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 2024 MERIT BADGE DAYS

NESA Merit Badge Day will be held on Saturday, May 10th, 2025, at Scheve Park, Mascoutah, Illinois.

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 4:00 PM.

Some Merit Badge Classes are a full day 9:00 am  others a half day- Lunch 12:00 - 1:00 pm - End of Day 4:00 pm   NO WALK INS WILL BE ALLOWED!

All scouts need to complete all pre-requisits and should have the merit badge workbook filled in for the counselor to review during class.

The Southern Illinois National Eagle Scout Associations 2025 focus will be providing the Eagle required Merit Badges at all our merit badge days.  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 at the next merit badge day to sign off on scouts’ requirements not completed from the previous merit badge day. We feel that continuity of counselors at these events will help the scouts to complete their badge at the next merit badge day.

Merit Badges scheduled for this event are:

Half Day Classes - Citizenship in the World, Citizenship in the Nation, Citizenship in the Community, Communications and Family Life.

Full Day Classes - Camping, Cooking, Personal Management, Emergency Prep, Environmental Science, First Aid  and Sustainability.

Some information that your scout needs to know:

LUNCH OPTIONS

Lunch is included with your scouts registration, the only thing you have to do is select one of the available options.   Lunch will consist of a Hamburger/Cheeseburger, chips, drink, dessert or Hot Dog, chips, drink, dessert, and lunch.  Additional sandwiches will be available for purchase at the event. 

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 pre-requisites 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 pre-requests that will be emailed to them once your registration for the day is complete.

Bring a camp chair for your scout to use during his/her 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, annual Eagle Recognition Banquet, 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 pre-requisites have been completed prior to the event!! Sometimes counselors wish to talk about pre-requisites 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. 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. If needed, you may purchase and download the current Merit Badge book for $2.99 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.

NEW ADULT CLASS - A Parent's Guide in the Life to Eagle Process 
This class will show...
• how to help your son or daughter earn thier Eagle Scout Rank;
• things that help;
• things that don't help.
Encouragement

One of the most important things you can do for your Scout is to provide encouragement.
Many scouts get discouraged while others get distracted. They may feel pressure from their
peers that Scouting isn't "cool". You can encourage them and remind them that earning the
Eagle Scout rank will have more long-term significance throughout their life than almost
anything else they does as a youth. They must make a decision to reach for this
accomplishment, but your support and encouragement often makes the biggest difference.
Help them set deadlines, timelines, and goals so that they don’t run out of time to complete the
process.

Yours in Humble Service,

Nick Bagby, Chair, Advancement Days

Eileen Williams, Administrator, Advancement Days