BSA Alumni Association > For Alumni > Alumni Recognition > Alumni Award

Alumni award

Recognizing those who help Scouting alumni reconnect

Your mission should you choose to take it…​

Millions of Americans—including several of your coworkers, friends, and family members—were involved in Scouting at one point in their lives.

The trick is tracking these former members down and asking them to reconnect with the Boy Scouts of America.

That’s where you come in. Ready for a challenge?

Help these one-time Scouts get back in touch with the Scouting program, and you’ll be eligible to earn the Alumni Award square knot seen above.

The award recognizes registered Scouters who help unregistered alumni rejoin the program. This task breaks down into four categories of requirements:

  • Alumni identification and promotion, such as contacting former members, planning alumni activities, and/or presenting to non-Scout groups.
  • Alumni engagement, including helping two former members become registered Scouters or recruiting alumni to volunteer at Scouting events.
  • Personal participation, which could mean serving on an alumni committee or sharing your experiences at the BSA Alumni Web site.
  • Personal education, such as completing the online alumni training or taking an alumni course at the Philmont Training Center.

If you’re an Eagle Scout, you’ll also need to become a registered member of NESA, the National Eagle Scout Association.

The requirements are tough, and that’s by design. We expect folks to
work just as hard as alumni as they did as Scouts.

-Bill Steele, the BSA’s first director of Scouting Alumni & Friends

How to get the award

  • Applicants must be currently registered adult Scouters of the Boy Scouts of America.
  • All applicants must receive the approval of their local council’s alumni committee chair and Scout executive.
  • Approved applications are forwarded to the Scouting Alumni and Friends Committee. Those approved will be sent a certificate that can be used to purchase a square knot and/or lapel pin from the Scout Shop.
  • Individuals who have received the Alumnus of the Year (council, regional, or national) are also considered recipients of the Alumni Award.

Form

Alumni Award Application (9/2018, 197K, PDF)

Supply item description and uniform placement

Knot, worn on any field uniform above the left pocket; lapel pin for civilian wear.

Supply/Bin item no.

Knot, No. 611866; lapel pin, No. 612901

More information

Contact the Vice – Chair for Awards and Recognition

Alumni award recipients

Listed alphabetically by council