Bryan – The David Thuis Blog

Ask the Expert: Can a troop prevent a Scout from earning a merit badge at a workshop or summer camp?

David Thuis — Sun, 19 May 2013 11:25:28 +0000

Updated May 15 with some clarifications. Not all merit badges are earned in the traditional troop setting. Enterprising Scouts can earn them at council-run merit badge “colleges” or workshops, summer or winter camps, or on their own with a registered counselor. But some troops restrict or even prohibit this practice, insisting that merit badges must be earned …

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Ask the Expert: Can merit badge progress begin before a Scout gets his blue card?

David Thuis — Thu, 02 May 2013 14:25:36 +0000

If a Scout camps several nights with his troop before getting a signed blue card from his Scoutmaster, do those nights count toward his earning Camping merit badge? That’s what a Scouter, who I’ll call James, wondered last week in an email. James wrote: I have a question concerning when a Scout must have a …

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The most- and least-popular merit badges of 2012, and what that info tells us

David Thuis — Thu, 02 May 2013 14:25:33 +0000

Which merit badges had Scouts rushing to counselors and Moms and Dads rushing to the sewing machine last year? Here’s your answer. In January 2012, I presented a list of 2011′s most- and least-popular merit badges based on sales numbers from the Supply Division. This year’s numbers come from the BSA Program folks and are …

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Can Tiger Cubs attend resident camps?

David Thuis — Fri, 22 Feb 2013 16:40:49 +0000

That’s a trick question. Yes, they can. Effectively immediately, the policy forbidding Tiger Cubs from attending resident camp has been reversed. As Scout Wire first reported yesterday, the change allows Tiger Cubs to go to resident camp with their adult partner or guardian. What’s a resident camp? The BSA defines it, at least for Tiger …

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ScoutCast: A BSA podcast, all grown up

David Thuis — Thu, 27 Dec 2012 22:43:49 +0000

Scouters love to shoot the breeze about the next campout, newest merit badge, or tastiest recipe. But when someone brings up a more-sensitive topic at a roundtable or leader meeting, it’s often greeted by silence. That’s where the new ScoutCast comes in. The new podcast, a close relative of the popular CubCast, will focus on topics …

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