Monmouth College will be hosting more than 400 Boy Scouts from Illinois and Iowa on Saturday for a day-long Merit Badge University. It’s the 8th year that the college has hosted the Boy Scouts of America’s annual conference for boys working toward their Eagle Scout rank by earning merit badges. Many of the activities will be held in the College’s Center for Science and Business, and others will be held throughout the community. There will also be educational programs at the conference for adults in attendance: like required training for scoutmasters. Attendance at the conference has doubled since 2012. Kathy Mainz is a Lab Manager and College for Kids Coordinator for Monmouth College. In a press release, Mainz said, “We are now doing lots more marketing, including the Quincy, Peoria and Cedar Rapids areas. Scouts are drawn to our program because of some of the unusual badges we offer, such as ag mechanics, auto mechanics and plumbing.” The Monmouth conference offers 35 of the 138 possible merit badges – some attendees are able to earn two badges. Business partners assisting with the conference include the Monmouth Police Department, the Monmouth Fire Department, the Galesburg Railroad Museum, the McDonough Public Health Dept. and Roseville Veterinary Service. Accompanying the scouts to campus this year will be 170 adult scouts and nearly 70 volunteers.
