Adventures of Pack-Man and Newbie comic strip.
Adventures of Pack-Man and Newbie – Good Turn
Local Scout Earns All 137 Merit Badges
Seventeen-year-old Eagle Scout Daniel Free of Troop 489 in Germantown Maryland achieved the rare status of earning all 137 merit badges currently offered by the Boy Scouts of America (BSA). There are about 450 scouts who have earned all the merit badges in the 110-year history of the Boy Scouts.
BSA is among the largest youth organizations in the United States, numbering about 2.3 million youth participants and supported by just over one million adult volunteers. Founded in 1910, scouting’s mission is 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.” Youth are trained in responsible citizenship, character development, and self-reliance. The Merit Badges are central to the program, offering a variety of training in life skills, exposure to careers, and other topics of interest. At least 21 Merit Badges must be earned in order to attain the rank of Eagle Scout, 13 of which must be from a list of eagle-required merit badges.
Daniel joined Scouting when he was six years old as a cub scout, earning the Arrow of Light, cub scouting’s highest award. He bridged into Boy Scouts near the end of 5th grade and became an Eagle Scout on October 27, 2017 at the age of 15. He had earned 54 merit badges at that time. His eagle project involved planning and leading other youth in building outdoor stations of the cross at Mother Seton Catholic Church in Germantown Maryland, where he also serves on the alter during the mass. The night he was awarded his Eagle, Daniel said that he “was not satisfied stopping there” and wanted to do more while as he continued his involvement in Scouting. That evening, he made it a personal goal to earn the rest of the merit badges before his 18th birthday.
His favorite merit badge subjects were welding and metal working. He says that cycling was the hardest for him personally as it involved multiple bicycling treks covering over 150 miles. His Eagle-required badges covered subjects such as citizenship, personal management, first aid, cooking, and physical fitness. Others included a variety of fun subjects such as scuba diving, golf, water sports, and athleticism. Through the merit badges, Daniel learned may life skills, grew personally, and was exposed to many opportunities to learn and do things he knew nothing about. His Scoutmaster Karl Moline says “It has been a great pleasure having Daniel as part of Troop 489 starting during his Cub Scout days when he would visit with his older brother Ryan, also an Eagle Scout. Daniel continued to be active in the Troop while pursuing his goal of earning all the merit badges, helping younger scouts start off on their trails to Eagle. The entire Troop has been watching Daniel’s countdown to earning all the merit badges, and we could not be prouder of him. His dedication and hard work are an inspiration to all of our Scouts.”
Daniel is a senior at Clarksburg High School in Clarksburg Maryland, where he played on the golf and volleyball teams. He is also a percussionist in the Symphonic Band and the Jazz Band. Daniel plans to attend college at the University of Maryland to major in Secondary Education and History.
NCAC Scout Earns American Legion Eagle Scout of the Year for Virginia
The American Legion offers a number of scholarships and other resources to assist young people in their pursuit of higher education. To be eligible for the American Legion Eagle Scout of the Year award, some of the requirements include: being an Eagle Scout; having received the appropriate Boy Scout religious emblem; having demonstrated practical citizenship in church, school, Scouting and community; and reached the age of 15 and enrolled in high school at time of selection.
Noah Ventura of Mt. Vernon, VA is the American Legion’s Eagle Scout of the Year for Virginia.
Ventura, is a high school Junior at Gonzaga College High School. He attained the rank of Eagle Scout in January 2017 and was inducted in the NCAC Youth Leadership Society in 2019. Noah Ventura is also an Eagle Scout with Crew 1022/Troop 1509. Other achievements for Ventura include Order of the Arrow Virginia Central Area Section Chief, National Youth Leadership Training Senior Patrol Leader, and Congressional Silver Award. He has a strong interest in STEM and has earned the BSA Supernova Awards; Thomas Edison (2017), Dr. Bernard Harris Award (2015) and William H. Townes Award (2013).
American Legion State Department headquarters then submit their nominations to the American Legion National Office’s Youth Activities Subcommittee for review of all department nominations and selection of The American Legion Eagle Scout of the Year.
As the American Legion, State of Virginia, Eagle Scout of the Year Noah will receive a $1,500 scholarship. The American Legion Eagle Scout of the Year will receive a $10,000 scholarship. Three runners-up will each receive $2,500.
Temporary Camping Night Policy Due to COVID-19
In light of the extended period of camping restrictions attributable to COVID-19, the following temporary modification is being made to the camping requirements for OA eligibility:
Virtual camping (i.e., backyard or solo camping) may be counted toward the required nights of camping for OA election eligibility if all the following stipulations are met:
– To be counted, all virtual camping nights should be a direct result of COVID-19 pandemic restrictions and be part of a BSA unit-organized unit camping event (i.e., multiple members of the unit are involved and camping simultaneously at remote locations).
– Some form of unit-organized communications should occur either during or immediately following the event.
– All existing youth protection policies and digital safety guidelines should be followed.
– No more than 3 nights of virtual camping are to be credited in any month in which government- or council-imposed COVID-19 restrictions are in place.
This change is in effect until September 1, 2020.
Units which have already held an election between March 1, 2020 and April 30, 2020 are authorized to hold one additional election for any individuals who were ineligible at the time of the election due to the camping requirement, but would have been considered eligible at the time if this temporary policy had then been in effect. This second election must be completed no later than July 1, 2020. Those who were previously considered for election in the first election may not be reconsidered on this second ballot (i.e., no one can be considered for election more than once in a year).
If you have any questions, please reach out to membership@oa-bsa.org.
Orginial post from: https://oa-bsa.org/coronavirus/temporary-camping-night-policy-due-covid-19?fbclid=IwAR3BonFJhT1k9G5i3QulAPiiKU9ivOUbNcTlq5VQTkpH-s5qGTuCTTm0k4w
Star Scout Organizes “No Contact” Food Drive
With the worldwide pandemic, social distancing and quarantining many may have taken this opportunity to stock your cupboards, pantries, fridges, freezers and bathrooms with food to last you a few weeks or months. If you were able to do this, please consider yourself lucky. There are plenty of individuals and families out there that rely on the good nature of others to put food on their plates. In some instances, that food is coming from local food banks.
Unfortunately during these crazy times, food banks begin to run dangerously low on supplies. In response to this Star Scout, Landon Hummel from Troop 1378 in Dale City, VA decided to organize a “no contact” food drive. Landon contacted the Arlington Food Assistance Center (AFAC) and obtained information on how to get the food to them safely. He then made a flyer, sent out an email to his Troop with instructions and all the information about the drive.
Sunday March 29th, the Landon and his mother drove around the Prince William County area to collect donations. They created a route using the addresses in all of the reply emails in order to give participants a time frame for pickup. They maintained social distancing by asking participants to leave their donations outside and just wave to us from the window. With the assistance of his mom, he collected 162 pounds of food for the Arlington Food Assistance Center.
To learn more about how you can give please visit the Arlington Food Assistance Center website. Items that they are specifically asking for are: canned tuna/chicken, canned soups, canned vegetables, canned tomatoes, peanut butter (in plastic jars only), pasta and rice.
COVID-19 Stay at Home Family Kits
As a member of Troop 642 in Orange County, CA, I’ve been fortunate that the NCAC Merit Badges @ Home sessions are open to Scouts nationwide!
I was inspired during a virtual Family Life merit badge class to do a family community service project to help with the COVID-19 pandemic. We partnered with People Assisting the Homeless (PATH) and prepared 20 COVID-19 Stay at Home Family Kits for families facing homelessness who are staying in a shelter, motel, or RV. The kits included diapers, wipes, soap and shampoo, baby formula, non-perishable snacks and at-home activities for kids such as books, craft kits, art supplies and puzzles. Many of these families do not have a car, access to the Internet or much money, so its difficult to shop online or do take-out or curbside pick up for essential items.
This project was a good way for my family to work together, help others, and show our Scout spirit during the Stay at Home orders! Some of my friends helped too. Their parents dropped off donations on my front porch or had donations delivered directly to my house from Amazon. We used extra safety precautions by washing our hands regularly, disinfecting donations, and wearing masks while unpacking and delivering the kits for distribution. We hope these essential items will help families stay safe! Thank you NCAC for the awesome virtual merit badge classes!