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When I go to any district/council/national event I see a ton of knotted up leaders.   Our troop is a different story.  Several families have been very involved ever since cub scouts but have never nominated at either the pack or troop level.  I am trying to find a comprehensive list of awards so we can nominate some adults.  The scouting.org page seems a bit anemic.  Does a complete list exist anywhere?

It seems like the Scouters Trained award is the only award our adults can earn unless they write a big check or rescue people from a burning building.  I do see several position specific awards for SM's/district/council people, but nothing for committee chair, committee members, assistant scout masters, etc.

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Enough. This was a discussion about recognizing adults.

The use of Mentor Pins is a personal decision by the Eagle candidate.  One pin is included in the presentation kit, for him/her to do what they want, so it needs to be a special and personal choice. 

If you can provide a reference to BSA documentation supporting this definition, then I will gladly pass it on to the leaders in our unit. However, I will refrain from enforcing any such a rule as I be

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There aren't a lot of extra knots, though the den leader knot often applies for cub scouters. Scouters training award is the the other big one that pretty much everyone can get. Wood badge can be gotten by just about anyone. The tenure pins can recognize the long term scouters. A lot of the knots are there for district or council work, for good or ill.

For non-uniform wear, there are often local/district awards. We have the buckskin award for service to the unit and basically anyone who gets nominated gets it. You can also make up your own award and give it.

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I did not stay in Scouts,. so no Eagle, but I did earn Arrow of Light.  So I have the adult knot for AOL on my uniform. Its the only one I really care about  Also have the DL award.  I stick to what I can do for our Units and don't get worked up about how many awards I can show off.  Just not my thing.  There are some adults who just like to show the bling.

 

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This Wikipedia page is well-maintained with some nice visuals and brief descriptions of adult awards.

Square knot insignia - Wikipedia

I would agree - the Scouter's Training Award (green knot, tan background) is most appropriate for troop-level leadership, but don't feel constrained to providing just knots for recognition. Service stars are a great way to provide annual recognition to leaders. Plus, your district may have an annual award program for recognizing volunteers in your area.

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My District had many awards available besides the District Award of Merit, such as "Cubmaster of the Year", "Scoutmaster of the Year", etc.  The problem was getting meaningful nominations.  Unless you went to Roundtable monthly, or the annual District Dinner, no one was aware of them.  I always bought my own service stars, as no one knew my extensive history in Cubs, Scouts, Explorers, and Scouter.  And in my observation, no one wore them anyway, so it was kind of a waste to purchase them with unit funds.

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11 hours ago, 5thGenTexan said:

I did not stay in Scouts,. so no Eagle, but I did earn Arrow of Light.  So I have the adult knot for AOL on my uniform. Its the only one I really care about  Also have the DL award.  I stick to what I can do for our Units and don't get worked up about how many awards I can show off.  Just not my thing.  There are some adults who just like to show the bling.

I would encourage all adults to phrase their childhood scouting experience in the positive. E.g. …

”I stayed in scouts until earning Arrow of Light (or maybe a while after that?); therefore … “

There are definitely knots that represent our proudest accomplishments and others that were more “picked up along the way.”

2 hours ago, scoutldr said:

My District had many awards available besides the District Award of Merit, such as "Cubmaster of the Year", "Scoutmaster of the Year", etc.  The problem was getting meaningful nominations.  Unless you went to Roundtable monthly, or the annual District Dinner, no one was aware of them.  I always bought my own service stars, as no one knew my extensive history in Cubs, Scouts, Explorers, and Scouter.  And in my observation, no one wore them anyway, so it was kind of a waste to purchase them with unit funds.

This was my approach. It’s nice when someone reminds me of accomplishments, but I’d prefer a recognition card and the option to purchase the regalia should I want keep it.

Personally, I’m not one for service stars because such pins have never stuck on my field uniform after a day or two of vigorous use. But, truth be told, I think they speak volumes more that rows of knots.

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I have been to several Eagle COHs at our troop and others and one thing that I have seen done at others but not ours is the distribution of Eagle Mentor pins. I am not sure why the scouts from our troop did not hand them out (i.e. oversight or if its just not a priority for our troop).  I personally plan to change that.  I think those pins would be much more meaningful to our adults than a knot.

Most of our adults are happy flying under the radar. I personally don't have any either.  I am pretty sure I got AOL but I honestly cannot remember and since that is the one award that national does not track, I can't check. I would rather have earned it and not wear it than wear it without having earned it.  I did stay in scouts until the Blue and Gold but our den leader was very strict and I could have easily been denied because of something silly.  And like most adults, I never bothered applying for any awards. However, our committee would like our adults to get awards to set an example for the scouts.  I can respect that.

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18 hours ago, SPG said:

I have been to several Eagle COHs at our troop and others and one thing that I have seen done at others but not ours is the distribution of Eagle Mentor pins. I am not sure why the scouts from our troop did not hand them out (i.e. oversight or if its just not a priority for our troop).  I personally plan to change that.  I think those pins would be much more meaningful to our adults than a knot.

The use of Mentor Pins is a personal decision by the Eagle candidate.  One pin is included in the presentation kit, for him/her to do what they want, so it needs to be a special and personal choice.  Indeed, the entire ECOH ceremony is at the discretion of the Eagle and their family.

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4 hours ago, scoutldr said:

The use of Mentor Pins is a personal decision by the Eagle candidate.  One pin is included in the presentation kit, for him/her to do what they want, so it needs to be a special and personal choice.  Indeed, the entire ECOH ceremony is at the discretion of the Eagle and their family.

The scouts can hand out more than one. It's just a nice way to thank adults. I find the mentor pins more meaningful than the knots.

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2 hours ago, mrjohns2 said:

You don’t plan on having them wear the eagle mentor pins on their uniforms, do you? 

If a scouter earns any form of recognition, I will leave it up to them if they want to wear it.

I understand some scouters think they cannot be worn but I respectfully disagree.  I have found nothing in the insignia guide that prohibits it. It does state that mentor pins are "non-uniform wear" which I interpret as being approved to be worn without the uniform since some recipients are not scouters.  Also, it does state that "Medals awarded by other associations are worn above the left breast pocket". I take that as approval to wear pins/medals awarded by anyone that does not represent the BSA.  If someone were to tell any scout or scouter that they cannot wear an award they are proud of with their uniform, then I would remind the scout/scouter that unforms are not mandatory and they are always free to wear the award instead of the uniform.

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May tick off a few folks on this one.  Kudos to all the volunteers that support and make our programs run.  Without them at the unit, district, and council, the BSA would shut down.  Years back they merged "of like" knots, did away with some (Tiger Den Leader Coach, Orange and Black)).  There was some good and bad in the changes.

Here's what I recommend to units:  Have a rotation (no more than 3yrs) in any one position.  New ideas, opportunities, and positions can keep a fresh program.  Most leaders can complete requirements for their position in that 3yrs.  Also, have someone on the unit committee track "adult advancement" like someone does for Scouts.  We put a lot on our volunteer's plates, at least we can recognize them through BSA practices.  The Scouts like to see their leaders get awards too.

 

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The best source for current knot line up is the Guide to Awards and Insignia page 64-66 in the 2022 Revision.

https://filestore.scouting.org/filestore/pdf/33066/33066_Scouting_Honors_And_Special_Recognitions_WEB.pdf

https://www.scouting.org/resources/insignia-guide/

To find the requirements for each knot, start on the official BSA Awards Central page, and look up by name...

https://www.scouting.org/awards/awards-central/

I recommend you only use "official" BSA requirements sources (if you can find them).  Requirements and criteria do sometimes change...

As for the Wearing-of-the-Mentor-Pins on the uniform, I do not... my shirt would weigh about eight pounds 😜

I do like the "Proud Parent" type ribbons for displaying these.  They are "non-uniform" wear, but I wear it with my uniform at Courts of Honor.  (Here's my current...)

 

 

20230313_111719.jpg

https://www.scoutshop.org/bsa-proud-parent-multi-program-neck-ribbon-620092.html

https://www.scoutshop.org/bsa-proud-parent-ribbon-643292.html

(There are no parent pins for Summit or Quartermaster... that I know of)

As for service stars... I kept losing them, so I don't wear them any more... the clutch (or back... we called them "frogs" in the military) would come off frequently.  I have littered many a camp parade field with them 😜  

I'll start correcting adults' (and Scouts') uniforms for those when 100% of them can do any First Class skill upon demand (knots/lashings/map & compass/first aid/swimming/lifesaving/etc).  (I've been working for that goal many years... come close a few times, but then some newbie comes along and ruins it!!!)

 

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13 hours ago, SPG said:

It does state that mentor pins are "non-uniform wear" which I interpret as being approved to be worn without the uniform since some recipients are not scouters. 

Oh, god. Non-uniform wear means not to be worn on the uniform. 

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2 hours ago, InquisitiveScouter said:

The best source for current knot line up is the Guide to Awards and Insignia page 64-66 in the 2022 Revision.

https://filestore.scouting.org/filestore/pdf/33066/33066_Scouting_Honors_And_Special_Recognitions_WEB.pdf

https://www.scouting.org/resources/insignia-guide/

To find the requirements for each knot, start on the official BSA Awards Central page, and look up by name...

https://www.scouting.org/awards/awards-central/

I recommend you only use "official" BSA requirements sources (if you can find them).  Requirements and criteria do sometimes change...

As for the Wearing-of-the-Mentor-Pins on the uniform, I do not... my shirt would weigh about eight pounds 😜

I do like the "Proud Parent" type ribbons for displaying these.  They are "non-uniform" wear, but I wear it with my uniform at Courts of Honor.  (Here's my current...)

 

 

20230313_111719.jpg

https://www.scoutshop.org/bsa-proud-parent-multi-program-neck-ribbon-620092.html

https://www.scoutshop.org/bsa-proud-parent-ribbon-643292.html

(There are no parent pins for Summit or Quartermaster... that I know of)

As for service stars... I kept losing them, so I don't wear them any more... the clutch (or back... we called them "frogs" in the military) would come off frequently.  I have littered many a camp parade field with them 😜  

I'll start correcting adults' (and Scouts') uniforms for those when 100% of them can do any First Class skill upon demand (knots/lashings/map & compass/first aid/swimming/lifesaving/etc).  (I've been working for that goal many years... come close a few times, but then some newbie comes along and ruins it!!!)

 

I highly endorse these:

https://www.amazon.com/Butterfly-Backings-Keepers-Replacement-Uniform/dp/B07PGVCDVX/ref=asc_df_B07PGVCDVX?tag=bingshoppinga-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=80058245652837&hvnetw=o&hvqmt=e&hvbmt=be&hvdev=c&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=&hvtargid=pla-4583657823895553&psc=1

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