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Status of Historical Merit Badges


CaveEagle

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Not to contradict, but prehaps the "hold" may be on the local level. Everything I have heard from my end says this has been "on" since the get go. To say it is on hold would be somewhat akin to putting "Eagles on hold" pending a discussion about the new leadership positions now offered.

 

Our local leaders have already begun recruiting MBCs and we have the "go" to issue scouts Blue Cards. And Troopmaster just posted an update which now includes these MBs. Though TM is not "official," it is my observation that they operate only with related official program.

 

Just my 2.

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The hold is on the National level -

 

From Scouting Magazine on Facebook -

 

Scouting magazine - We just spoke to the team leader in charge of the historical merit badges. The group is finalizing some requirements and will go live with the special Web site soon. They're planning to include scans from the original merit badge pamphlets with each historical merit badge. These scans will be annotated with explanatory call-out boxes to explain the early-20th-century terminology to modern-day Scouts.

February 3 at 4:07pm

 

 

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It is very definitely disappointing to see the level of disorganization in rolling this out. National doesn't even have any official statement on their web site - in any direction. I believe that I'll stick with the notice in ScoutingMagazine and assume that the program is going to roll out as planned. The requirements were already posted, so I say the heck with the "Go!" "No, wait, stop! ... but just for a little while, then we'll tell you to 'Go!' again."

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I guess the reorganization of the National office was not as well thought out as it should have been. You don't announce a new program, publish articles promoting it, and then say oops we goofed and need to rethink it putting it on indefinite hold. Then again our new CSE was a history major not a business major and never held a job outside of the BSA so what do you expect.

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I just got word from our local DE, and the merit badges are a go at our local level. He says that until all the electronic stuff is up to speed, just print out blank advancement forms, write it in, and he'll make sure it goes through where and how it needs to.

 

And no, you can't have our DE for your very own. :)

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Latest update from Scouting Magazine's Facebook page as of an hour ago:

 

"Rumors that the BSA's historical merit badge program is being canceled are not true. Officials in charge of the program want to make sure all of the pieces and parts on the Web are ready before the rollout happens. Expected rollout is "any day now," we're told. We'll keep you posted."

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Glad to hear it isn't canceled outright. Still. We are 41 days into 2010 and they are giving us "any day now" for a program that is only good this calendar year? What, did they not know when the year was going to start or something? This is something that could easily have been put together months ago and put on the shelf, waiting for roll out on January 1.

 

Poor planning.

 

If it were entirely volunteers doing all this stuff, that would be one thing. But I was under the impression that "National" has a fairly sizable paid, professional staff running the show. Maybe I am mistaken?

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