Almost 300 Boy Scouts, volunteers leave no trace at MSC Southeast following Merit Badge Fair

When students and staff came to school on Monday, October 1, it was business as usual at the Minnesota State College Southeast Winona campus. If you hadn't been there on Saturday, you would never have guessed that 235 Scouts plus 50 adult volunteers had invaded the campus on Saturday, September 29!

On September 29, Boy Scouts came to MSC Southeast from all over Southeast Minnesota -- from as far away as Rochester and Red Wing as well as nearby Wisconsin towns. 

They were there to attend the Sugar Loaf Boy Scout Merit Badge Fair. This is the fourth year running the Minnesota State College Southeast has hosted the event.

Merit badges are awards based on a specific area of hands-on experience and study. The purpose of the merit badge program is to allow Scouts to examine subjects to determine if they would like to further pursue them as a career or vocation. 

The current requirements for Eagle Scout, the highest rank in Boy Scouting, involve earning at least 21 merit badges.

300 Merit Badges Achieved

At this year's Merit Badge Fair, 24 different merit badge classes were offered, and by the end of the day, 300 badges had been achieved!

Minnesota State College Southeast college instructors volunteered their time to spend the day working with the Scouts on badges in Automotive Maintenance, Chemistry, CAD Drafting, Electronics/Electricity, Salesmanship, Truck Driving, and Welding.

"It was a wild day, but it was really successful," said David Echelard (MSCS faculty), who helped organize the event along with Kelly Kluver (MSCS maintenance department). "It was amazing to see such great turnout for the event on our campus."

Kelly Kluver noted that there was a lot of community support for the event. "We appreciate assistance from Winona Chrysler, PlastiComp, Fastenal, Steak Shop Catering and many others organizations in the community for helping make the Merit Badge Fair a success."

"This is a great way to connect the college with the area and do some volunteering for a very worthy cause," stated Larry Lundblad, interim president on Minnesota State College Southeast.

Photos:
Top - Opening Flag Ceremony
Middle - Roger Holland works with Scouts on CNC Machine Tool
Bottom - David Echelard and Kelly Kluver

Check out the Facebook Photo Gallery: 
https://www.facebook.com/pg/MSCSoutheast/photos/?tab=album&album_id=10155619104631078