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BSA Troop 21

        Silver Beaver Award

Please help congratulate Cliff in being the latest Silver Beaver recipient for Troop 21.
Links to Silver Beaver information

About the Silver Beaver

Annually, the Council submits the names of persons to a Committee of the National Office of the Boy Scouts of America, recommending that such persons be presented the Silver Beaver Award. The selection of the nominees is made by a Council Committee (the Silver Beaver Nominations Committee). This committee is composed of registered adult volunteer Scouters who have previously received the Silver Beaver Award. Each District in the Council is entitled to be represented on the committee. The Committee consists of two persons selected by each District plus one or more "at large" members including the Chairman.

The Silver Beaver Award is the highest award given by the Council for distinguished service. The number of Silver Beaver Awards is determined by the National Office of the Boy Scouts of America each year and depends upon the number of registered units in the Council at the time. It should be noted that if the Committee determines that there are fewer qualified persons then the total allowable number, the Committee can (and has in the past) recommend only those felt qualified which may be less then the maximum allowed for that year.

Requirements

The requirements for the Award are that the candidate must:

• be a registered volunteer adult leader in the Greater Yosemite Area Council;
• be at least 21 years of age;
• have rendered noteworthy service of exceptional character to youth;

Additionally, the Committee considers;

• the length of time spent rendering service as a Scouter to youth;
• whether the candidate has rendered service to youth outside of Scouting;
• awards and other recognitions which the candidate has received both in Scouting and outside Scouting;
• service, good reputation and otherwise good standing in the community;
• whether and how the service may be regarded as outstanding or distinctive beyond that service regarded as within the expectation of normal duty;
• how lasting the service has been.

Nominations

Nomination forms are used to furnish the names of candidates to the Committee. A copy of the nomination form can be found in the FORMS section of the webpage. The forms are submitted by a person or persons other then the candidate. The deadline for submission is determined year to year and is usually in September of each year. The Committee meets in October to consider the nomination forms. The list of nominees is then sent to the Council President who forwards the list to the National Committee. After approval by the National Committee, those selected are notified so that they can make plans to attend the Recognition Meeting in their respective Districts with their families and friends.

The Committee evaluates each nomination form through a process whereby each member assigns a number rating to four areas. These are:

A. Exceptional service in Scouting (unit and/or district and/or council)

B. Exceptional service in non-Scouting youth organizations (such as church youth programs, school connected youth programs, youth sports [example: little league], service clubs with youth programs, etc.)

C. Awards and recognitions which the person has received both in Scouting and elsewhere (example: teacher of the year);

D. Service in and to the community other than that involving youth (such as church service, service clubs, volunteer government service [examples: Sheriff's Posse, volunteer zoning boards], other charitable activities [example: food for the needy].

This evaluation is accomplished by dividing the Committee into sub-groups so that discussion can more easily occur. Each sub-group evaluates each application. The members of the sub-group agree on a number score from 0 to 5 for each area as to each candidate. The "area" scores are then totaled as to each candidate. Thus each candidate could receive a maximum of 5 points for each area and a maximum of 20 total points (4 areas x 5 points for each) from each sub-group.

Once each sub-group has completed it's evaluation, the sub-group scores are totaled to arrive at an overall score for each candidate. (For example, if there are 4 sub-groups, a candidate could receive a maximum overall score of 80 points.) The candidates are then ranked in order from highest to lowest score.

At this point additional discussion is held, especially concerning candidates whose sub-group scores are inconsistent (e.g. very high in one sub-group and very low in another). Discussion and Committee resolution of tie scores may also occur at this time. In any event, after discussion, a Committee vote is taken to determine the list of nominees to be submitted to the Council President by the Chairman.

In evaluating the nomination forms, the committee member should place weight on the content rather then "penmanship" or technical presentation (typed vs. handwritten) of the application form.

Keep in mind that service to youth can take many forms such as work relating to finances, adult training, camporees, the unit committee, council activities, etc. While years of service is important, a fewer number of exceptional years might deserve more weight then more years of less exceptional service. While at least ten years of service is usually considered minimal, it is not required. Other considerations might be whether the service is of a lasting or transitory nature and the number of people affected by it. Does it appear that the candidate "goes the extra mile"? Also consider whether the candidate serves scouting through his or her family activities, community activities and the like. While the evaluation process is to some extent subjective, it is felt that the "scoring" procedure coupled with the input of several individuals (the members of the committee) serves to insure that each person on the final list of nominees is truly deserving of the Silver Beaver Award.
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