To New Scouts, Life Scouts and Everyone In-between (Especially those who aspire to be Eagles)-

We recently had a Court of Honor, and some of you are probably wondering "What do I do with the cards I earned?"  (Figuring that you already knew what to do with the Merit Badges.)

The answer is very simple, but remember, the cards are as important, if not more important, than the fabric badge:

Get a three-ring binder - you can get a new one and put a fancy sheet on the cover, or re-use an older one, it really doesn't matter.  What's important is that you get organized early.

Start with at least two sheets of baseball-type card holders - One is for your rank cards as you get them.  One is for your merit badge cards. 

Rank cards should go in the order you get them. 

Merit badge cards should go on a separate page with the white card on top and the blue card behind it.  Put the blue card so that the date is readable.  Always double-check to make sure the dates agree.  This is especially important for you older Scouts.  There are still white cards out there that have the date of the Court of Honor, but should have a date that matches the blue card.

If you do have cards that the dates don't match - let Mr. Stark know as soon as possible.  Same is true if you happen to get a card missing a signature or with any other error on it.  Mistakes are rare, but the sooner they get fixed, the better.

If you have more than 9 merit badges, just continue on with more pages.

A limited number of these card-holder pages are available from Mrs. Darron for 10 cents each. 

Don't forget to write your merit badges in your Scout Handbook under Star and Life ranks.  - Pay attention to which are "Eagle" badges.  If they have a silver edging, they are Eagle-required.  If you have any questions about this, ask Mr. Stark, Mr. Bledsoe or Mrs. Darron.

What else should go in the binder? - It's a great idea to keep a list of the events you've been on.  It's also a good idea to keep a list of any special awards you receive from Scouts, school, church, sports, etc.  It's also useful to keep a running list of service projects and hours - you would be surprised to see how they add up.  This is also true for camping nights and locations, and miles hiked/canoed, biked.  Having some of these things documented can help on college applications when the time comes.  You can also keep old Scoutmaster Conference forms there to see how you are doing in meeting your goals.

What should you do if you have questions about how to assemble a binder, or if you'd like to make sure your book is done correctly? - Ask Mr. Bledsoe or Mrs. Darron at any meeting.  We are also glad to review books to make sure everything is in order.  If we can't get you to right away, we'll gladly schedule a time to review it.