To celebrate the centennial of Scouting’s top honor, all recipients of the Eagle Scout Award in the year 2012 will be eligible to wear a special version of the red, white, and blue badge, seen here.

Next year will mark 100 years since Arthur Rose Eldred became the BSA’s first Eagle. Since that date — Aug. 21, 1912 — more than 2 million outstanding young men have earned the award.

The special-edition patch, available at local Scout Shops after the first of the year, will help make an already-special honor even more noteworthy.

Why the special patch? I’m told that after the overwhelming popularity of the 100th Anniversary of Scouting rank badges, Boy Scouts of America officials said it made sense to find a similarly unique way to celebrate the 100th Anniversary of Eagle Scouts.

A cool, new patch that will motivate Scouts? You won’t hear any complaints from me — or your guys!

Find a larger image of the patch design below:

But thanks to an alliance between the BSA and eKnowledge, some of the financial worry about getting ready for those tests is gone.

That’s because the test prep company eKnowledge recently announced that its $200 SAT and ACT PowerPrep software will be available free to members of the Boy Scouts of America.

There are separate versions for the SAT and the ACT, and it’s free whether you order one or both. Customers must still pay shipping and handling fees, which total less than $14 for each version of the software that you order.

According to a BSA release about the partnership, the software “includes more than 20 hours of video instruction, 3,000 files of supplemental test prep material, thousands of interactive diagnostic tools, sample questions, practice tests, and graphic teaching illustrations.” To order or get more information, visit the eKnowledge Web site.

The eKnowledge Sponsorship Alliance, now in its fourth year, has worked with dozens of community organizations to give away more than $32.4 million worth of software so far.