- Miles Lamb, a Fremont High senior, earned all 141 merit badges offered in Scouting America.
- Only 644 scouts have completed the feat of perhaps 130 million kids who have participated in scouting over the years.
- Lamb, also an Eagle Scout, balanced his efforts securing merit badge master status with schoolwork and extracurricular activities.
PLAIN CITY, Weber County — Miles Lamb is in rarefied company.
The Fremont High School senior and member of Scouting America's Troop 724 in Utah earned all 141 merit badges offered by the group, formerly called Boy Scouts of America, joining an elite group.
According to MeritBadgeKnot.com, a website created to honor merit badge masters or those who complete the requirements to earn all merit badges offered, only 644 Scouts have achieved the status. That's out of perhaps 130 million kids who have taken part in scouting since its inception, the group estimates.
"The people who do it are few and far between," said Lamb, whose troop is based in Plain City. He's also an Eagle Scout, like his father, grandfather and two uncles, which is the top rank in scouting, requiring completion of 21 merit badges.
Lamb's troop issued a press release on the achievement, saying the teen spent thousands of hours over six years to complete the requirements to earn the 141 merit badges. The varied focuses of the badges run the gamut, from cooking, welding, animation, plumbing and stamp collecting to engineering, public speaking, kayaking, first aid and backpacking.
"Miles' achievement places him among an elite group of Scouts nationwide and serves as a milestone not just for Troop 724, but for the broader scouting community in northern Utah," reads the statement.
Lamb seized on the idea of securing all 141 merit badges as a Cub Scout, having earned the varied honors offered in that program, geared to younger kids. "It was a lofty goal I set as a young kid," he said.
He had already secured Eagle Scout status — as well as Utah Sons of the American Revolution Eagle Scout of the Year recognition in 2023 — when he completed his 141st badge late last year. The backpacking badge was particularly challenging.
"Backpacking was a really difficult merit badge but gave me a lot of great memories with my dad and some of the things we were able to do together," he said.
Earning the varied badges requires a mix of study and/or physical activity and some of the information he's gleaned will come in handy going forward.
"Some of it will only be helpful if I go on Jeopardy one day," he joked, referencing the TV game show.
All in all, though, scouting and the process of earning the varied badges has been worth it. It's been a balancing act as he's also juggled schoolwork and extracurricular activities at Fremont High, including participation on the school's tennis team and in its marching band as a trumpeter.
"You learn so much through all of it. It's such a worthwhile program," Lamb said.
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Tim Vandenack
