Scouting America honors Weber State alum, Paralympics champion David Blair with rare award
The three-time Paralympian and Davis High alum recieved the organization's Distinguished Eagle Scout Award on Friday
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- David Blair, left, and Calvin Carlson, right, pictured during Blair’s Distinguished Eagle Scout Award ceremony on Friday, April 10, 2026, at Weber State University in Ogden.
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- David Blair poses with his Distinguished Eagle Scout Award ceremony on Friday, April 10, 2026, at Weber State University in Ogden.
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- David Blair, left, and Calvin Carlson, right, pictured during Blair’s Distinguished Eagle Scout Award ceremony on Friday, April 10, 2026, at Weber State University in Ogden.
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- David Blair, left, and Calvin Carlson, right, pictured during Blair’s Distinguished Eagle Scout Award ceremony on Friday, April 10, 2026, at Weber State University in Ogden.
OGDEN — As a two-time Paralympic medalist, David Blair has overcome the odds a couple times in three trips across the globe.
On Friday, though, the Weber State alum added an especially meaningful piece of hardware to his collection. Blair is the latest recipient of Scouting America’s Distinguished Eagle Scout Award, an honor rarely administered by the 116-year-old organization and its leadership.
Blair, a former state discus champion at Davis High School in 1993, graduated from WSU in 1999 and found himself just a few meters shy of qualifying for the Olympic trials.
In 2012, Blair returned to training and later ended his 16-year absence from the sport by setting the world record of 64.11 meters for a gold medal at the 2016 Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. He’d capture a bronze in Paris in 2024 in his third time representing the U.S.
“This came as a total surprise to me,” Blair said of his award. “I found out later from family that I’d received the award, and they were trying to surprise me with it kind of here, so it was kind of neat. It’s a great thing and I think (scouting) is a really good thing for boys and girls.
“As a father to all daughters, I couldn’t get them to Eagle Scout and now they can. I think it’s the greatest thing.”
Of the 2.7 million Eagle Scouts out there, only 2,000 are estimated to have earned the “distinguished” honor, according to The National Eagle Scout Association. Blair finds himself in an exclusive club as a Paralympian.
The ceremony, which preceded Weber State’s home track meet on Friday at the Chick Hislop Outdoor Track Facility, included representatives of the Crossroads of the West Council, which represents Utah, Southeastern Idaho, and Western Wyoming.
Among the scoutmasters present was Blair’s very own, Calvin “Cal” Carlson, a retired engineer and former scoutmaster from Kaysville.
“It’s really special,” Carlson said. “I’ve had a couple of scouts that go – you just never know at the time – but Dave was always a special kid. I think it sets a great example, and that sets some good, grassroots values in his life.”
In recent years, though, scouting finds itself on the rocks.
Scouting America, then still known as The Boy Scouts of America, has reportedly lost more than half its membership, according to an evaluation by The New York Times. The organization first admitted female scouts in 2018 and has since adopted a co-ed approach.
A father of four daughters, Blair said his goal, as a 20-year scoutmaster near Eagle Mountain in Utah County, is to extend scouting opportunities to everyone. His example, Blair said, is built on the scouting before him and without them, those stories could soon flame out.
“Scouting was a big part of my life growing up,” Blair said. “I’m telling you I had so many positive experiences with (Carlson), and then for 20 years, I was a scoutmaster. I took everything Cal did, and I built on that.”
Connect with prep sports reporter Conner Becker via email at cbecker@standard.net and X @ctbecker.
