CHESTER — Boy Scouts of America Troop 1829, of Chester, recently hosted an Eagle Court of Honor for Scout Benson Weibell of Centreville. Benson is a 2023 graduate of Queen Anne’s County High School.
Benson joined the ranks of the elite 4% members of Scouts who persevered to meet all the longstanding requirements to earn the Eagle award. Those requirements include; earning a minimum of 21 merit badges, most of those “Eagle required badges” — completing leadership assignments within their troop, over time requirements, as they advance through Scouting ranks of “Tenderfoot. Second Class, First Class, Star, and Life, before venturing to complete the Eagle requirements.
Earning the Eagle rank also includes an “Eagle Scout Service Project” that the Scout must plan the details of, and orchestrate on his own. Benson’s Eagle Project was to photo-map all the grave sites within the Stevensville Cemetery, listing all the names of those interred there, and submitting that information to a national “Billion Graves app” to help people who are doing family history searches digitally nationwide.
Benson’s older brother, Tim, did the same project for the cemetery in Centreville a few years ago, to earn his Eagle. An Eagle Project must benefit the community in some way, and must be pre-approved by the local Scout Council before work on it can begin. “I learned from my Eagle Scout Project, nothing gets done on a project unless you push it forward,” Benson said.
The following are the merit badges Benson earned: Camping, Citizenship in the Community, Citizenship in the Nation, Citizenship in Society, Citizenship in the World, Communication, Cooking, Lifesaving, Environmental Science, First Aid, Swimming, Personal Management, Personal Fitness, Family Life, Archery, Kayaking, Reptile and Amphibian, Robotics, Music, Fishing, and Cycling. (designates Eagle required badges)
Of those, Benson said Cycling was the most challenging merit badge for him to earn. “In order to meet the number of miles required to earn the badge, we decided to bike the entire 180-miles of the C & O Canal, from Cumberland, Md. to Georgetown in Washington, D.C. The end of each of those biking days, that was the most physically exhausted I’ve ever been,” he said. The merit badge that was most fun, was Camping. “Camping provided my most positive memories from scouting,” said Benson.
Camping and hiking the Appalachian Trail in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, was Benson’s most memorable experience. “It was a very different experience — we hiked all-day, had to use small propane stoves, needed to use water filters, had to tie up bear bags, used small tents, dug our own latrines, etc.”
Benson is also a graduate of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Early Morning Seminary Program. Early Morning Seminary begins when a student enters high school in the ninth grade, and continues until they graduate as seniors. Each student attends class every morning, usually an hour before school, to read, study and discuss the holy scriptures.
Benson has since departed to Provo, Utah, to attended the Missionary Training Center there, to help prepare him to serve as a missionary where he will serve in the Tokyo, Japan Mission for the next two-years. Upon returning from his mission, he plans to go to college.
He is the son of proud parents, B.J. and Nancy Weibell, of Centreville.
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