Eighteen-year-old John Hayes was celebrated during a Scouting America Court of Honor ceremony last week after earning every merit badge available during seven years of Scouting.
The Lake Ozark resident has now aged out of the program, but was a member of Troop 21 in Missouri’s Great Rivers Council, where he accomplished the rare feat — he achieved all 140 badges that were available during his time as a Scout.
Nearly 100 people gathered at the Four Seasons Activity Center in Lake Ozark — fellow Scouts, Scout leaders and Hayes’ friends and family all came together for the special occasion.
A color guard called the room to attention and marched in, holding the American and Lake Ozark flags. Then, master of ceremonies and longtime family friend John Detzel stood before the room and spoke about the importance of the Scout Law as he read from an insert from a 1965 Scout handbook.
“A Scout is trustworthy … if he were to violate his honor by telling a lie or cheating or not doing exactly a given task. When trusted, on his honor, he may be directed to hand over his scout badge,” Detzel said.
Young people involved in Scouting earn badges for gaining skills in such areas as fishing, music and even nuclear science. Hayes, wearing a tan-and-green Scout uniform with a sash covered in hard-earned badges, recalled his favorite one.
“Climbing was my favorite one,” Hayes said. “At the Lake Ozark Sky Reservation, (I did it) like seven to 10 times, somewhere around there, (and) just kept going back to do it. I loved it so much.” He said his least favorite merit badge was for writing.
Hayes was 11 years old and a fairly new member of Troop 21 when he earned his first merit badge, for space exploration. Over several years, he’s also won several prestigious awards, including the Congressional Award, the highest accolade the U.S. Congress can bestow on a youth.
But he’s not the only Scout in Missouri who has recently achieved all the merit badges. Brandon Barrett, a St. Louis-area Eagle Scout, also recently gained 141 badges after a new one was added last year. And although he was a member of the Lake Ozark troop, several of Hayes’ merit badges were gained through STEM programs in the Greater St. Louis Area Council.
The number of merit badges has grown over the years, from just 14 in the early 1900s when Scouting began to more than 100 by the time Hayes began collecting them.
Now that his time as a Scout is over, Hayes is looking forward. He made a career decision last year after obtaining his student pilot license. He said he wants to be a professional pilot just like his grandfather Robert Avery, who is an aviation Merit Badge counselor.
Once Hayes gets his private license, he’ll be the second person in his family to become a pilot, next to his grandfather.
“On his first solo flight when he landed in Jefferson City, Missouri, I was there to taxi him in and park him with my hand signals and all, uh, watching him shut down the airplane for the first time,” Avery said.
His mom smiled as she reflected on all the fun adventures.
“The road trips, having him going off with his troop and coming back completely filthy dirty and unpacking his gear worn out with a huge smile on his face,” Amanda Hayes said. “Then there’s a part of me that’s sad because our journey’s over, but I know he’s starting a brand new journey in life.”
After last week’s ceremony came to a close, Hayes offered a piece of advice to younger Scouts.
“Keep pushing yourself, try harder and harder at things,” Hayes said. “It's good to fail … because when you fail, you learn … and be a good person. I’m sad that it’s all over, but I mean, it’s good to have it done.”
