RunningMan 0 Posted September 21, 2017 Share Posted September 21, 2017 Hi! My son is in Pack 219 in Burbank, CA and is close to earning his Eagle rank (only his Eagle project and a half dozen merit badges to go). I'm having trouble finding a place to help him complete his Emergency Preparedness badge in the Los Angeles area. I've searched several Scouting sites, the Merit Badge wikipedia, and Googled it with no luck. Does anyone know if there's a website with a calendar of local Merit Badge workshops/merit badge mania/etc? Any help connecting my son to an Emergency Preparedness course would be greatly appreciated - thanks!!! Steve Link to post Share on other sites
RememberSchiff 3655 Posted September 21, 2017 Share Posted September 21, 2017 @@RunningMan welcome to scouter.com. We are here to help but all help begins locally. Link to post Share on other sites
mashmaster 783 Posted September 21, 2017 Share Posted September 21, 2017 Have he asked his Scoutmaster for any help to find a merit badge counselor? Usually the merit badge counselors can help them with resources for the merit badge. EPrep is best done together with an expert like a firefighter or EMS, Firefighters are typically trained in that as well. 1 Link to post Share on other sites
qwazse 4342 Posted September 21, 2017 Share Posted September 21, 2017 Welcome! E. Prep is best done on one's own with the help of a counselor in the boy's district. The boy's scoutmaster or troop committee chair should have access to a list of counselors for that badge. He'd meet with the counselor once to talk about what he needs to do. Learn the material and do the requirements. Then follow-up with the counselor to demonstrate how he's completed the requirements. Sometimes, it's fun to team up with a fellow scout and go through the requirements and meeting with the counselor together. If your troop has other Eagle scouts, they might be able to tell your boy who their favorite counselors are. Maybe a member of this forum from your area will tell us about a program that a local fire or police association does for scouts who want to earn this badge. Earning Eagle is a big stretch for a Life scout ... it involves a boy calling people and arranging lots of meetings. But, it is a worthwhile experience. 1 Link to post Share on other sites
Torchwood 177 Posted September 21, 2017 Share Posted September 21, 2017 Sorry for the soapbox, but I hope that you have noticed that all of the advice you have gotten doesn't mention YOU doing anything. Boy Scout advancement is your Scout's responsibility. If he has questions about how to get help with a Merit Badge, he should be asking his Scoutmaster to help him find a registered Merit Badge Counselor for that topic. Merit Badges have a very specific order: The Scout meets with the Scoutmaster to get a signed blue card and the contact info for MB Counselors for that Merit Badge. The Scout contacts the MB Counselor for an initial meeting to talk about the process for that particular badge. The Scout completes the requirements, checking in with the MB Counselor as needed. The Scout meets with the MB Counselor to show/demonstrate his completed work, and get the blue card signed off. The Scout gets the Scoutmaster's signature on the completed blue card, and gives it to the Advancement chair, who records the info and purchases the Merit Badge, which is handed out as per the traditions of the Scout's Troop. 1 Link to post Share on other sites
SSScout 1615 Posted September 21, 2017 Share Posted September 21, 2017 Ditto the previous. Scout should check with: 1) Scoutmaster. 2) other Scouts that have earned the MB. 3) District Scouters (find the RoundTable !) on the website . Merit Badge Counselors are "supposed" to be vetted /listed by the District. If no MBDean listed, ask the Advancement Chair. 4) Council Office. Ask for the District Executive or the Council Advancement Chair. If the Scout is not in the "18 rush", he should pursue the above. If you poke around Scouter dot com enough, you will learn that many of us here abouts do not often favor MB Universties or Days or such. Better the Scout work with a local MBC directly . Perhaps the Scout can help set up the Eprep event to help others get there ! 1 Link to post Share on other sites
ItsBrian 284 Posted September 21, 2017 Share Posted September 21, 2017 Ditto the previous. Scout should check with: 1) Scoutmaster. 2) other Scouts that have earned the MB. 3) District Scouters (find the RoundTable !) on the website . Merit Badge Counselors are "supposed" to be vetted /listed by the District. If no MBDean listed, ask the Advancement Chair. 4) Council Office. Ask for the District Executive or the Council Advancement Chair. If the Scout is not in the "18 rush", he should pursue the above. If you poke around Scouter dot com enough, you will learn that many of us here abouts do not often favor MB Universties or Days or such. Better the Scout work with a local MBC directly . Perhaps the Scout can help set up the Eprep event to help others get there ! Ditto to the last two. Your Council should supply your scout master or advancement chair with a master sheet with all the info. Simply have your son talk to your scoutmaster, if he thinks he can handle it, he will get a blue card and a contact number or email. I find there no reason to go to Council, even roundtables. Every Council is different though. 1 Link to post Share on other sites
CA Scout Mom 9 Posted September 22, 2017 Share Posted September 22, 2017 The City of Arcadia runs Merit Badges at Wilderness Park, mostly Eagle-required ones. There happens to be an Emergency Preparedness one on September 30 from 9 am to 1 pm. I wouldn't have known about this except for an extremely astute parent in our troop who managed to ferret this out--and our troop is located in the City of Thousand Oaks! Here's the link to their site and scroll to the bottom: https://www.arcadiaca.gov/government/city-departments/recreation-and-community-services/parks-and-facilities/wilderness-park On the note of having Scouts find out all this information on their own and to show the initiative to do everything themselves...yes, I agree the Scouts should do as much as they possibly can and should take appropriate responsibility. But, sometimes the Scoutmaster/ASM doesn't have all the answers either, or is busy, or forgets, etc. I've seen that happen again and again... Link to post Share on other sites
Back Pack 431 Posted September 22, 2017 Share Posted September 22, 2017 I have to agree. The scout can contact the sm who can help find someone. My dad stayed out of my path to eagle and I have to say I was happy he did. The sense of accomplishment I felt doing it on my own was fantastic. Link to post Share on other sites
RunningMan 0 Posted September 22, 2017 Author Share Posted September 22, 2017 Heyy thanks everyone for all the help and advice. Especially to @CA Scout Mom...I reached out to Mr Luu at Thousand Oaks. This might take care of it!!! Link to post Share on other sites
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