reason to keep those blue cards

[Lisabob]

Cautionary tale about record keeping:

 

About a year ago, my son parted ways with his former troop and found one that was a better fit for him. Unfortunately, his former troop didn't keep great records and at some point they failed to turn in proper paperwork showing that he had earned one of the Eagle-required badges he needed for Star rank.

 

Council is now telling his current troop that not only didn't my son officially earn that merit badge, but his Star rank (which he has had for 2 years) was never valid either. He would have to re-earn the badge & Star ranking, they said. And based on his current age, that would keep him from having any chance of earning Eagle.

 

Happily, my son kept all of his signed blue cards from his merit badges. That, along with the signatures in his handbook next to the lines showing which Eagle-required badges he was counting toward his Star rank 2 years ago with his former troop, should be all he needs to get the record straightened out.

 

Boy, I'm really glad he kept those blue cards.

 

 

[moosetracker]

they do come in handy at times.. My son kept his in a notebook with baseball card pockets..

 

But whoever spoke to your troop representive sounded harsh, no suggestions on how to research and fix things. Blue Cards, contact the original troop, contact the MBC to see if they kept their stub, or remember completing the MB with the scout etc.. Just a flat, if we don't have it, then do it over again. AND with our council, 95% of the time it was not recorded by the council, my husband knew the month it was submited, they would go into their cabinate and sure as shootin' the MB was listed on the paperwork, the operater just skipped a line (or maybe recorded it on the wrong scout??) but it was the councils mess up..

 

I think now the Unit can look on-line for a full accounting of the advancement records, my husband used to go once a year and get an audit from council, and go through what they had, and fix the errors with them within a year, rather then wait until the boy is trying to finish up paperwork for his Eagle.

[eolesen]

I kept scans of my son's blue cards as well as his signed handbook pages.

 

Came in really handy when we moved twice... and now I have them as a permanent record to embarrass him with later.

[Eagle92]

Lisa,

 

HORSEHOCKEY ON YOUR COUNCIL! (AND YES I AM SCREAMING THIS AT THEM, NOT YOU.) Something very similar happened to a friend of mine, except that AFTER his EBOR, when the council was reviewing the records prior to sending them to national, it was discovered that the council's records were incorrect. They showed the Eagle as still being a First Class Scout. My troop didn't use blue cards, having the MBC sign directly in the BSHB. We used the BSHB to correct the council's information.

 

 

Unfortunately I know that council's records can be messed up b/c when I received an advancement report, it showed only 3 of my 10 Wolves having earned their Wolf badge. Not a happy camper.

[Lisabob]

Well yes, some "horse hockey" included, I know. And sure, our council's record keeping is about as good as most others - which is to say, not great.

 

In this case, it is highly likely the problem originated at the troop level though. You'll have to trust that I have a good reason to think that. And while, yes, my son could go back to the MBC in question, and/or the troop advancement chair (who is the spouse of the MBC), I'm glad he won't have to. He had a rather unpleasant time with those two adults and they were a major part of why he decided to leave that troop.

 

My point was: having the actual record makes it a lot easier than trying to navigate conflicting personalities, residual emotions, people's hazy memories, etc., years later.

[packsaddle]

Great story, great object lesson! I hope he remembers this for later in life when dealing with attorneys and the IRS, etc.

[John-in-KC]

I think every Council in the US has had this problem. It's a grand reason to have primary records...

 

Frankly, when I was Troop Advancement Coordinator, my records in TroopMaster were better than Council's in ScoutNet.

[qwazse]

Advancement is like poker: make sure you're playing with a full deck. You never know when you'll have to back up the hand you lay down.

[GKlose]

We added a new advancement chair in the troop a couple of years ago, who has kept up our Troopmaster records. Now, when we are processing a new Eagle application, he prints out an advancement report to include with the application, so that council has two sources of information in case their records are off (I have no idea how often that happens).

 

But, as an MB counselor, I've kept all blue card stubs, and I've encouraged my sons to put together a binder for keeping their stubs. At some point, though, I would like to check what the council has recorded for them. I can't swear that every CS pack and that every advancement report has kept on top of this paperwork.

 

Guy

[eisely]

I have always emphasized to new scouters and parents the importance of retaining all the cards, including rank advancement cards. Fortunately our council has improved, but having a backup at the family or scout level is always a good idea.

 

One thing that our council started doing some time ago on eagle scout applications was having the form submitted before the EBOR for review by the program official who would then sign, essentially certifying that all the eagle requirments had been met. More councils should do that.

[Horizon]

I tell my boys that once a year when they hit the Scout Shop, to stop by the desk and get a print out of their records. They can then check those records against their handbook and make sure everything is clean. Any issues they can bring to our Advancement Chair.

[sbemis1]

Around here the boys MUST preset their completed blue cards with their Eagle application. Seems the council doesn't even believe their own records. I don' know why.

 

Now I will go back to adding all the YPT training, AGAIN, and hope it goes somewhere besides in the bin.

[perdidochas]

Horizon,

 

Good idea, but would the Scout office people look that up for scouts? I'm not sure they would at our council (not sure about it).

 

We are finally on online advancement for the scouts, so the SM actually enters the advancement, which makes it more foolproof, IMHO.

[Eagle92]

Sbemis1,

 

a couple of ideas to help out with your situation.

 

1) Check and makesure that the training codes, titles, and dates are correct. I know a few years ago National didn't have codes for some of the older training. I was told to use the new name and code, but put the original date of training, i.e. CS Basic Leader Training in 1998 became TCDL Specific, CSDL Specific, WDL Specific, CM Specific, and Pack Committee Specific.

Now national has added codes for the older trainings, and now requires everything to match up.

 

2) When you turn in your paperwork, keep a copy, that way you just resend if needed.

 

3) Once they get your records and update them, ask for a copy of them. Then make a copy of it so that if they mess it up again, you can send in a copy that thjey sent you.

[Horizon]

Our Scout office prints the record for anyone who asks. You walk up to the desk (staffed by volunteers), write down your unit and name, and they print you a record from the database. It shows all units, and a complete history of the dates. It is great for when a boy is registering for Eagle he has the official dates of every MB and Rank.