An Eagle Scout overachiever

Jack Schubert, 16, is an overachiever. And if there was any doubt, he’s proved it by earning 92 merit badges, and setting his sights on earning all 138 merit badges by the time he turns 18.

The Grafton teenager received his Eagle Scout rank on Sunday at Riveredge Nature Center in the Town of Saukville.

Earning the rank of Eagle Scout, which requires 21 merit badges, is remarkable enough, being that only 8% of all Scouts earn that designation.

Earning all 138 merit badges would be more remarkable still. Only 520 Scouts have earned all the merit badges in the history of Eagle Scouting, which was established in 1911, according to the website www.meritbadgeknot.com, which tracks the achievement.

Jack said his mission to earn all merit badges began when he was a Cub Scout.

“They give out these gold and silver belt  loops and I earned a bunch but I didn’t get them right away,” he said. “When I got them, there were a lot of them. I thought that was pretty cool. That made me work to get more belt loops.”

He eventually got them all and, fittingly, won the appropriately named Overachiever Award that year.

He carried that drive on when he became a Scout.

“I wanted to get all the merit badges,” he said.

Besides his achievement as an Eagle Scout, Jack also owns his own snow removal and lawn care business, which he started when he was 13.

“My dad worked third shift and would sleep during the day and my mom was at work so my brother and I had a lot of time on our hands. One day I saw this Murray Flyer bike for sale for $75 that this guy was selling and I asked the owner if I could mow the lawn enough times to earn it,” he said.

Now he has12 lawn mowing and snow removal clients for his business, Aloha Landscape. Befitting the business name, he wears Hawaiian shirts while working.

“It’s like my uniform,” said Jack, who turned 16 on Jan. 15.

He employs his younger brother, Luke, 13, who has 35 merit badges and will probably earn his Eagle Scout ranking next year, their father Jim Schubert said.

Now with a driver’s license, Jack hopes to buy a 1960s-era Ford Econoline van to be his business vehicle.

Besides Scouting and his business, Jack, a sophomore at Living Word Lutheran High School in Jackson, is a member of the varsity football and golf teams.

His Eagle Scout project was to design and build picnic tables for an outdoor concession area at Living Word.

He also is a leader in National Youth Leadership Training, a Scout program that “integrates leadership theory with scouting to give participants leadership skills and confidence,” according to a press release.

And he still finds time to volunteer locally to Family Sharing, Goodwill Industries, Grafton Clean-up Days, helping with first-aid training and clearing snow from Grafton fire hydrants.

How does he do it all?

“He has good time management and communication skills,” Jim Schubert, said. “He lets his customers know about his schedule. He communicates really well. And he just has an awesome work ethic.”

He said the internet has helped Jack earn many of his merit badges and whenever the family went on vacation, Jack would find an opportunity to earn a merit badge.

Being an Eagle Scout runs in the family.

Jim was an Eagle Scout, as were his father and grandfather, both of whom have passed away.

Jack’s Eagle Scout ceremony on Sunday was attended by almost 40 people, he said, including his parents, Jim and Andrea, his grandmother, some of his customers, coaches, school leaders, scout leaders and other scouts.

Jack earning his Eagle Scout rank on Sunday “was a good feeling for our family,” his father said. “He’s a fourth generation Eagle Scout. We have not pushed him but we give him resources. He has learned skills and values that will help him set his compass straight.

“Hopefully, when he has children he can pass those on to them.”