Advancement

Advancement Questions? 

Council Advancement Chairman, Fraser Hale

Council Program Director, Jon Ralston

Square Knots:  What They Are and How to Wear Them

Confused about all those square knots adult leaders wear?  Here's a great site to explain them.

New Boy Scout Requirements

Effective January 1, 2008, there are a number of new Boy Scout rank requirements as developed by the National Youth Protection Committee.  Click on the following link for a listing of new requirements.

Also new, here's a link to the BSA National Site with the most up to date listing of Merit Badge Requirements.

Advancement Video Segments Now Available Online!

The National Council has produced a series of online videos that help explain the BSA advancement program and it's various elements including the Scoutmaster's Conference, the Board of Review, the Court of Honor and more. Click on the following link to Boy Scout Advancement Videos and select the one(s) of most interest to you.

More Online Videos

Follow this link to more video segments to help you and your Scouts understand and grow in Scouitng.

• btbr.mov is "Bring a Friend to Scouts"
• mb_primer.mov is "Merit Badge Primer"
• toh.mov is "Troop Open House"
• wtst.mov is "Webelos to Scout Transition"

Baden Powell Award

Check out the new Gulf Ridge Council Baden Powell Award for quality, balanced Scouting program.

Internet Advancement:  Available NOW!

Here are a few highlights about Internet Advacement and what it offers you:

• First of all you'll load your roster into the Internet Advancement site.  This will be the CURRENT roster of your unit, directly from ScoutNet (the official registration record for your unit).  You will not be able to upload rosters or information from TroopMaster, Scoutmate, Scoutsoft or any other unit-management software.
• Second, you'll update your roster with new advancement information.  The advancement software will check your data against the BSA advancement rules and will alert you for any errors (badges out of order, not enough required merit badges for Life, youth not registered, etc.).  These errors must be corrected before you can continue.
• Finally, you'll submit your advancement report.  The software will submit an electronic report to ScoutNet's Program Administration System and your unit processor will print an Advancement Report. This report will need to be signed and submitted to the council so that there is a hard-copy of the advancement activity and records.

The concept here is to increase the accuracy and "current-cy" of unit advancement reports.  When the unit submits the advancement report electronically, it will very quickly be updated in the unit and individual Scout's record because there is no need for a 3rd party to individually key-in every advancement for each Scout.  Units that use Internet Advancement on a regular basis should find no differences between what their records show for an individual Scout and what is in the council record.

Also, the unit administrator does not have to enter ALL of the advancement at one time which could be particularly helpful for a large unit.   For instance, the unit administrator may get den advancement reports from the Wolf and Webelos dens but does not have information from one of the Bear dens.  He or she can enter all the advancement data available, save the file in a draft mode and come back to add to it later.  Only after the final review do you hit "Submit to Council."   At that point, any additional advancement will be entered on a new report.  DON'T FORGET TO PRINT YOUR REPORT, HAVE IT SIGNED AND SUBMITTED TO THE OFFICE!

Click here for the Internet Advancement Frequently Asked Questions.

Click here to go to the Internet Advancement Page Internet Advancement Page

Increase your "Knot-ledge"

How well do you feel like you understand the BSA "Square Knots" that you see on so many Scouters' uniforms?  What do they stand for?  How do you earn them?  What forms are required?  Here's a site that is very helpful:  The Boy Scout Trail.  You can also check out other parts of that site for information on advancement requirements, activities, skits, etc.  Note:  "The Boy Scout Trail" is not affiliated with the BSA National Council.

The Principles of Leave No Trace
Learn the requirements for Leave no Trace Awareness awards for Scouts, Venturers and their leaders.

Eagle Scout Leadership Service Project Workbook & 12 Steps to Eagle
This workbook will help Scouts who have earned the Life Scout rank and are ready to begin their Eagle Scout leadership service project to plan and record their progress and complete and submit a final report. NOTE: When you submit your final paperwork you'll need 3 items:

• The Eagle Scout Application Form.
• Your Eagle Scout project workbook.
• The Gulf Ridge Council Eagle Project Summary Sheet.

Venturing: Youth and Adult Awards
A variety of awards are available to Venturers, from achievement awards such as the Bronze, Gold, & Silver awards to recognitions including the Venturing Leadership Award.

William T. Hornaday Awards
Complete information and application forms for the William T. Hornaday Awards for Distinguished Service to Natural Resource Conservation.

Religious Emblems
Religious emblems programs available to members of the Boy Scouts of America

Merit Badge Program
Opportunities to explore more than a hundred fields of skill and knowledge

Order of the Arrow
The BSA's national brotherhood of honor campers

Eagle Scouts
The special significance of Scouting's highest rank

Merit Badge Counselors
There has been some discrepancy among the troops regarding BSA Registration of Merit Badge Counselors. Please note: BSA Policy is that ALL Merit Badge Counselors MUST be registered as such. This is done by completing an Adult Application, as well as a Merit Badge Application. The statement of this policy can be viewed at the following web site: http://www.scouting.org/factsheets/02-500.html. If you have Merit Badge Counselors that are NOT registered, please do so ASAP! Thank you.