How to Conduct a Troop of Honor
A court of honor for boy scouts is a time to come together and award the scouts for the things they have achieved within the troop. Twice a year, families and friends gather with the troop to witness the scouts receiving badges of rank, merit badges, and other honors. A first time scout leader may be overwhelmed with the idea of putting together and running a court of honor. With many options and resources available, a successful court of honor is easily achievable.
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Things You'll Need
- Outline of events
- List of awards
- Awards and pins
- Flags and stands
- Honor guard
Instructions
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Decide on a location and date to hold the court of honor, such as a school, church or outdoor venue. Especially for a new group, a location that will not cost the troop is the best option. Outdoor locations such as local parks or campgrounds lend themselves to a cookout or potluck which can be a great way to get the entire family involved. Check with other local troops to get ideas for available venues. Visit the site to become familiar with the venue. Let the troop and parents know about the event several weeks in advance.
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Create an outline of events that will take place at the court of honor. A simple court of honor should consist of a greeting by the scoutmaster or senior patrol leader or chaplain's aide, followed by the presentation of flags by the honor guard, (pledge of allegiance, scout law and scout oath). Next, a leader or other volunteer will present badges of rank and mother's pins to the scouts. Following this is the presentation of merit badges that have been completed. If there are any other miscellaneous awards for leaders or scouts, they can be presented next, followed by announcements and information about upcoming events. At this time, closing remarks or prayer can be said by the scoutmaster and chaplain's aide. Finally, the retiring of flags by the honor guard concludes the ceremonies. Decide ahead of time who will be making the presentations, and announcements. Scoutmasters, assistant scoutmasters and scouts should be aware of their jobs, so they have time to get comfortable with the assigned duties.
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Make a list of awards that have been earned by the scouts. The local scout office will have all the awards available for purchase and the presentation cards that go with them. Purchase the awards two weeks in advance to allow yourself time to fill out the cards. This also gives the scout office time to order any awards they don't have in stock.
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Practice the presentation and retiring of flags ceremony with the honor guard the troop has selected. Practicing several times will familiarize the scouts with the ceremony for a more polished result. There are many options for flag ceremonies and different etiquette rules apply for indoors vs outdoors. Read the boy scout handbook, on-line guides or flag ceremony booklet, (available at the local scout shop) to find the ceremony that is right for your troop.
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Run through the entire court of honor with the scouts at the last troop meeting before the event. This will help the troop members and volunteers remember their duties during the real thing. This walk through will also make apparent any problems or issues that need to be resolved before the event. At this time, check your supplies to verify you have all the items, awards and props you will need.
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Tips & Warnings
If an outdoor location is chosen, have a backup venue available in case of inclement weather.
References
Resources
- Photo Credit picnic and barbecue park. image by mdb from Fotolia.com
