FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 26, 2026
For more information:
Alison Harrison, Marketing and Communications Director
James Parnell, Scout Executive
Chesapeake, Va. – Sarah C. Nimmo, an Eagle Scout from Troop 5259 in Chesapeake, has been awarded the National Certificate of Merit by Scouting America. This meritorious action award recognizes a youth member or adult leader who has performed a significant act of service that deserves special national recognition.
Nimmo, then aged 14, was riding horses with two friends at a horse farm in Chesapeake in March 2025. One of her friends was loping her horse across a field when her saddle became loose, and she fell. Sarah waited to see whether her injured friend would get back on her horse. But she did not. She started screaming instead.
Sarah was worried that her own horse would become nervous if she rode over to her injured friend, but she was too far away to walk. She arrived, steadied her horse, and handed the reins to her other friend. As Sarah began to administer first aid, she saw that her injured friend’s arm had been completely broken. Her friend soon began to exhibit symptoms of shock, including pale skin, heavy breathing, and shaking.
Sarah calmed her down, gently asked where she was hurt, and positioned her in the shock recovery position. Sarah also instructed her friend on how to immobilize her arm. Soon, an adult known to the girls came over and called 911. While the adult stayed with the injured girl, Sarah and her other friend got all three horses under control and led them away from the scene to the barn. When the paramedics arrived, Sarah explained what had happened and what she had done to assist her injured friend.
Scouting America Tidewater Council presented the National Certificate of Merit to Sarah C. Nimmo at its Council Recognition Banquet on April 29, 2026, at the Khedive Shrine Center in Chesapeake.
==
About Scouting America’s Lifesaving and Meritorious Awards
Scouting America’s Lifesaving and Meritorious Action Awards recognize registered youth and adults who have made an attempt to save a life or who have performed notable acts of service. The National Court of Honor considers resourcefulness and demonstrated skill in rescue methods. Scouting America can award three levels of Lifesaving Awards: Heroism Award, Honor Medal, and Honor Medal with Crossed Palms, and two levels of Meritorious Action Awards: Medal of Merit and National Certificate of Merit.
About Scouting America Tidewater Council
Established in 1911, Tidewater Council is the fifth oldest Scouting America council in the United States. Today, the council serves approximately 4,000 youth and 1,700 adult volunteers in the Virginia cities of Chesapeake, Norfolk, Portsmouth, and Virginia Beach, and the North Carolina counties of Camden, Chowan, Currituck, Dare, Gates, Pasquotank, and Perquimans. To learn more about Tidewater Council or to sign your child up for Scouting, visit TidewaterBSA.com, email [email protected], or call 757-497-2688.
About Scouting America
Scouting America provides the nation’s foremost youth program of character development and values-based leadership training, which helps young people be “Prepared. For Life.®”
Scouting America welcomes all of America’s youth into its programs. Scouting aims to give them fantastic experiences in the outdoors, and elsewhere, where they can grow in a safe environment. More than 130 million Americans have participated in Scouting’s programs since its founding. Today, almost one million youth are served by 500,000 adult volunteers in local councils throughout the country.
To learn more about Scouting America’s mission, or to sign your child up for Scouting, visit BeAScout.org.
###