McCallie Eagle Scout Earns All 144 Merit Badges
Edward F. Knight IV of Scouting America Troop 116 and soon to be graduate of the McCallie School has completed one of Scouting’s rarest records – earning all 144 merit badges.
Finishing every badge was not a goal from the start. After years of summer camps, high-
adventure trips, and taking advantage of other opportunities as they came, Edward realized he was within reach of this achievement and decided to finish them all for additional life experience.
Eagle Scout rank requires 21 merit badges, however, Edward’s Eagle Scout medal will carry eight silver palms: one for every additional 15 badges. These 144 badges fill more than two sashes and have spilled over onto a third. Scouting community records show just over 650 Eagle Scouts nationwide have ever earned all available merit badges in their respective era since 1910.
Edward has been on the Scouting trail since age 11 when he joined Troop 116 at Signal Crest United Methodist Church on Signal Mountain, Tennessee. Troop 116 is also proudly supported by Signal Mountain Lions Club. Edward became active in Venturing in 2022 and joined Sea Scouts in 2023. Both are older co-ed programs focused on high adventure and aquatics for youth ages 14 to 21 and open to Scouts or any teen looking for more challenges.
For his Eagle Scout project, Edward wrote a business plan with Blood Assurance to set up blood drives that other Scouts can run with regional blood banks. It is a model meant to save lives and put Scouts in service to others. He organized two blood drives and volunteered at several others while fleshing out his business plan. Sea Scout Ship 2556, “The Lookout”, plans to use his business plan each Spring.
In 2024, Edward earned the National Medal for Outdoor Achievement, the highest outdoor award a Scout, Sea Scout, or Venturer may earn. This award required proven skill across several disciplines: camping, aquatics, hiking, and related high-adventure experiences. Edward has logged about 280 camping nights, with nearly a thousand miles on foot and well over 500 miles on the water.
Edward also completed the Grand Slam of National High Adventure at all four national bases:
Philmont Scout Ranch (backpacking); Northern Tier (summer canoeing and winter dogsledding); Florida Sea Base (deep-sea fishing and STEM); and the Summit Bechtel Reserve (whitewater, mountain biking, zip lining, BMX, shooting sports, etc). He has attended 12 summer camps in Georgia, Tennessee, North Carolina, Montana, Idaho, Oregon, and Wyoming. He has hiked the Teton Crest Trail in Wyoming and rafted the Middle Fork of the Salmon in Idaho through Scouting high-adventure programs. After graduating from McCallie in spring 2027, he plans to return to Philmont for a 12-day trek. He will also take part in a two-week Canadian canoe trip in the Manitoba wilderness in July through Scouting.
Edward remains active in Sea Scout Ship 2556 and in Venturing Crew 2116. After graduating McCallie, he will likely take a gap year before attending college. During that year, he hopes to participate in an immersive Spanish program overseas, work at a salmon hatchery in Idaho, and continue Sea Scout and Venturing opportunities, including leadership and nautical courses.
Edward’s advice to younger Scouts is short, “Don’t Eagle out, Eagle on.” He added, “If I can help people in even a small way, I may not be in the history books, but I will have made an impact and that means more to me.”
Tim Jackson, proud Scoutmaster speaks highly of Edward and his achievement. He said,
“It’s always an exciting time when one of your Scouts submits their Eagle Scout application, but when that youth has a résumé as impressive as Edward’s, it becomes a defining moment in your Troop’s history. Edward is the embodiment of the Scout Oath and Law, and his personal journey to reach this milestone is nothing short of extraordinary. His long list of achievements and awards tell only part of his story. The depth of this young man’s character is his true legacy. He has been and continues to be a friend and a mentor to his peers and younger Scouts. We are all extremely proud of Edward and eager to see what his future holds.”
