ADVANCEMENT CEREMONIES

Fireworks
Baltimore Area Council

Probably best to use pictures of all the fireworks mentioned here even if they are legal in your state.  CD

When we think of the 4th of July, our first thoughts are of fireworks, picnics and having fun. We tend to forget the real reason for this holiday.  All of the fun things we do are in celebration of our American Independence. We might think of the fireworks we all enjoy as representing the battles Americans fought 200 years ago… battles that won the freedoms we all enjoy today.

In Cub Scouts, each boy must fight his own battles to accomplish the achievements required to earn ever higher ranks. Let’s use fireworks to represent these battles.

The sparkler represents the new Bobcat... a boy eager to join the Cub Scout pack. He has a fiery enthusiasm as he begins his battle for the Wolf rank. Will the following boys and their parents please come forward and prove their readiness to join pack ____?

The firecracker represents a boy who has fought and conquered the 12 achievements required for the rank of Wolf Cub. He, with the help of his parents, has fought well. Will the following boys and their parents please come forward and receive the Wolf badge?

As a boy gains in years and experience, he uses the things he has learned to help in fighting increasingly difficult battles. Such is the case with the Cub Scout who has fought his way to the Bear Cub rank. We represent him with the aerial bomb. He has reached new heights of learning, ending in an explosion of new abilities. Will these boys and their parents please come forward?

The brilliance and color of the Roman candle is representative of the boy who is ready to receive his Webelos award. He is now mature enough to begin the battles for the remainder of his activity pins and to work towards the greatest victory in Cub Scouting - the Arrow of Light. Will the following boys and their parents please come forward?

And now, the skyrocket, representing the Webelos Scout who has fought his way to the top. He has soared to the highest point in Cub Scouting . . . the Arrow of Light. Victory is his. He is now prepared to approach the adventures of Boy Scouts.

All of our Cub Scouts are continuously fighting their biggest battle - learning to live with themselves. Victory is theirs when they follow our motto . . . Do your best.

Freedom Symbols of our Country
Great Salt Lake Council

In our American history, we are fortunate to have many freedom symbols, which have special meaning to American citizens. Tonight I would like to tell you a little about one of these symbols as we honor those boys who are advancing along the Cub Scouting trail.

The Statue of Liberty stands 305 feet high in New York Harbor, welcoming people of other lands to become citizens of our democracy. France as a token of friendship gave the statue to the United States. Each year hundreds of tourists go to see Miss Liberty. The inscription at the base of this statue was written by Emma Lazarus, and reads in part: "Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free; the wretched refuse of your teeming shores; send these, the homeless, tempest tossed to me. I lift my lamp beside the golden door". There is a golden door to scouting which is open to all boys. By walking through that door to Scouting, boy has an opportunity to grow in many ways and learn about citizenship, character and physical fitness. The boys who wish to walk through that door to scouting tonight are (read names). Will you and your parents please come forward? (Continue with regular Bobcat induction).

Our American flag is much more than the red, white and blue cloth of which it is made. It is the symbol of America. It stands for the past, the present and the future of our country. When we show respect for the flag, we are showing respect for all that is America ... our land, our people, our way of life. When the 13 original colonies set out to become a free country nearly 200 years ago, their men and women needed a rallying point - a flag. "We will take the stars and blue union from heaven", the great George Washington is reported to have said, "red from our mother country, separating it by white stripes thus showing that we have separated from her, and the white stripes shall go down to posterity representing liberty". Respect for the flag is one of the requirements for a boy to earn the Wolf rank. Tonight we have some boys who have completed all these requirements. (Call boys and parent forward and present badges and cards).

The Declaration of Independence is one of many documents, which established freedom in America. It was on July 4, 1776, that the Continental Congress met in Philadelphia and announced the separation of the 13 colonies from England. In America, we have a government of the people, by the people and for the people... not for just some of them, but for all people...the people to whom the Declaration of Independence refers when it says "all men are created equal", not equally talented or equally rich, but equal under law, and under God. All Scouts have an equal opportunity to advance in rank and earn badges. The following boys have earned Arrow Points to wear under the Wolf badge. (Call boys and parents forward to receive awards).

One of the most beloved of our freedom symbols is the Liberty Bell. The Liberty Bell was rung in 1776 calling the people of Philadelphia to the signing of the Declaration of Independence. During the British occupation of Philadelphia, the bell was hidden beneath the floor of the Zion Reformed Church in Allentown, Pennsylvania. Sixty years later, as the bell was tolled for the death of Chief Justice John Marshall, it cracked. Since that time it has been on display in Independence Hall, Philadelphia, for all Americans to see. The bell is old, but the crack is plain to see, along with this inscription: "Proclaim liberty thought the land". A study of our American Heritage is one of the twelve requirements for a boy to earn the Bear badge. The following boys will receive that badge tonight. (Call boys and parents forward to receive awards).

Akela’s Pack Advancement Ceremony
Baltimore Area Council

Equipment: Badges to be awarded.

Personnel: Akela (Cubmaster), boys who have earned badges and their parents.

If there is enough room at the front of the hall, ask the pack to make a big council circle around Akela. If not, boys remain at tables.

In turn, Akela asks each boy who has earned an award to step into the council circle with his parents. Akela asks the pack, “Look well, O Wolves. Is this Cub worthy of his ___________ (badge or arrow point)?

Pack responds “He is!”

Akela then gives badge to parents to pin on sons’ uniform. When all badges have been awarded, Akela asks the pack to stand, make the Cub Scout sign, and repeat the Law of the Pack.

Patriotic
Baltimore Area Council

This ceremony could be enhanced by having leaders portray the characters in costume.  Feel free to change the characters and the badges they are awarding to fit your packs awards and available costuming.

CUBMASTER: Ladies and gentlemen, we have some honored guests here tonight. I would like to introduce Uncle Sam, Lady Liberty, and Yankee Doodle. Each of these individuals is an important symbol to the people of our country. Tonight, they are here to present some other symbols to some deserving young men. These symbols represent hard work, diligence, and jobs well done.

YANKEE DOODLE: We have some Cub Scouts who have earned some special awards. Would the following Cub Scouts and parents please come forward? (Call the names of those receiving Wolf badge and arrow points.)

LADY LIBERTY: I would like to call forward those Cub Scouts who have been working for some time and have achieved much. I would like them to present them with their awards. (Call the names of those receiving Bear badge and arrow points and their parents.)

UNCLE SAM: I would like to recognize some of the older boys in this group. You have given unselfishly of yourselves. For your loyal support over the years, I would like to present you with your awards. (Call the names of those receiving Webelos badges, activity badges, or compass points and their parents.)

CUBMASTER: I would like to thank our three guests for coming to help us tonight. And a special thanks to all the boys who have worked so hard to be examples and role models of good American citizens!

America the Beautiful
St. Louis Area Council

Put the rank awards for the Cub Scouts on the back of cut out stars on a blue board. You may want to use Velcro tape, card board with pins or a blue blanket.

Cubmaster: To many of America’s citizens, the flag is very symbolic of “America the Beautiful”. For in its Red, White, and Blue, we see America working as a team, a nation under God. In the firth of our flag, the stars in a field of blue were meant to represent a new constellation in the heavens. Tonight we add some new stars to our own constellation. As we add more and more stars, the heavens become brighter as the rays light up the path to truth and knowledge through Scouting. Will our new stars please come forward with their parents as their names are called?