The name game

[SM406]

packsaddle,

 

It sounds like you take the same care we do,and things still happen. I believe our Council's records come from the advancement form that is submitted. What happened to us once was on an Eagle appilication, Council had record of this Scout having earned First Aid after earning life. We were giving him credit for having earned it prior to and counting towards his Life. When we checked the pink sheet with this merit badge on it, the date Council had was the same as the date stamped on the pink sheet. We took the pink sheet and the blue card to Council and showed that the date on the blue card was before his Life rank. No problem, we got it all staighten out. Happy ending. It sure pays to go through these hoops prior to submitting the Eagle application doesn't it?

 

SM406

[packsaddle]

Wow! SM406, almost exactly the same stuff happens to us. You suppose our councils are helping each other by swapping recordkeeping hints? Just a thought.

[SM406]

Scary thoughts

[SMT376Richmond KY]

To FOG is reponse to "For my part, I was surprised to learn that Eagle Boards only care about blue cards and that the "pocket certificate" is meaningless to them. Why then, does a Scoutmaster certify that someone earned the merit badge on the pocket cert? Why even give those out?"

 

Because they make $$$ when the boys lose them and think they have to have them with 1,005,592 Boy Scouts/Varsity Scouts (per national web page)they make $703,914.40 at 7 cents a card.

[LauraT7]

We just had an eagle COH of one of our boys - who is 17 - "Mike". His brother "Dave", age 14 -is in the same troop.

 

I know that prior to getting his Eagle, there was some mix-up between our council records and the troop records - he had all his ranks and badges - but somehow the council didn't have everything - I think one rank was somehow "missing"? and it took some straightening out.

 

There was a table at his COH with memorabilia - photos, books, etc - and he had all of his badge cards - I noticed one in particular, "Lifesaving", that at first I thought someone had put in the wrong book - because it was made out to "David" - then i realized by the date on it that someone must've written the wrong name - the younger boy would have been a cub that year, and not a scout.

 

This name mix-up has happened before in our troop, at summer camp and in district Merit Badge classes where brothers have both participated. As a counselor - I attempt to avoid name errors by making THE BOY fill out the badge card. I only fill out my contact info before I hand them back. I won't sign a card that is not completely filled out.

 

I guess it is reasonable to expect the boys and families to keep their OWN records and backup documents (good prep for future home record-keeping) But the reality is that unless the parents help them, few boys would be able to lay hands on ALL their scouting documentation and materials after 6-7 yrs in scouts. Boys just don't think about that stuff. I have a scrapbook started for my son - but believe me - HE would never keep it up on his own. Even with me trying to keep track of things, we did once wash a set in his uniform shirt pockets - they aren't very readable - but I DID save them anyway. (I wonder if i should try to get the troop to re-print the record cards? would it make a difference in the future?) I'm not too worried about those, because they were from an Advancement chair in our troop who was very methodical and whose records' accuracy you could swear on. unfortunately, not all our Advancement Chairs have been so good at the job.

 

We tell our boys that their handbook is THE most important record - and they DO all pretty much keep up with them. But many are in very poor shape, bindings broken, dirty and torn. What if a boy DOES lose his book or it is destroyed? then he MUST depend on troop or council records.

 

How about the records with the counselor? do they ever go back to them?

 

I have kept the counselor record of every boy I've ever signed off on - I'm kinda proud of that growing stack of blue cards - it's reminder of years of building relationships with those boys - esp those in my troop. they are a part of MY 'memory book'.

 

 

 

 

[Shell in WA- USA]

Okay, then if National checks the dates to the Council records for Eagle boards? How concerned should I be about making sure everything is in order?

 

I've just taken over as Advancement Chair for the troop and the past Adv Chair (of 4 years) didn't track anything. He threw everything in a box and whether I got all of that, I'm not sure. I'm having to reconstruct all the current boys records. So we don't have a problem in the furure.

 

 

[packsaddle]

Shell in WA, USA, Welcome to the forum. In my experience, I would advise you to get a printout of the council's records for your troop and its current advancement. As I understand it, that record is what National will ask for if needed. My further advice is that you keep that copy in a safe place and annotate it with corrections, if necessary, that you identify based on the troop records.

 

With regard to Eagle applications, the application and the council advancement dates must agree.

 

Create your own spreadsheet for the troop or use one of the commercial products that are available for this. The sooner you reconcile your records with theirs, the better. Don't assume that their records are correct. If you find corrections, work diligently to get those corrections incorporated at the council level. Lastly, Good Luck!

[SM406]

My experience has been that the local council will have mistakes. Whither their information is wrong when they get it from local units or from when they input the information into their system. I would start by requesting a computer print out of your troop's advancement records from Council. From there you can begin checking against the information you have. Then if you have any boys that are approaching Eagle, I would start with their information, gather any supporting documents "pink sheets", blue cards and scout handbooks to make your case with council. Going forward, keep copies of the "pink sheets" in a binder in chronological order. Start a file on each boy, and keep their copy of the blue card for any merit badges. They fit perfectly in the plastic baseball card sheets. Then when the boy turns 18 give him the sheets. It pays to be organized in this area of advancements since there can be so much at stake.

 

Good Luck!

 

SM406

[Fat Old Guy]

"ecause they make $$$ when the boys lose them and think they have to have them with 1,005,592 Boy Scouts/Varsity Scouts (per national web page)they make $703,914.40 at 7 cents a card."

 

It always comes back to money.

[Bob White]

"Because they make $$$ when the boys lose them and think they have to have them with 1,005,592 Boy Scouts/Varsity Scouts (per national web page)they make $703,914.40 at 7 cents a card."

 

I think it's safe to say that everything costs money. To say that the BSA "makes" 7 cents per card is short sighted to say the least. The BSA may collect $.07 per card but that does mean they make .07 per card. You must take into consideration the cost of manufacturing, shipping and handling of the item that must be paid out. I would not be surprised to discover that this is a nearly break-even item.

 

Another problem in the math presented is that it only accounts for one card per scout, which we know is not accurate. A final point...The scout master does not certify that the scout has completed the badge. The Merit Badge Counselor certifies the advancement. A scout leader must sign that the the MB card has been recieved by the troop and that portion is the boy's reciept.

 

Bob White

(This message has been edited by Bob White)

[dsteele]

SM406 provided excellent advice for the unit advancement cooridnator.

 

Bob White gave excellent thought about the .7 cents per merit badge card. I don't think they cost 7 cents each to print, distribute, etc, althoguh that's probably the lion's share of it -- there's also a cost to process the records at the council office.

 

DS