A Scoutmaster's Blog

Ah, the troop court of honor. The quarterly award night. Time to recognize accomplishments. Time for the Scouts to shine before their family and friends.

The Boy Scouts and families of Troop 68 usually have a good time during our courts of honor. After twenty-five years the troop has an agenda and format set. We try to have a mixture of fun and seriousness as we go through the ceremony.

We begin the court of honor with the presentation of the colors, a patriotic ceremony, a Scouting-related ceremony, and an invocation by the troop chaplain. Then we begin the presentations with the recruitment patches, year pins, and other such awards. This is followed by the recognition of merit badges that have been earned since the last court of honor.

This brings us to the “half way” point of the evening. The Scouts provide entertainment by performing a skit or song, or we could play a brief game, like a trivia contest between the Boy Scouts and their parents.

It is time for the presentation of the ranks. The Scout is asked to escort his parents to the front of the room. We usually use the various rank ceremonies found in the Woods Wisdom book. I will then present the rank patch, card, and pin to the father so that he may then have the honor of presenting it to his son. The Scout will then take the pin and pin it to his mother’s shirt or scarf. This way we involve both parents in the ceremony. By the way, if the mother is not able to attend the ceremony then the Scout pins the pin on his father’s shirt.

The final awards presented are two troop recognitions. The Progressive Scout Award is given to the Boy Scout who has earned the most advancement since the last court of honor. The Progressive Patrol Award is given to the patrol with the most accumulated advancement, with a minimum of at least two boys showing progress. Both awards are certificates, but the Progressive Patrol Award also comes with a twenty dollar credit for the patrol to use for a patrol activity held before the next court of honor.

The court of honor ends with a closing ceremony and the retiring of the colors. After a few announcements we make our way to the table where the juice is waiting to be drank and the cookies are waiting to be eaten. Of course, parents and families members get to eat and drink first. Sometimes, the way the boys rush to the tables, I think the refreshments are the main reason we hold the court of honor.

Happy Scouting!

Boy Scout Troop 68 of Melrose held it’s first court of honor of 2007 on Monday, March 26, at the Melrose City Hall meeting rooms. Over seventy percent of the troop’s membership received awards during the celebration. The award ceremony began the presentation of the colors and the Pledge of Allegiance. The “Climbing the Ladder To Eagle” opening was followed by the invocation given by the troop’s chaplain Eymard.

The Boy Scout advancement program was quite different in the 1970’s from what it is today. Earning skill awards was a standard requirement for the first three ranks. The skill awards were a metal belt loop, similar to some of today’s Cub Scouting awards. There was twelve skill awards designed to introduce Scouts to skill areas such as camping, citizenship, first aid, and other basic Scouting skill areas.

Another change in the rank requirements was that A Scout needed to earn at least one merit badge for every rank. Yes, you read that correctly. A Scout needed to earn a merit badge for the rank of Tenderfoot, in addition to two skill awards.

Things sure have changed since then. Merit badges are no longer needed for the ranks of Tenderfoot, Second Class, and First Class. Skill awards were discontinued in the late 1980’s. The BSA seems to change portions of the advancement program every few years to keep it relevant to today’s world, while still trying to maintain the traditional Scouting values and ideals.

I have nothing to brag about when I talk about my advancement while a Boy Scout. I was a Scout for three and a half years, but I only reached the rank of Second Class. The rank of Eagle Scout was not even in my sights. I did earn several skill awards and three merit badges, including Pioneering and Reading.

The worst thing about the advancement program when I was a Scout is that I do not remember receiving the awards. I earned them, I still have them, but I do not remember a single court of honor during my years as a Scout. I honestly could not tell you if we even held a court of honor back then. I certainly do not have any pictures from such a ceremony.

Today, I am the scoutmaster of the troop in my hometown. We now hold courts of honor four times a year, whether we have 20 merit badges and ten ranks to present, or if we only have one merit badge to hand out. We try to add some humor to the ceremony and make it fun for the Scouts and the parents while still maintaining the dignity and solemnity of the actual presentations.

As a Scoutmaster, I want the Scouts to look back and to remember their award presentations as a positive moment of their Scouting years. I hope they will not think back and have no memory of such an important Scouting event as, unfortunately, I do.