blue cards for EBOR?

[gracekouca]

Hi all,

 

Do scouts need to keep all completed blue cards for future EBOR? Will the signed MB cards be enough?

 

Thank you.

 

 

-GK

[Eagle92]

If your scout's troop uses blue cards, then yes keep them. If not, then have your son make sure he get's the MBs recorded in his book, and he makes a copy or two of the pages, especially after a BOR, so that there is some record fohim earnign it.

 

I had a very good friend who encountered some "challenges" with earning Eagle as his council records still had him listed as First Class and ineligible for Eagle. had to use his handbook to fix the records.

 

As for needing them form an EBOR, don't know as different councils do the EBORs differently, so have you son talk to his SM.

[sbemis1]

our district requires the signed blue cards be presented at time of application.

[scoutldr]

I frequently sit on unit EBOR as the District rep. Most scouts will have ALL of their cards (rank, MB, Blue cards, Mile Swim, etc) in a 3 ring binder with plastic baseball card pages. While interesting to thumb through, we don't inspect them too closely. The Eagle Application certified by the Council registrar is what counts. Like stated above, if the Council records are not correct, he may need a blue card as documentation to correct ScoutNet. Your Council/District policies may differ.

[scoutingagain]

By the time a scout gets to his EBOR he should have completed an application, had it reviewed and signed by his SM and CC, sent to council for review and MBs checked etc. There are many good reasons to keep blue cards and the MB cards to document the badges in case the council records are incorrect or incomplete. But this should be addressed long before an EBOR is scheduled. I would hope no scout gets to his EBOR only to have a MB challenged at that point. I can't imagine why a scout would need a blue card or any other documentation of his prior advancement at that point if the unit and council are doing a reasonable job of managing Eagle advancement.

 

The EBOR should be the final step in the process. Prior advancement and record of MBs earned should be addressed way before an EBOR is scheduled.

 

One reason I ask our council for a copy of their advancement records for scouts we anticipate submitting an application is so we can address any recordkeeping issues before the application is submitted. If your unit does not do this, this is something an individual scout should be able to do on their own. As noted by others, do not assume your local council records are accurate and up-to-date. Check prior to submitting an application and resolve any issues prior to submitting the application.

 

SA

[evmori]

Blue Cards or merit badge applications are not needed at any BOR!(This message has been edited by evmori)

[Beavah]

Yah, da merit badge application cards (aka "blue cards") are an optional>/B> record-keepin' tool that troops and/or councils can use. Similarly, da merit badge award cards (aka "white cards") are an optional thing troops can use to present/document the award of a badge.

 

Only thing that gets checked as part of da Eagle Application process is the boy's advancement and merit badge records on the BSA ScoutNet system. That's done by da council registrar (a paid staff position, not a volunteer).

 

Sometimes, if a troop hasn't been good about submittin' Advancement Report Forms the way they should, a boy's records won't be up to date. In that case, the registrar will usually call the unit leader and say "What's up?" and the unit will have to fill out the Advancement Report Forms they missed (or show their copy of the one they submitted that the council or ScoutNet lost ). Happens all the time, no big deal.

 

If da unit didn't keep good records and had some turnover, or if the scout moved to a new troop/council and his old unit didn't submit things, it may fall back to the scout to provide documentation because the adults messed up. In that case, any form of documentation that satisfies whoever fills out and files forms is OK, eh? Blue Cards, White Cards, summer camp paper records, a letter from his unit advancement chair, whatever. So it's worth holdin' on to 'em.

 

Of course, Scoutin' being Scoutin', councils and districts and units are goin' to come up with different ways of doin' things, and a few more retentive individuals are goin' to be into da paperwork in some cases. Some districts, usually smaller ones in small councils that have time on their hands, will try to verify Application signatures against MBC lists before approving an advancement report form. A few districts do try to demand a folder full of blue cards durin' the Eagle Application process. What any of 'em do about out-of-district or out-of-council counselors or camps or units that don't use blue cards or units that do internet advancement is anyone's guess.

 

Those folks aside, it's a good habit to teach lads to keep some appropriate form of documentation of important things in a safe place, eh? Merit badge records are just practice for automobile titles and deeds and such . So encourage 'em to keep such records, but don't let such stuff ever get in a kid's way.

 

Beavah

 

[sandspur]

You should not need blue cards or signed MB cards at any BOR. However, sometimes records get messed up and then it is useful for the scout to have one or both of those as proof the MB were indeed earned.

 

I have been on a BOR where the scout did not have the required MB for the rank according to the advancement chair (me). Yes, in our troop scouts frequently schedule and get BOR without checking with the advancement chair first but that is another story.

 

In that case, I asked for the blue cards, MB cards, summer camp records, ANYTHING to prove the scout had the MB he needed. He had no record of this (and did not have the actual cloth MB either) and so had to re-do the missing MB. Rank advancement delayed by many months.

 

I tell the scouts every time they give me a blue card to KEEP THEIR SECTION OF THE CARD, just to prevent things like this.

 

[kenk]

So, as the advancement coordinator for my son's troop I have to ask ...

 

After they earn a handful of MBs at summer camp I need to distribute the respective blue cards (I write out blue cards, sign them, and enter the camp name as counselor).

 

Do I give the blue cards to the Scouts along with the actual MB patches at a regular troop meeting? ... where especially the younger scouts have a higher chance of misplacing or loosing them, or ...

 

Do I wait until the Court of Honor when the Scouts are more likely to hand them to a parent for safe-keeping?

 

I know the Scouts are supposed to be responsible, but my ultimate goal is to maximize the chance of the blue cards not being lost.

 

Of course I keep the troop stub in my own records.

 

Ken K.

[emb021]

In my old troop we did this.

 

Blue cards were given back to the scout once we had the troop records recorded.

 

Depending on how fast we got the merit badges, they would be presented to the scout as soon as possible, to put on his sash.

 

At the court of honor, he would be recognized for the merit badges he had earned and presented with the merit badge cards.

 

(same method was usually followed for rank patches/cards)

 

[kenk]

My son's troop does the same thing with most merit badges earned throughout the year - either I sign the right bits or I have the SM sign them (if he's nearby), and then hand the Scout's portion back to him ...

 

... but those earned at summer camp come in larger quantities ... and at the camp they don't - in general - use blue cards. So, I create blue cards for the Scouts so they have the record of the merit badges earned based upon camp records given to the troop by the camp staff.

 

 

[eisely]

As others commented earlier, having a blue card for any BOR is not necessary. Keeping the blue cards along with the MB cards in a secure place is always a good idea. When it comes time to process an eagle application it is quite common that the council and unit records are inconsistent or incomplete or both. I always counsel new parents to set up their own files in the base ball card collector things in a binder as a backup file.(This message has been edited by eisely)