Blue cards for EBOR?

[ItsBrian]

Friend is going for his EBOR next week or so and apparently the district eagle coordinator said in his generic email to bring all blue cards.

 

 

He doesn’t have all his and I know I don’t either.

[TAHAWK]

It should be covered by the units Advancement reports.  The three different copies of the Blue Card (Scout/Unit/MBC) are backup.

[perdidochas]

Friend is going for his EBOR next week or so and apparently the district eagle coordinator said in his generic email to bring all blue cards.

 

 

He doesn’t have all his and I know I don’t either.

 

Well, not sure how your district works, but in mine, that is unnecessary. If the MBs are recorded on Internet Advancement at the Council, there is no need for them. IMHO, this is one of those cases of adding to requirements. That said, we have some troop level folks that are convinced that is necessary, to the point that they recreate blue cards for the Life Scouts about to go to EBOR.  

Edited November 17, 2017 by perdidochas

[The Blancmange]

Prior to the EBOR, the council registrar has to certify that all of the advancement details, including MB's that are noted on the application, are accurate.  So it's unclear why the EBOR would want to see them.   Seems like a waste of time for the Board to be bogged down in reviewing things that have already been certified when they should be focusing on the candidate's achievements and experiences.  

[Tampa Turtle]

We try to bring them just in case though no one has ever looked at them, ever. The book on the other hand has been browsed at a couple time.

[resqman]

They sell pocket sleeve pages at the office supply store to store baseball trading cards.  Got every boy in my cub scout den a 1 inch ring binder and 3 or 4 pages of baseball trading card sleeves.  Told them to put their advancement cards in the binder.  That way they have a designated spot, they stay clean and orderly, and can be maintained as a keepsake all their lifes.  

 

My son has two binders. One is all his Cub scout stuff and the other all his Boy Scout stuff.  When a rank came off the uniform, it went in the sleeve with the card and the new rank sewed on.  It was easy at EBOR time.  Hand the book the book over.  All blue cards, rank cards, mile swim, etc.  

[Stosh]

Okay, just a clarification here.....

 

We have helicopter parents.....

 

We have helicopter committee members.....

 

Are we now faced with helicopter EBOR members?

[TAHAWK]

It is not awful to care.  You care. Stosh.

 

I was on an EBOR where the official record showed 19 MBs.  Both the candidate and the ASM out in the hall had 23.  Problem solved with no great stress.

 

Our Council record showed I complete SM training in 1910 (which would make me at least 118 years old. I want my 91 Year Service Pin, now!)

 

When I pointed out there was no council in 1910, it was changed to 1912. 

 

Such experiences make me loath to depend 100% on the "official" (That is, often screwed-up) records.

[Eagle94-A1]

Worst case scenario, one Life Scout back in the day was denied Eagle because  when the council checked their records after his EBOR, they had him listed as a First Class Scout still. Thankfully between his handbook and the Advancement Reports that were indeed turned in, he was approved.

[Stosh]

It is my recommendation to my Life Scouts to get a copy of their "official" status with National and then reconcile it before their EBOR.  I don't know if it was just good record keeping on the part of the Troop or what, but I never had a boy not reconcile his achievements well in advance of his EBOR.  The Eagle committee reviewed the information, but the EBOR never asked for any of that "prove to me you've earned the Eagle, business."  Either they earned it or not.... well before they got to the EBOR.

[MattR]

Look at the Eagle application. There's room on it after the SM && CC signature for the council's signature, called the BSA Local Council Verification, saying the council agrees that all requirements have been completed. There is no EBOR until that signature is on the app. Therefore this whole subject is moot, unless this has nothing to do with proving all the MBs are completed.

 

Maybe it used to be an issue but not anymore.

 

Brian, tell your friend not to worry. If they give him grief at his EBOR he should point to the council's signature and say he doesn't need any more proof. Say it kindly. Say it humbly. But don't let anyone tell you otherwise.

[perdidochas]

Look at the Eagle application. There's room on it after the SM && CC signature for the council's signature, called the BSA Local Council Verification, saying the council agrees that all requirements have been completed. There is no EBOR until that signature is on the app. Therefore this whole subject is moot, unless this has nothing to do with proving all the MBs are completed.

 

Maybe it used to be an issue but not anymore.

 

Brian, tell your friend not to worry. If they give him grief at his EBOR he should point to the council's signature and say he doesn't need any more proof. Say it kindly. Say it humbly. But don't let anyone tell you otherwise.

That's what my point has been to the other adults in the troop who insist that the Scout have a copy of all MB cards and blue cards for the EBOR.  It's all in the internet records, and by the time they get to the EBOR, all has been worked out. We did have an almost Eagle that had some problems getting that approval, because he had been a Scout/Tenderfoot in a different council, and was missing Swimming Merit badge on his internet records. He had his MB card, and we got that straightened out. That was weeks before his EBOR> 

[Eagledad]

Before the computer records, not having all the advancement requirements on council record was standard procedure. Researching the council records was normal because the errors occurred so often. I can't even imagine how many of my adult award and training records are missing. I don't really care, so I've never bothered to look. But advancement verification for Eagle was required by our district before the EBOR, so I guess different councils handle verification differently.

 

Barry

Edited November 21, 2017 by Eagledad

[HelpfulTracks]

The Application for Merit Badge (Blue Cards) is considered an official document for purposes of merit badges earned, i.e. it is the only form officially recognized (without an exception being granted).

 

Having Blue Cards on hand is a good safety measure, in the case of conflicting documentation or worse if the BoR is disputed for any reason involving merit badges or advancement in general.

 

It is always good to keep up with any documentation along your journey to Eagle as you never know when or why it may be needed.

[Stosh]

One of the problems I have been facing the past few years is summer camps have gotten away from Blue Cards and instead issue a computer printout of the MB records "signed" by the camp director.  Generally these records are woefully inaccurate.  Some of my boys attended all five days of the MB and got NOTHING checked off INCLUDING attendance in the class.  The boy's attendance and some of the accomplishments were collaborated by boys in the unit that did get credit.  For all I know some boy who DIDN'T show up for the MB got full credit in the mix-up.

 

Communicating with the camp afterwards was a waste of time.  They say they trust their counselors and they stand behind the records as is.

 

I started the process of sending the boys off to their MB classes, but the counselors would not acknowledge them and instead relied on the camp's record keeping system.

 

These are the kinds of issues that are coming down the road as more and more camps start different processes than the BSA authorized records of Blue Cards.  As more technology creeps into the world, these are the kinds of things that are going to make getting Eagle a greater challenge at no fault of the boys.