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DRAPER — A 17-year-old earned his final Boy Scouts of America merit badge Sunday after setting a goal four years earlier to earn all 138 badges.
Draper resident Greg Memmott set his goal when he was 13 years old to earn every merit badge. He said one of his neighbors had accomplished the rare feat and it inspired him to go after the lofty goal. He received his Eagle Scout award when he was 14 and then went on to receive nine Eagle Palms during his quest to earn all the merit badges.
Over the four-year period, Memmott said on average, he spent around six hours a week working on requirements for each badge. The dedicated Boy Scout said he did most of the big projects and certification during the summer when he had more time.
“I separated them based on how difficult they were,” Memmott said. “Over the summer, I did the longer ones versus when I only had a couple of hours, I would work on the shorter ones.”
Memmott said his merit badges ranged from learning about the Scouting heritage and land surveying to more time-consuming projects like certifying for scuba diving and taking care of a neighbor’s dog for two months.
“I like the scuba one mostly because it was a new experience,” Memmott said. “Just something I’ve never tried before and I think it was awesome to be able to go diving in the crater and to be able to learn how to do that.”
Memmott also had the chance to improve his marksmanship with the archery, rifle and shotgun shooting merit badges. He had to hit 24 out of 50 clay pigeons for the shotgun badge requirements.
Memmott was awarded his last eight merit badges during a BSA Court of Honor on Sunday. While the BSA does not have an award for earning every merit badge, Memmott’s parents made a plaque for him and gave it to him during the banquet.
“It’s kind of an interesting feeling because it’s something I’ve been working on for so long and now it’s over,” Memmott said. “But it feels great to know that I’ve accomplished something that I thought was impossible, at least when I started.”
The feat is so rare that the BSA does not keep a formal record of the number of boys who have earned all the badges, according to ABC News.
