We Own Adventure

Scouting News for the DC Metro Area

Merit Badges

SIGN UP – Seeking Counselors for March 2021 NCAC MB@Home

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NCAC is looking for Merit Badge Counselors for the March 2021 session of the MeritBadges@Home program.

Counselors will conduct remote instruction for Scouts through the Zoom and collaborate through the Basecamp platform between a period of March 15-April 3, 2021.

If you are interested in serving as a counselor, please follow the link below to learn more and sign up. The counselor registration deadline is Monday, February 22.

March 2021 MB@Home Counselor Registration Form (https://forms.gle/TsvZK1PuFhnQTay88)

Feel free to share these links with your Scouting and professional colleagues.

Camp Snyder Scouts BSA Merit Badge Week Is Coming!

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Join us at Camp Snyder for the FIRST EVER MERIT BADGE week for Scouts BSA for the week July 18 – 24, 2021!

We will offer a wide range of Trail-to-Eagle and Outdoor Merit Badges (like Cooking, Swimming, Soil and Water Conservation, First Aid, Archery, Rifle Shooting, Geocaching and more) and Specialty Merit Badges (like Woodworking, Aviation, Search and Rescue, Photography, Weather, Archeology and more). Classes will be small (10 scouts maximum) and up to 50 Merit Badges will be offered.

There are two ways to participate. Individual Scouts or Units can:

  1. stay at Camp Snyder all week and camp overnight or
  2. be a day-only participant while staying overnight at home.

The entire program, to include dining, camping, merit badge classes and fun activities (like the swimming pool, climbing tower, air rifles, craftwork and campfires) will be conducted using strict COVID-19 virus precautions.

Sign up now at https://www.gotosnyder.org/summer-camp/specialty-week/ to RESERVE YOUR PLACE, since the number of participants will be LIMITED to 100 campers and 50 day-only participants. Units can sign up one adult leader for FREE for every 5 paying Scouts. Sign-up for specific Merit Badges classes will be later, during Spring 2021 once the class schedule is finalized!

Sibling Eagle Scouts from Troop 1131 Earn All 137 BSA Merit Badges

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Pablo and Gabriel Sejas-Fernandez, brothers and Eagle Scouts in Troop 1131, have earned all 137 merit badge currently offered by the Boy Scouts of America (BSA), an accomplishment achieved by only about 450 scouts in the 110-year history of the Boy Scouts. Troop 1131 is sponsored by St. Stephen’s United Methodist Church, in Burke, Virginia, and is part of the Patriot District of the National Capital Area Council, BSA. The boys’ inspiration to earn all the merit badges came early in their Scouting career when Pablo and Gabriel learned about an older Scout who had accomplished the feat. So, after several years of hard work, Pablo and Gabriel accomplished their goal. A small ceremony to celebrate their achievement was held on October 18, 2020, when they received the last merit badge they needed, Backpacking.

Pablo Sejas-Fernandez is a Senior at Lake Braddock H.S. in Fairfax County, Virginia. He joined Scouting in September 2014 and became an Eagle Scout on April 2, 2019. His Eagle Scout project was restoring the Indian Spring Community sign, removing the massive overgrowth, and landscaping the public area around the entry sign. Pablo’s leadership positions have included Senior Patrol Leader, Assistant Senior Patrol Leader, Patrol Leader, Bugler, Den Chief, and Troop Order of the Arrow Representative. His accomplishment includes earning the Ad Altare Dei Award in 2016, the Servus Dei Award in 2018, Service to Youth Outstanding Leadership in 2019, and the Pope Pius XII Award in 2020. He has over 150 days camping, earning the Alben Struble Award for Perfect Camping in 2016 and 2017, as a member of his earlier Troop 61 in the National Capital Area Council. He also has over 140 miles backpacking and hiking experience to his credit. Pablo attended the Kandersteg International Scout Center, in Switzerland in 2016, the National Order of the Arrow Conference in 2018, and the 2019 World Scout Jamboree at the Summit in West Virginia.

Gabriel Sejas-Fernandez is a Sophomore at Lake Braddock H.S. Gabriel earned the Arrow of Light as a Cub Scout and bridged over to Boy Scouts in September 2016. He earned the rank of Eagle Scout on October 18, 2020, at the same time he earned the last merit badge he needed, Backpacking. His Eagle Scout project was a landscaping project similar to Pablo’s. He cleaned up and removed abundant weeds and overgrowth. The planted 80 individual native Virginia species alongside the newly paved sidewalk at Hidden Oaks Nature Center, in Annandale, Virginia. Gabriel’s leadership positions have included Assistant Senior Patrol Leader, Patrol Leader, Troop Guide, and Bugler. Gabriel earned the Servus Dei Award in 2018, Service to Youth Award in 2019, and the Ad Altare Dei Award in 2020. He also has over 150 days camping, earning the Alben Struble Award for Perfect Camping in 2017 as a member of his earlier Troop 61. He also has over 140 miles backpacking and hiking. Gabriel attended the National Order of the Arrow Conference in 2018, and the 2019 World Scout Jamboree Jamboree at the Summit in West Virginia.