. But after that day, Pablo and I put our Scout career into high gear. We not only had the goal of Eagle Scouts, we had the goal of earning every merit badge that was offered.”

Beyond the pursuit of merit badges, Scouting fulfilled a need that their Mother, Renee, knew had to be met for her sons, “Scouting was life changing. For me as a single mom when my husband died, it was a struggle to find the right place where I could have the boys be active and find nice people who could teach the boys something because I couldn’t teach them any more as a mom and their father was gone. I was so worried, so concerned.” When they finally found a Troop close to their home in Virginia and started to learn more about Scouting, Renee reflected, “I found that there were older kids doing great things so that was the goal. We looked at each other and thought that maybe we could try doing that.”

During his remarks, Pablo, explained, “I can still recall the day I joined Scouting, never knowing what I would accomplish. I was eleven and from that first night of camping I said to myself, ‘I will stay with the Boys Scouts until the end,’ not knowing what I had gotten myself into! The next five years were transforming. The adventures and memories made will remain with me for the rest of my life.” He explained that Scouting taught him how to be a leader and how to run a Troop from when he started as Assistant Patrol Leader and eventually served as Senior Patrol Leader. He noted that Scouting also taught him commitment because he used to be at every single meeting, service project, and camping trip.

As it does for many Scouts, earning merit badges can lead to a particular path in life. Pablo explained, “With the merit badges we learned many new skills. Skills that included scuba diving, water sports, and shotgun merit badges and many more. Some of these merit badges prepared us to have an understanding of subjects like chemistry, engineering, and electronics. Some of them eventually make you pursue a career. For me that merit badge was programming and as of now I am at George Mason University studying cybersecurity and engineering.”

During the ceremony, Gabriel remembered that he had not liked the overall experience of Cub Scouting and didn’t want to continue with Scouting. However, he joked that due to the “powers of persuasion and peer pressure,” he joined. After summer camp when he was 12 years old, he said, “It took me until that summer to realize that Scouting isn’t some scheduled bunch of activities for somewhat outdoorsy people. Along with my friends from the Troop we had our own independent and interesting classes for archery, fishing, and more. I knew then that Boy Scouts had more to offer than what I thought going in.”

Gabriel also held leadership positions including Senior Patrol Leader and noted that all the skills he learned added up to his Eagle Scout project, “The impact of my project at a nature center may have been temporary but the effect it will have on me will last me the rest of my life. Thanks to the opportunity provided to me through Scouting and the lessons of leadership, dedication, and teamwork, I am grateful to have been a part of such a wonderful organization.”

“The merit badge work prepares you overall to be prepared for anything in life,” added Gabriel. “Doing your research beforehand and making sure you are set for what you have to do – that’s what merit badges taught me along with the skills. You won’t get that anywhere else.”

Anthony agreed, “All these different skills just stay in your mind, make you sharper and smarter and it makes you more prepared for everything in life as in the Scout motto.”

During his remarks Anthony said, “The Scouting journey is like nothing else. It’s more than just earning Eagle Scout and 139 merit badges.” He wanted to say that he accomplished this goal but he emphasized that, “The Scouting journey has been a beautiful thing to do because you meet so many great people and go to so many fun places. There is nothing like it. Scouting is the greatest thing known to man! Scouting is a brotherhood with such great people who help each other as if they are their own family.”

Throughout the ceremony the three Scouts thanked their mother for her constant support and for being loving and uplifting. For years she has driven the Scouts to meetings, merit badge classes, and summer camps throughout the region in order to assist them with their lofty goal.

When the three Scouts awarded grandparent pins to Gretchen and Kief Tackaberry for helping them along their Scout journey, it was evident that Scouting had in fact extended their family beyond their dedicated mother. Mrs. Tackaberry wound up sewing on their merit badges to very large sashes. Anthony noted Mr. Tackaberry was a mentor who was caring and smart. Renee added “a very special thank you to Gretchen and Kief Tackaberry for their unconditional support and dedication to Scouting.”

As was noted at the ceremony, the Scouting journey for these three Scouts is not only about the desire and determination of achieving these goals, the trail is about a family. Even after a diagnosis of illness, Renee continued to support her boys, hiked over 40 miles and backpacked 75 miles with the last five days in the pouring rain. Mr. Tackaberry noted, “Truly the spirit of the Eagle burns in her heart.”

 

Filed Under: Eagle of the Week

NCAC Scouts Help Alleviate Food Insecurity with Annual Food Drive

October 12, 2023 by Cynthia Griffiths

NCAC Scouts Help Alleviate Food Insecurity with Annual Food Drive

Scouts Add New Way of Donating Food through a Virtual Collection Drive 

OCTOBER 12, 2023, WASHINGTON, DC— Local Scouts will be kicking off the 37th annual Scouting for Food in the greater Washington, DC region. Scouts will post notes, distribute flyers, and advertise virtually to homes throughout the DC metro area from October 28th through November 5th with instructions on when they will return to collect non-perishable food items in each neighborhood. Community members are asked to provide bags or boxes with their donations to aid in the collection process.

This year, community members also have the option of donating through a new virtual Scouting for Food campaign. Partnering with You Give Goods, National Capital Area Council, (NCAC) has created 15 virtual food drives that will benefit specific nonprofit food pantries throughout the Council territory. The virtual food drives can be found at: https://yougivegoods.com/ncac-scoutingforfood2023

Scouting for Food is one of the largest annual food drives in the metropolitan area. Scouts of all ages, from 6 to 21 years old, will participate in Scouting for Food throughout the District of Columbia, as well as 16 counties in Maryland and Virginia. The yearly campaign meets the mission of the Boy Scouts of America, “…to prepare young people to make ethical and moral choices over their lifetimes by instilling in them the values of the Scout Oath and Law” and specifically the part of the Scout Oath that states, “…to help other people at all times.”

“In 2022 nearly 10,000 youth and 6,500 adults participated in the drive and collected over 642,000 pounds of food for needy families across our council territory,” said Mario A. Pérez, CEO and Scout Executive of the National Capital Area Council, BSA. “Through our Scouting for Food effort we provide the opportunity for Scouts, Scouters, and youth volunteers to serve their community and learn that they can positively impact the lives of their neighbors.”

“I have had the opportunity to participate in various community service projects through Scouting, such as collecting food for the Scouting for Food program and helping in multiple Eagle Scout projects,” explained Life Scout Owen B. “These experiences have taught me the importance of giving back to my community, and the value of helping those in need.”

According to the Capital Area Food Bank’s 2023 Hunger Report, “One in three residents – 32% – did not know where their next meal was coming from at some point between May 2022 and April 2023. That’s essentially unchanged from the 33% of respondents who reported experiencing food insecurity in the 2022 survey.”

Scouting for Food is held every fall prior to Thanksgiving. Local food banks rely on the efforts of the Scouts to stock their shelves for the upcoming holiday months when food demands are the highest. Healthy items needed include canned protein (tuna, salmon, chicken); peanut butter; grains (pasta, whole grain pasta, brown & white rice, corn & flour tortillas); whole grain hot & cold cereals (multi-grain, low sugar cereals, oatmeal); canned vegetables; and canned fruits.

Scouting for Food is co-sponsored by the Safeway Foundation.

                                                                            

# # #

About BSA and the National Capital Area Council

The Boy Scouts of America (BSA) provides the nation’s foremost youth program of character development and values-based leadership training, which helps young people be “Prepared. For Life.®” The Scouting organization is composed of more than 1 million youth members between the ages of 5 and 21 and more than 628,000 volunteers in local councils throughout the United States and its territories. Since its inception in 1910, more than 130 million young men and women have participated in the BSA’s youth programs. More than 35 million adult volunteers have helped carry out the BSA’s mission. For more, please visit www.Scouting.org.

 

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; and the U.S. Virgin Islands. For more information, please visit www.NCACBSA.org.

Filed Under: Press Releases

NCAC Scout Adds to 9/11 Memorial in Pentagon City

September 12, 2023 by Cynthia Griffiths

Arlington Now published a story about Daniel, a Scout in Troop 164, adding to Eagle Scout Megan Mazel’s memorial around a World Trade Center steel beam in Pentagon City, which she created two years ago for the 20th anniversary of 9/11.

Read the story on Arlington Now: https://www.arlnow.com/2023/08/30/an-arlington-boy-scout-carries-on-a-mission-to-build-a-9-11-memorial-near-fire-station-in-pentagon-city

Filed Under: Eagle of the Week

NBC 4 Features NCAC Eagle Scout

September 12, 2023 by Cynthia Griffiths

Community Reporter Molette Green spoke with Avery, an Eagle Scout, about her award-winning volunteer project that served women and children fleeing domestic violence. She developed a digital donation tracking system for the nonprofit, Doorways, in Arlington, VA. Avery was the youth volunteer recipient at the Volunteer Arlington Awards.

Watch the story on NBC4:

Filed Under: Eagle of the Week

NCAC Scouts Featured in The Washington Post

August 11, 2023 by Cynthia Griffiths

NCAC Scouts are featured on the front page of The Washington Post Style section today in an article about the 2023 National Jamboree and how Scouting benefits girls. The writer, Anne Branigin, followed Audrey Perez, daughter of NCAC Scout Executive Mario Perez, Mia Strouder, and Lucy Hurd as they “flew down zip lines, played one-armed volleyball, shot laser guns, ate pizza and posed with Regis, a 17-year-old bald eagle with a busted wing” among a whole lot of other experiences!

Noting that the past three years had been a downer for all of the girls, the article explains, “Scouting, a 113-year-old rite of passage for generations of American boys, helped save the girls from total boredom and staved off loneliness in the pandemic years. They know the myriad opportunities being a Scout affords them, benefits adults extolled all the time: the prestigious rank of Eagle Scout; a network they can lean on; an edge during the competitive college application process; life and leadership skills.”

Read the full article: https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/2023/08/10/girlhood-boy-scouts-jamboree/

The BSA has licensed the recent Washington Post article about Scouting, and a copy of the article is available in the BSA Brand Center for download and additional use. Download the article from the BSA Brand Center here: https://scouting.webdamdb.com/bp/#/folder/4731610/152075105

Filed Under: Adventure

Scouts Featured in The Connection Newspaper

August 7, 2023 by Cynthia Griffiths

An article entitled, “Programs Assist Seniors and Others with Home Repairs” in the August 2-8, 2023 edition of The Connection newspaper featured Scouts from Troop 572.

Read the full story on page 11 to learn about this much-needed and timely home repair at this week’s link:  http://connectionarchives.com/PDF/2023/080223/Reston.pdf.

Filed Under: Scouting Programs

  • « Go to Previous Page
  • Page 1
  • Page 2
  • Page 3
  • Page 4
  • Page 5
  • Page 6
  • Interim pages omitted …
  • Page 8
  • Go to Next Page »

Primary Sidebar

NCAC Social Media

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Latest Issue

TSD Summer '18 is on Issuu

Archives

  • October 2025
  • September 2025
  • August 2025
  • July 2025
  • June 2025
  • May 2025
  • April 2025
  • March 2025
  • February 2025
  • January 2025
  • December 2024
  • November 2024
  • October 2024
  • September 2024
  • August 2024
  • July 2024
  • June 2024
  • May 2024
  • April 2024
  • March 2024
  • February 2024
  • January 2024
  • December 2023
  • November 2023
  • October 2023
  • September 2023
  • August 2023
  • July 2023
  • June 2023
  • May 2023
  • April 2023
  • March 2023
  • February 2023
  • January 2023
  • December 2022
  • November 2022
  • October 2022
  • September 2022
  • August 2022
  • July 2022
  • June 2022
  • May 2022
  • April 2022
  • March 2022
  • February 2022
  • January 2022
  • December 2021
  • November 2021
  • October 2021
  • September 2021
  • August 2021
  • July 2021
  • June 2021
  • May 2021
  • April 2021
  • March 2021
  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • September 2019
  • August 2019
  • July 2019
  • June 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • October 2018
  • July 2018
  • May 2018

Follow Us!

  • Facebook
  • Flickr
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • YouTube

You Might Also Like…

  • Director David Henrie Invites NCAC to Digital Movie Premiere

    August 26, 2020

  • Missing Summer Day Camp or Resident Camp?

    June 25, 2020

  • Microscope + Camping = FUN !!!

    June 15, 2020

  • Family – Fun – Flag – FOURTH!

    June 14, 2020

  • Guidance on Resuming In-Person Scouting Activities

    June 12, 2020

  • NCAC Scouting at Home 2020 Award for Unit Scouters!

    May 29, 2020

  • Introducing the NCAC Scouting at Home 2020 Award!

    May 11, 2020

  • NCAC Response to COVID-19

    April 4, 2020

  • Scouting At Home Challenge!

    March 19, 2020

  • Scout Service Center Closing

    March 17, 2020

  • Help Celebrate NCAC Camping Centennial at Camp Snyder’s Work Days for All

    March 5, 2020

  • General David L. Goldfein Receives the Distinguished Eagle Scout Award

    February 25, 2020

  • TUSKEGEE AIRMAN RECEIVES NCAC LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD

    February 14, 2020

Copyright © 2025 · Genesis Elk on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in