Have you ever heard of this award?

[SR540Beaver]

I'm a Chapter Adviser. A couple of nights ago, I got a call from an old time scouter. Says he used to be on the executive committee of the council as well as the Lodge Adviser. He has become active again to assist a troop that has "co-SM's" who were Eagle Scouts from the troop he was SM for years ago. He says they have pulled this dying troop back from the brink and he wants to do something to honor them. He seems to remember an OA award that was used to recognize SM's. He believes there was a patch, knot and certificate. I've Googled and Googled and can't come up with anything currently or historically that fills the bill. I've asked our current Lodge Adviser and it has him stumped too. He's going to ask some guys who used to wear felt sashes. Until then, I thought I'd run it by you guys. Ever hear of such an award from the OA?

[Eagle92]

Could he be refering to the SM Award of Merit? That award was originally given to SM from NESA, not the OA?

[SR540Beaver]

Eagle92,

 

Quite possibly, although he seems to distinctly remember it being from OA and mentioned that either the patch or the knot was red and white. The only red and white knots are the Heroism Award and the OA Distinguished Service Award. But it is for service beyond the Lodge level.

[VigilEagle04]

He's most likely thinking of the SM Awards of Merit and mixing up the OA and NESA. There is no such award though from the OA. I can't find anything referencing it in older awards either.(This message has been edited by VigilEagle04)

[emb021]

Have to agree with others. There is no, and AFAIK, there never was, an OA award for this.

 

Be aware that there is no such thing as "co-SM"s. There can be only one SM, per the registration form. The SM Award of Merit had specific requirements to be met, and it is no more. Its been replaced with the new Unit Leader Award of Merit, that ALSO has specific requirements. Only THE unit leader (SM, CM, etc) can earn it. An assistant unit leader can't get it.

 

There is no 'save a unit' award out there. There is the above ULAM. There is recognition for people who establish a unit. But AFAIK there is no recognition for people who save a unit. Should there be? Maybe. But that's for others to decide.

 

[SR540Beaver]

emb021,

 

I'm well aware that there are no co-SM's......but there are in this troop. I'd love to see their paperwork at recharter. Like some of our friends around our virtual campfire here, they like to do what makes sense to them and works for them. They are something of an off-beat group that doesn't really keep to the pirate code and see them more as guidelines. From what I can tell from afar, they are heavily "adult directed" if you catch my drift. They don't really pariticpate in the district or council unless they want something. Something like asking the district training chair for x number of signed YP cards as they will do their own YP instruction, thank you very much. To which the training chair said, "uhhh, NO!" But that is a whole other can of worms.

[SR540Beaver]

Heard back from our Lodge Advisor who had never heard of such an award either. He consulted some of the really old, white headed, scooter riding Arrowmen who used to wear felt sashes and they say there has never been such a critter.

[BDPT00]

"I'm well aware that there are no co-SM's......but there are in this troop. I'd love to see their paperwork at recharter."

 

So what are you saying? emb021 is correct. Agree? Disagree?

 

I'd keep an eye on their program. It sounds like they choose which rules, programs, and training they like. THey skip the rest, because that's for everybody else.

BDPT00

[SR540Beaver]

I agreed that there are no co-SM's. That isn't exactly rocket science. There is no such animal. But this troop has what they call co-SM's. Both men wear SM position patches while at least 10 other people wear ASM patches. So yes, they run it the way they want instead of "by the book".

[captainron14]

So tell the guy to pony up $4,000 and then both of th "Co-SMs" can get a James E West knot.

 

[BartHumphries]

That'd only be $2000 -- it's $1k/donation. It doesn't seem right that there should be a reward for just giving money, but if that was a pattern of lifetime donations instead of a single donation, I guess it's ok to recognize that.

[nugent725]

In my humble opinion, I am questioning why you would grant a unit leader an award of merit (be it ULAM, or anything else) when they choose what parts of the program they want to follow? Now I'm not saying we all have to live by the strict letter of the policies, but generally staying close is a good idea.

 

Moreover, I am wondering why anybody doesn't think that its a HUGE red flag that they are asking for pre-signed YP certifications! I did the YP training online and it only took roughly 30 min (if I remember correctly). So it's not like it's some huge ordeal that is extremely complicated, etc. When you have some spare time at home, take the course and print out the certificate. So I don't know why that doesn't raise a few eyebrows.

[emb021]

"In my humble opinion, I am questioning why you would grant a unit leader an award of merit (be it ULAM, or anything else) when they choose what parts of the program they want to follow? Now I'm not saying we all have to live by the strict letter of the policies, but generally staying close is a good idea."

 

Keep in mind that the ULAM (and its predecessor) has clearly defined requirements.

 

If one is NOT following the program, one really ISN'T eligable for it. Its more then just a 'we think you're a great unit leader' award.

 

But, sadly, I don't know if the PTB review the applications that come in for this and weed out the ones that clearly didn't met the requirements.