Of the 110 million boys who have participated in scouts, only about 250 have earned all of the possible badges awarded by the organization. The most recent youth to do so hails from Troop 200 in Nixa. KSMU’s Anna Thomas reports how this Eagle Scout earned all 139 badges.
17-year old Baron Ryan took about five years to earn all the badges from chemistry and movie making to scuba diving and pottery.
“We have a need to grow in ourselves, and in our community, and I don’t think it’s all to myself, all that I’ve done here. I like to think that I’ve inspired some boys or that I’ve set a standard,” Ryan said.
His favorite badge is American Business.
“I started a coupon business where I sold coupon ad space to businesses in the Boston area, and it was successful,” Ryans said.
Scott Rhodes is the scout master of troop 200.
“Scouts is all about setting individual goals, small goals and achieving those. He’s quite an inspiration to the younger boys too,” Rhodes said.
While Ryan has finished his Eagle Scout project, his time with the organization continues. He is attending Harvard next fall to study behavioral economics. Ryan says he wants to become an ambassador and is already working on a book for schools.
“I hope I just live the ideals of scouting, all that I’ve learned with these merit badges, with my troop,” Ryan said.
Rhodes says it’s hard for boys to stay involved at this age, but he thinks Ryan will always have a passion for traditional scouting activities like camping.
“Here’s almost an 18-year old that still wants to go camping every chance he gets. He really just loves being out there and camping, and that’s really exciting too,” Rhodes said.
Ryan adds that he’s proud to be a part of the Ozark Trails Council system, calling it the finest in all of American scouting.