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Scoutmaster Merit Badge in your area?


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Since it seems many summer camps are being cancelled, reduced, or greatly changed, I wanted to see if your council or camp offers a Scoutmaster Merit Badge.  There is no official BSA MB for Scoutmasters, but many camps offer the program to get adults attending summer camp a chance to get out of camp, maybe learn a skill, and show scouts you never stop learning.  I blew the dust off mine today from 2000 in Camp Freedom, Germany.  At that time, we earned a button pin, certificate and patch.  I don't have anything that tell the requirements from then, but can remember a few.  I am interested if you camp offers this to adults and the requirements.  Lets here what you have.

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5 hours ago, Double Eagle said:

I am interested if you camp offers this to adults and the requirements. 

No.  Our unit leaders have all reached a degree of maturity, and have achieved many adult accomplishments in their lives, so they aren't motivated by beads, pins, patches, and other childish stuff.   

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The last few years that I attended camp, they would bring trainers in to conduct basic training for adults who had not yet completed it...back in the stone age before everything went online.  During the week I was in camp with my troop, we would teach YP, Safe Swim Defense, Safety Afloat, and volunteered to open the pool at 0500 for "Polar Bear Swim" and mile swim workups.  The rest of our "free time" in camp, we would utilize skills for the Ranger's projects...such as re-roofing the dining hall in 95 degree heat, replacing toilets in staff cabins, running the bush hog to cut the fields, rebuilding the OA amphitheater...things like that.  Never got a badge for it....just a cheer at the closing campfire.

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There is something for adults to visit every program area (and take a nap in camp). But nothing specific to SMs.

I'm usually too busy to bother with that.

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The style of ours is mainly to get the adults out of camp. Examples are do a polar plunge, go to an adult shoot, visit the canteen for coffee, do one of the hikes, do some adult meetings, go fishing and, while not getting out of camp, take a nap.

7 hours ago, David CO said:

No.  Our unit leaders have all reached a degree of maturity, and have achieved many adult accomplishments in their lives, so they aren't motivated by beads, pins, patches, and other childish stuff.   

I believe there's another patch for that, the Grinch Master. 😀 I enjoyed being childish around the scouts. It's the same reason that I'd kneel down to get at their height when talking to them about something serious.

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For the Grinches that don't have the desire to participate, I would say stay home and let other less seasoned adults attend camp.  If you have decades of scouting and think you have done all that with a woodbadge cluster, how about you volunteer to manage the program for new adults.  Maybe my unit was a bit weird, but we always seemed to have a new parent from a newly joined scout that liked to come.  More often than not, that lure of a program like MattR mentioned sparked the scouter commitment of an adult.  I see a ton of fun and sharing at every woodbadge event and there aren't many grinches.  If you aren't going to have fun at camp as a SM, why would you go? 

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Heritage up in PA has a Scouter Service Patch earned by helping in a Scout activity among other things. 

One of our neighboring Districts asked me to do WoodTools at their IOLS, which I did to good effect. The IOLS leadership said, "and of course, everyone will earn the Totin' Chip" and were surprised when I reminded them that Totin' Chip is a Scout award, not an adult award.  I said folks would know how it is done, and have a chance to "practice" but there would be no TC patch awarded.... 

I have not been asked to help again.....

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12 hours ago, SSScout said:

Heritage up in PA has a Scouter Service Patch earned by helping in a Scout activity among other things. .....

Yeah, when I'm at Heritage, I'm too busy helping in scout activities to waste time with a Scouter Service Patch. With that 1 hour paper-chase to report 10 hours of service, I could put in 11 hours of service.

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