Two southcentral Pennsylvania teens - Benjamin LaVerdiere and Sarah LaVerdiere - recently made history as members of Troop 262, which is sponsored by St. John's United Methodist Church (UMC), Grantville.
On May 8, Ben, an Eagle Scout, completed the requirements for the Oceanography merit badge. With its completion, Ben has now earned all 138 merit badges offered by Boy Scouts of America (BSA). Since its inception in 1910, fewer than 500 Scouts have earned every merit badge.
Very early in his Scouting career, Ben set the goal of attaining all the merit badges. He has earned merit badges at Scouts BSA summer camps, at local merit badge college events, and during activities with his troop, as well as on his own initiative. Ben has continued his studies begun with several merit badges - First Aid, Medicine, and Emergency Preparedness - and has completed the national certification requirements to serve as an emergency medical technician.
In addition to his troop activities, Ben has served as the secretary and the chief for the Sasquesahanough Lodge of the Order of the Arrow, the Scouts BSA national honor camping society. He has also served as a BSA summer camp counselor. Ben is currently a junior assistant Scoutmaster with Troop 262.
Sarah will be a part of the BSA's inaugural class of female Eagle Scouts. She became part of the Scouts program on Feb. 1, 2019, when the BSA was expanded to allow for the participation of female Scouts. Her interest in the program was stirred by watching her two older brothers participate in Scouting and earn the rank of Eagle Scout.
The rank of Eagle Scout, the highest rank in the BSA program, requires a Scout to earn 21 merit badges, 13 of which are specified by the program. Scouts can earn merit badges from age 11 until their 18th birthday. To date, Sarah has earned a total of 53 merit badges, 32 beyond the number required to earn the Eagle Scout Award.
The capstone requirement for earning the Eagle Scout Award is the planning, organization, and supervision of the implementation of a major service project. Her service project was the replacement of a deck at St. John's UMC. She led other Scouts in removing a decaying wooden outdoor deck and replacing it with a more maintenance-free structure.
In addition to her rank advancement efforts, Sarah has participated with her troop in a variety of hiking and camping activities, area-wide Camporees, a sailing and snorkeling opportunity in the Bahamas at the BSA National High Adventure Sea Base, and an Okpik cold weather camping and adventure program in Maine. She has attended a National Youth Leadership Training program and has served her troop as a patrol leader and, currently, as the senior patrol leader.
Troop 262 is part of the Keystone Capital District of the New Birth of Freedom Council. For more information about Scouting in the greater Harrisburg area, visit http://www.newbirthoffreedom.org.
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