Award Preparation

This page covers the details for purchase and assembly of awards, whether for a Court of Honor or for presentation at a regular troop meeting.

Use the following workflow to minimize rework and missed awards.

1. Enter the completion in Scoutbook (Merit Badge Counselor, Scoutmaser, Assistance Scoutmaster).
2. Run the Needs Approval Report in Scoutbook and approve all applicable items (Scoutmaster). You can see in the report who marked each item as complete. Look for items approved by parents (not leaders) and reverse those items. At the end of this step, the report should be empty.
3. Run the Needs Purchasing Report in Scoutbook (Advancement Chair) and create a PDF of a PO.
4. Bring the advancement report to the New England Scout Shop in Southborough or the Mayflower Council Store in Marlborough.¹. For each rank, you need to specifically request the following:
   • Badge (the patch)
   • Rank card
   • Rank pin
   • Mother's pin
   For each merit badge, you need to specifically request the following:
   • Merit badge (the patch)
   • Merit badge card²
   Keep your receipt for the purchase and submit that to the unit Treasurer or Scoutmaster for reimbursement.
5. Assemble the awards (Advancement Chair). For ranks:
   • Complete the rank card by hand or with a typewriter. The Scoutmaster and SPL names are printed.
   • Put the rank card, patch, pin and mother's pin into an envelope, preferably a #6 coin envelope.
   • Write the Scout's name, the rank and the date earned on the outside of the envelope.
   For merit badges:
   • Complete the merit badge card by hand or with a typewriter. The Scoutmaster and SPL names are printed.
   • Attach the badge to the card with a paper clip.
6. As assembly is completed for each rank or merit badge, mark the item as awarded in Scoutbook (Advancement Chair).

As of 2021, BSA rules do not permit a unit to stock awards for future use. We are expected to purchase them only after they are earned. We do have some previously purchased inventory of rank pins and mother's pins.

See our Scoutbook page for more detail on how to use the system.

See our Places to Buy Scout Stuff page for more detail on store locations.

¹As of August 2021, the Lancaster Scout Shop had just closed, and the Heart of New England Council had not finalized plans to enable purchase of awards at Treasure Valley.
²Merit badge cards can be purchased in packages of 50; it is simpler to get this than to order a few cards each time.

Page updated 9/6/21 J. Froimson