EMSL’s Chief Science Officer Awarded Top Eagle Scout Honor
Justin Teeguarden joins an American president, three astronauts on recipient list
Justin Teeguarden, the Chief Science Officer for the Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory and a Pacific Northwest National Laboratory Fellow, has received the Distinguished Eagle Scout Award—the highest honor given to Eagle Scouts with more than 25 years of service since earning the rank. (Photo by Andrea Starr | Pacific Northwest National Laboratory)
Justin Teeguarden, the Chief Science Officer for the Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory (EMSL), has been awarded the National Eagle Scout Association’s Distinguished Eagle Scout Award (DESA)—the highest honor awarded to Eagle Scouts with at least 25 years of service since earning their Eagle Scout rank.
Teeguarden, a Pacific Northwest National Laboratory Fellow, referred to the award as one of the “greatest and most humbling honors” of his life.
“I am humbled every time I think of the award and inspired when I think of the exceptional youth I work for in the program,” said Teeguarden.
The DESA, which was created in 1969, has been awarded to about 2,000 Eagle Scouts, which is less than 0.1% of all Eagle Scouts. Awardees have included President Gerald Ford and three astronauts who traveled to the moon—Neil Armstrong, Jim Lovell, and Charles Duke.
Teeguarden has been involved with scouting since he was nine years old. He remained involved throughout his teenage years and earned his Eagle Scout Award in 1985. Over the past 47 years, he has served as Cubmaster and Scoutmaster and is currently the vice president for strategy for the Blue Mountain Council in Eastern Washington.
As a Scout leader, Teeguarden developed skills that helped him as a father of three sons, also Eagle Scouts, and as a leader in his scientific career.
“Scouting taught me invaluable lessons about problem solving and leadership: Use the whole team, be creative, find and utilize the strengths of each individual, embrace the best ideas,” said Teeguarden.