Any questions regarding the merit badge day, please contact  Eileen Williams at 618-246-3012 or Nick Bagby at 618-980-0993 or by email at taleka812002@yahoo.com

PLEASE PAY CLOSE ATTENTION TO CHANGES FOR THE UPCOMING 2025 MERIT BADGE DAYS

NESA Merit Badge Day will be held on Saturday, January 17th, 2026, at East Side Fire Department, 3111 East B Street, Belleville, IL  62221.

Registration Opens at 8:00 a.m.  Flags ceremony at 8:45 a.m.

The merit badge classes will begin at 9:00 A.M. and end around 1:00 PM.

Crime Prevention and Fingerprinting will be offered at this event.  

All scouts need to complete all prerequisites and should have the merit badge workbook(a) filled in for the counselor to review during class.

To ensure your scouts ability to complete merit badges, we are asking our counselors to serve a year teaching their class.  The continuity of the counselors from merit badge day to the next allows scouts who did not complete their badge at their first attempt the same counselor will be available to sign off on scouts’ requirements not completed on the day of the event.

The Two Merit Badges scheduled for this event are Crime Prevention and Fingerprinting. 

Some information that your scout needs to know:

LUNCH OPTIONS

Lunch is included with your scout’s registration.   

Blue cards ARE NOT needed and Will NOT be accepted for this event. They may be printed from your original online registration at least two weeks after the NESA Merit Badge Day event. PLEASE allow the volunteer staff that time to enter all the information before you contact them for the blue cards.

What to Bring
Scouts should be in a class A uniform, bring their merit badge pamphlet, workbook with prerequisites completed, notebook, pen/pencil, and any other supplies required for each merit badge session. Special items or apparel will be listed as required in the catalog for each merit badge. Each scout should bring all information of completed prerequisites that will be emailed to them once your registration for the day is complete.

Bring a camp chair for your scout to use during their merit badge class.

Why Does NESA Charge a Fee?
The Southern Illinois National Eagle Scout Association of the Greater St. Louis Area Council NESA Committee provides funds for scholarships and your Eagle Scouts presentation box used at their Eagle Court of Honor, as well as other activities benefiting Scouting. All proceeds from activities such as the Advancement Day go right back into the program providing for merit badge programs and scholarships.

Merit Badge Sessions
Scouts may choose from Merit Badges that are in the course catalog. Attendance of the Merit Badge class DOES NOT guarantee completion of the Merit Badge even if all the prerequisites have been completed prior to the event!! Sometimes counselors wish to talk about prerequisites prior to assigning them for completion.

NESA Advancement Day is an opportunity for the Scout to meet with a counselor to review the Merit Badge material and demonstrate their skill and knowledge in that area to the counselor.

Sessions include instruction, group discussion, demonstration, and evaluation. The Scout should be prepared to actively participate and discuss the material covered in the Merit Badge Pamphlet (workbook).. This is best accomplished by reading the merit badge pamphlet and completing the prerequisite work as listed in the Class Catalog for the merit badge you are seeking. Merit Badge Workbooks may be downloaded for free at: http://usscouts.org/mb/worksheets/list.asp  If needed, you may purchase and download the current Merit Badge book using the following link: https://www.scoutshop.org/literature/program-literature/merit-badge-pamphlets.html

If a Scout has completed some of the merit badge requirements, they should bring proof with them.

 Yours in Humble Service,

Nick Bagby, Chair, Advancement Days

Eileen Williams, Administrator, Advancement Days