Our troop librarian is responsible for maintaining a catalog of current Merit Badge handbooks for Troop 567 scouts to borrow. We will also gratefully accept donations of gently used handbooks once scouts have completed a MB.
Pick a Subject: Look through the Boy Scout Requirements booklet at the available merit badges and their requirements. Talk to your Scoutmaster about your interests or ask a friend what merit badges he enjoyed. Pick a merit badge to earn. It is the responsibility of each Scout to select and earn merit badges that interest him.
- Understand the requirements: Obtain a copy of the appropriate Merit badge from either the Troop Librarian or from the local scout shop. Lots of information is also available online from several very good source and frequently a downloadable worksheet is available to help keep scouts organized.
- Find a Buddy: You must have another person with you at every meeting with the merit badge counselor. This person can be another Scout, your parent, a brother or sister, or a friend. It is more fun if you have a scout buddy earning the merit badge with you.
- Receive Approval/Get a Counselor: Talk to your Scoutmaster or Advancement Chair about the merit badge you want to earn. Tell him who your partner will be for this badge. Your Scoutmaster or Advancement Chair will then help you identify a qualified merit badge counselor. This may be an adult leader within the troop, or an adult volunteer from within the Powder Mill District. A list of local Merit Badge counselors is available in the secure portion of this web site.
- Fill out the Blue Card: Properly fill out the Blue Card. The Scoutmaster should date and sign the front of the blue card. The Scout should then fill out the front of the card with his information and our area information: We are in the Indian River District, Gulf Stream Council. Turn the card around and fill out with your name and the Merit Badge your are going to be working on (The official Merit Badge name). The Merit Badge counselor will fill out the remaining parts. The process is simple.
- Meet Your Counselor: Speak with the merit badge counselor and tell him/her that you would like to earn the merit badge. Tell the counselor you have your blue card. The counselor will set up a time to meet with you and your buddy to explain what is expected of you and to start helping you meet the requirements. When you know what is expected, start to learn and do the things required. Read the merit badge pamphlet to learn a lot about the subject – you can check a pamphlet out from the troop librarian. Ask your counselor to help with the things you need help to complete
- Demonstrate your Ability: When you are ready, call the counselor again to make an appointment to meet the requirements. Take the projects you’ve made and the work you’ve done so you can demonstrate your completion of the requirements. If projects are too big, arrange to have the counselor come and see them or ask if you can bring a photograph of the project instead.The counselor will ask you to do each and every requirement to make sure that you know your stuff and have done or can do the things required.After the Scout has completed all the merit badge requirements the counselor confirms that by completing his part of the blue card.
- Get the Badge: When the counselor is satisfied that you have met the requirements, s/he will sign your blue merit badge card. Turn in the completed blue merit badge card to your Scoutmaster or Advancement Chair so the merit badge patch can be ordered. Requirements: You are expected to meet the requirements as they are stated. You are expected to do exactly what is stated. If it says, “show or demonstrate” that is what you must do – just telling about it isn’t enough. The same is true for requirements such as “make”, “collect”, “identify”, and “label”. Finally, the Scout separates the blue card into three parts and makes sure that everyone gets their part, one part goes to the Advancement Chair, the other stays with the MB Counselor, and the other one with the Scout records.
NOTE: It is very important that scouts SAVE their portion of the completed/counselor signed blue card. This is the scouts proof that he has completed the merit badge. While the troop/council does keep records you don’t want to be submitting your Eagle Scout application and discover that through a record keeping error you get held up!We recommend scouts keep an advancement notebook (The white folder) and store rank and merit badge cards in clear plastic ‘baseball card’ protectors. They work perfectly.