The Patrol Leaders' Council is running a design contest.  Every Scout can submit one or more designs for the troop's new Bolo Tie.  What's a Bolo Tie and how do you participate?  Click HERE for all the details!  Check with Spencer B if you have more questions.  The contest ends March 30th.

 Welding will become is now the BSA’s 128th current merit badge, joining fellow newcomer Chess, which made its move onto the list during the summer of 2011. (See a complete list of merit badges here.)

Some merit badges are all about enjoying the outdoors — Whitewater, Camping, Backpacking. Those active subjects are an essential part of Scouting.

But those merit badges that focus on career exploration are just as important: subjects like Architecture, Graphic Arts, Home Repairs, and Journalism.

Welding fits right in with those.  Where else but Scouting can a young man learn from industry practitioners in real-world fields? It’s the perfect, hands-on way to explore a subject that a Scout may one day make his career.  [Hit Read More, below, for the rest of the story AND the requirements.]

Know a Scout seeking a little extra motivation to finish his Eagle requirements next year? Check this out!  To celebrate the centennial of Scouting’s top honor, all recipients of the Eagle Scout Award in the year 2012 will be eligible to wear a special version of the red, white, and blue badge, seen below.  Next year will mark 100 years since Arthur Rose Eldred became the BSA’s first Eagle. Since that date — Aug. 21, 1912 — more than 2 million outstanding young men have earned the award.

The special-edition patch, available at local Scout Shops after the first of the year, will help make an already-special honor even more noteworthy.

Why the special patch? Due to the overwhelming popularity of the 100th Anniversary of Scouting rank badges, Boy Scouts of America officials said it made sense to find a similarly unique way to celebrate the 100th Anniversary of Eagle Scouts.

Click READ MORE to see the patch!