When do you present leader awards?

[howarthe]

I'm writing to ask when other pack present leader awards. It seems to me that the blue and gold banquet would be ideal except that leaders have only been serving for nine months when a year is the required tenure, or the award is being presented nine months late. So maybe the may pack meeting is the best time? What do you do?

[Scoutfish]

Depends on the award.

 

Award knots are presented at the end of pack meetings when they are earned.

 

Pack unit awards are presented during B&G and at crossovers and year end rank graduation.

 

WE don't overshadow rthe scouts but do get the scouts involved by being the ones who present the actual awards to the leaders.

 

[Polaris]

We presented a knot at Blue and Gold and another at a Pack meeting.

 

The knot at the Pack meeting was a complete surprise to the leader. I gathered his den together and asked his son to present the knot and the other boys stood up and told a funny story or recalled a special activity. All of them said thank you for being the best den leader.....EVER. The leader was quite surprised and I could tell he was touched by the whole thing.

[Second Class]

Our leader knots are given out at the annual district banquet. Our yearly service pins are awarded at out summer COH. (Troop)

[shortridge]

I would just caution you to not make a huge production out of it. Call the DLs up, hand them their doodads, shake hands, and done in a few seconds, unless the boys want to be involved like Polaris' experience. Generally speaking, there's nothing more embarrassing than adults in a youth program making a big deal of themselves. Keep the focus on the kids, and it doesn't matter when you do it.

[SeattlePioneer]

For a while when I was Cubmaster, I made up my own awards for adult leaders who deserved recognition.

 

I sawed a segment out of a tree branch and inked in "Cub Scout Hero." I attached a good sized ribbon and a safety pin to the back.

 

I called adult honorees forward along with their boy, and had the Scout pin the award on their parent.

 

As an example, we had a mom who ran our popcorn sale for the first time, and did a nice job of it. She had three young children in the family and a husband serving in Afghanistan. As far as I'm concerned, no adult deserved recognition more.

 

I think the Scouts valued having their parents recognized, and the parents appreciated it because their children appreciated it. So I think recognizing adults CAN be worthwhile for a youth organization to do --- but no doubt it can be overdone.

[ScoutNut]

As others have said, it depends on the award.

 

Training knots, and special BSA adult awards (ie: Silver Beaver) are presented by council at the annual District Volunteer Dinner.

 

Adult religious awards are recognized at our Parish Scout Sunday worship service. The award itself is presented by the Archdiocese at a special area-wide ceremony. Adult religious square knot is presented at the next Troop COH, or Pack meeting, directly after Scout Sunday in February.

 

Adult thank you recognitions are handed out at the last Pack meeting, or Troop COH, of the school year at the end of May.

 

 

[BSA24]

It depends on the district and the council. Ours just hands the knots and certificates to the unit leader at round table to give out at their discretion. The district dinner is also an event we have, but almost no one attends it.

 

Many cub scout packs do not go through the council for their awards. They just buy knots at the scout shops and present them themselves. There are no real controls on the adult training awards, and district volunteers can sometimes be difficult to work with on it or drop the ball and turn them around too slowly to present them.

 

There are often disagreements about when to give them. Many cub units expect to give them at the end of the school year, even though the leaders were recruited in August or September.

 

Others get theirs at the annual district presentation ceremony at a dinner or something like that.

 

Attempts to "get control" of this always fail, because many leaders have multiple shirts, and they have to be able to purchase copies of their badges. This opens the door to purchasing originals. Trying to enforce proof that the award was earned is unworkable. Paperwork is lost, BSA records are unreliable, and angry people at the counter hurt morale.

[Papadaddy]

At Roundtable.

[Jeffrey H]

In our Council, adult award applications are turned in our District Executive. When the applications are approved, our DE will contact us to come pick up the awards at the council office or pick them up at the next Roundtable.

 

As soon as we receive the adult awards, our Pack will present them to the leaders at the next Pack Meeting. Blue and Gold is a good time to present but some of our Pack leaders earned their awards after Blue and Gold. Our philoshophy is to present as quickly as possible. Also, and I agree with shortridge, do not make a big production with the adults. Keep it simple and short - give words of sincere appreciation, a handshake and a smile, and move on.

 

[Basementdweller]

Why would the DE have anything to do with Adult knots????

 

I believe it falls to the responsibility of the the District Training Chair???

 

 

I attended a wood badge beading ceremony for a Patrol mate that took an hour and a half at a Troop COH, complete with a wood badge cake and punch.

The recipient was very embarrassed and had no idea what the presenter was doing until it happened.

[kari_cardi]

We've announced adult knots at pack meetings. We've also announced them at leadership meetings, among the people who understand the significance and lent their support to the award.

 

Like Basementdweller, I've been the victim of what I consider to be an inappropriate hijacking of my time for an adult award presentation. Mine was a Wood Badge ceremony at a CS twilight camp. Instead of skits and songs on Family Night, we watched as 4 adults danced around, sang songs, and gave weird little bobbles and neckerchiefs to two leaders. I was sure then that it was meaningful to the 6 people involved, but the other 300 of us were clueless as to why.

[Basementdweller]

got an email asking me why I attended a beading ceremony since I hate Woodbadge so much.....

 

 

Because I was asked to attend.....

 

 

If you don't understand that I feel sorry for you.

[kari_cardi]

I'm sorry, you missed my point.

 

If you can't understand that parents do not want to spend their time watching a Wood Badge beading ceremony at a CUB SCOUT event with no notice, background or context when they expected to see cute scouts performing skits, then I feel sorry for you, Basementdweller.

 

I have since been invited to beading ceremonies for friends, and was glad to attend. Though none lasted an hour even with snacks.