Summer efforts pay off for Scouts’ progress toward earning new merit badges, ranks

Troop 50 Scouts demonstrated at its post-summer court of honor on Sunday, Sept. 8 that attending summer camp and the troop’s monthly outings can pay off big. The court of honor, held at Auburn United Methodist Church, included 94 merit badges and 11 ranks Scouts earned since the troop’s last awards program court of honor in June — and an awesome ice cream bar with all the fixings provided by troop families.

James (right) receives six merit badges from Everett (right) as a result of his
summertime efforts, including Astronomy, Kayaking, Metalwork, Robotics,
Space Exploration and Wood Carving.

Senior Patrol Leader Everett and Assistant Patrol Leader Luke presided over the ceremony, along with Scoutmaster Andrew Baird. In addition to awarding new merit badges and ranks, the troop installed additional troop leaders appointed since the June court of honor, and officially presented its James J. Baird Jr. Honor Scout Award.

Many of the merit badges Scouts earned included popular summertime topics like swimming, fishing, canoeing and lifesaving, as well as Eagle-required merit badges like the Citizenship series and Environment Science. However, this round of awards also included specialized-topic merit badges like Engineering, Metalwork, Chess, Energy, Theater, and Salesmanship — just to name a few.

Likewise, summer camp participation also helped a number of the troop’s newest Scouts progress in rank to Tenderfoot. The group also included a few Star and Life ranks, as well as an additional Eagle Scout palm.

Scoutmaster Baird administers the oath of office to (left to right) Joe, Camp, George and Rhett.

Following the presentation of advancement awards, Scoutmaster Baird recognized a few additional youth leaders who were appointed to positions since June. Those included the addition of two new junior assistant scoutmasters — Joe and Camp — who were scheduled for their Eagle Scout Boards of Review in September. The installation ceremony and oath of office also included the appointment of George and Rhett to Instructor in addition to Rhett’s continuing duties as the troop’s chaplain’s aide. Olen was later installed as the new troop Historian.

Camp shows off his James J. Baird Jr. Honor Scout Award.

The final item on the court of honor’s agenda was officially recognizing Camp on his selection as the troop’s 2019 recipient of the James J. Baird Honor Scout Award. Camp was selected for the award in May, but due to a personal conflict, was unable to be presented with the honor at the troop’s June court of honor. Likewise, Scoutmaster Baird also presented him with a handmade neckerchief slide that has become the symbol of those who have served as senior patrol leaders. Camp served in the spring and his tenure concluded along with the June court of honor.

For more photos from the September court of honor, visit the troop’s online photo album.