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Rose Hill Boy Scout earns most merit badges possible

by Pilar Pedraza

KWCH 12 Eyewitness News

8:41 PM CST, January 2, 2013

(ROSE HILL, Kan.)

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A Rose Hill Eagle Scout is now a member of an even more elite group of Boy Scouts.  He's one of fewer than 200 scouts nationwide to have earned all the merit badges possible while he was a scout.

In Jeremy Ebert's case that's 134 badges.  So many they won't all fit on his sash.

The Scouts don't award merit badges to anyone over 18-years-old.  That presented a challenge to Ebert who only had 30 merit badges by the time he was fifteen.

He was inspired to complete the quest by a special presentation from fellow Eagle Scout Mike Rowe, of Dirty Jobs fame.  Now Ebert hopes to pass that passion on.

"The purpose of me doing all this, was mainly to incite others to either follow in my footsteps or get a little more excited about scouting as a whole," said Ebert.

The number of badges a Scout can earn varies by year as the national council retires old merit badges and introduces new ones.  But that constantly changing total was part of the challenge for Ebert.  And he says it's a lesson for life.

"Be prepared for just about anything.  You never know what life's going to throw at you.  You might as well get ready for it," Ebert said.

Originally Ebert and his Scout Master thought he was the first Kansan to complete the challenge.  But they've since learned another young man from western Kansas may have beaten him to that honor.

In addition, a young man from Wichita is within a handful of badges of joining this elite group.

Rose Hill Boy Scout earns most merit badges possible