Troop Lost MB Blue Cards

[RedFlyer]

We have a situation in our troop where a boy turned his blue cards for several merit badges to our Advancement Chair and they have been lost. He handed them over during a camping trip, so that may have had something to do with it. It has now been about six months since this occurred and the boy has finally spoken up about the issue. It seems to me that the solution is simply to award him his merit badges without the blue cards, but I'm wondering if we should reissue him his lost blue cards so that he (and the Troop) have a record.

[Nike]

Do you have any record anywhere of the Blue Cards being issued and who the MBCs were? If so, you could issue him new Blue Cards, have him go back to the MBC, sit down and go back over any work to affirm what requirements were met and how, and then turn in the Blue Cards once again.

 

If you have no paper trail whatsoever, no notes or even a registration at camp or a merit badge day, then you're in the position of really having to believe that a Scout is Trustworthy. Or not.

[Buffalo Skipper]

Have you spoken to the counselors for these badges? The counselors should sign and remove their portion and retain for their own records.

 

Most of our local counselors keep records for a year or more.

[dg98adams]

This should be easy.

 

Assuming the MB cards were complete, otherwise why hand them in?

 

If the MB cards were complete and signed then it's a simple issue to get the MBC to "resign" a new card. The MBC should have the "MBC copy (1/3rd portion) anyway with date info on it. If the MBC contact info is needed the council should have them on a list they maintain. If not, then they were not approved ....

 

Besides Merit Badges aren't "awarded" they are earned when the MBC signs them.

[evry]

As stated by others, the MB counselor should have his portion of the blue card. Reissue the blue cards and the Counselor should write across the requriements table "COMPLETED". Then he should not the date that the merit badge was signed off from his portion and enter that date on the new blue cards.

 

[evry]

sorry...above message should say "he should note the date...."

[RedFlyer]

They are indeed "earned," we just have not "awarded" him his badges.

 

In any case, the point about the counselor having record of the merit badge is well taken. In fact, I'm slapping my forehead and saying, "duh..." Why no one aware of the situation thought of that is kind of funny. I'll suggest to the boy that he call his counselors for a reissue of the badges. Thanks.

[packsaddle]

Hopefully that will solve the problem. We've confronted this in the past as well. Sadly, even the boys who have 'earned' the Personal Management MB are known to lose/forget/misplace important documents. Now if we could just get the council not to lose/forget/misplace records.

[bacchus]

In a perfect world the counselor removed his 1/3 of the card, and the scout removed his 1/3 at the same time - right before he gave the advancement chair the troop's portion. So the scout may not even have to track down the counselors.

However, I realize we do not live in a perfect world.

[moosetracker]

Bacchus - our troop takes both the scouts and the council portions of the blue card. We were in 3 troops, all 3 did it the same way. One part went to council, the other part was returned to the scout with the Merit badge during the COH.

 

It was priceless, the first time my young son had to turn over his first blue card. The first day in the troop they really scared him about if he lost a blue card he would have to repeat the course. Well once he earned the blue card he fought giving it up and trusting someone else with it. They promised if they lost it before it was returned to him, they would make it right.

 

Our other troops made sure that scouts who lost blue cards got credit for them one way or another. Normally the loss was that council did not record it. We kept good records of what was turned into council.

[Gary_Miller]

moosetracker "Bacchus - our troop takes both the scouts and the council portions of the blue card. We were in 3 troops, all 3 did it the same way. One part went to council, the other part was returned to the scout with the Merit badge during the COH."

 

Since when did council get any portion of the MB blue Card. All that is required for council is an Advancement Form. The MB Blue Card is distributed one part counselor's record, one part Unit's record, and one part Scout's record.

 

No scout should ever be made to give up his portion of the record. The MB Blue Card is his proof of earning the MB.

 

At the COH the scout should receive the MB patch and a certificate.

 

[moosetracker]

Our council had "just" changed due to the change of doing the posting of advancement & meritbadge on line by the troop. our parts state the same as yours do. 1)unit 2) scout 3) counsilor.

But, until the change to on-line. the blue cards had to be stapled to the advancement forms, or counsil did not honor it. Didn't seem like they saved it. If we had problems with the counsil not recording something right, they could pull the advancement form from a file cabinet, but the blue cards were history.

 

Our troop now still takes the two parts. The scouts portion is returned to him at the COH with the merit badge and some white/green card with the Name of the scout & the meritbadge on it.

True, as long as we are using the card with the scout/name, MB.. Why do we need the scouts portion of the blue card? Answer. I don't know, I was never a part of the Advancement portion of the troop.. It is, what it is, what it is.

[nolesrule]

Why are merit badge patches only being given out at a Court of Honor?

[Eagle92]

good question, don't know.

 

I do know that growing up, ALL advancement, rank, skill awards, and MBs were given out only at the quarterly CoH. Only exception was when you were invested in the troop, then you received Scout as well as the unit's necker, woggle, and totem.

[moosetracker]

What do you hold off to award at COH? We try to get them their rank patch as soon as they earn it. Then just give them the card & recognition at a COH. That way they can wear it on their uniforms, and feel they can officially start working toward the next rank. Holding that off somehow signals the boy he is not official, regardless of what you say.

 

But merit badge patches and Camporee patches and the like are held off till the COH. Otherwise, they are being awarded nothing at COH, but blank cards. they don't need to feel that an MB is completed before they can earn the next MB. Our troop only wear the sash to parades and COH's. So the MB isn't on their uniform during a COH, they are presented it at the COH.

 

Even the rank patch doesn't work so well trying to give it out when they earn it, because the scouts only seem to push to completion when they know a COH is just a week or two away. Our scouts for some reason need to have that last minute push. 1 or 2 months away, is plenty of time to work on it when you get around to it.