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New-Program GMA Requirements
By Mike Laliberty
Let's look at the requirements for the Gold Medal
of Achievement (GMA) for Spring 2003.
There are several logical groupings of
merits that contain the same theme or emphasis. In fact, a number
of the themes now provide additional options. For example, the outdoor
activity emphasis now contains an additional option called Cycling.
The nature awareness emphasis contains another option called Environmental
Science. The missions emphasis contains another option called International
Service.
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Click
here for GMA merit requirements.
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Gold
Medal of Achievement
(Valid starting Spring 2003)
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Eight Optional Merits
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Required GOLD Merits
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- Gold Bible Merit or
All 25 New Testament and 23 Old Testament Bible
Merits
- Christian Missions or International Service
or Light For The Lost
- Emergency Preparedness or Home Safety or Camp
Safety or Lifesaving
- First Aid
- Christian Service or God & Church Award
- Communications or Public Speaking
- Bachelor
- Citizenship or God & Life Award
- Environmental Science or Nature Study
- Camping
- Hiking or Swimming or Cycling
- Personal Fitness
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Required RED Merits
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- Family Life or God & Family
- Cooking
- Tool Craft
- Safety
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General Requirements
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8 Optional, GREEN, GOLD
or SILVER merits
12 Required GOLD merits
4 Required RED merits
500-Word essay
Gold medal Christian service
project
6 Months in Leadership position
3 Months as a Silver medalist
Be at least 12 years old and
be at least in the 6th grade.
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There is now an option to the standard Bible merit
in the form of 25 New Testament merits and 23 Old Testament merits.
Portions of these merits can be earned during the Bible Study portion
of a regular meeting. That's six (6) years of Bible Study the boys
will be able to manage in bite-sized pieces.
One of the most notable groupings is the grouping
of gold and red merits. Merits are now designed for age appropriateness.
The red merits are designed for the Discovery Rangers (3rd, 4th,
5th grades) age group. The gold merits are designed for the Adventure
Rangers (6th, 7th, 8th grades) age group. Half of the Bible merits
are designed for the Discovery Rangers, half for the Adventure Rangers.
In this way a boy entering Discovery Rangers is immediately working
on his GMA merit trail.
One additional old GMA merit is now missing from
the list. It is the Wilderness Survival merit. It has now become
part of the Frontiersmen Camping Fellowship's "Trail to the Grizzly"
Wilderness advancement requirements. Information regarding the "Trail
to the Grizzly" can be found on the Trail
of the Grizzly page here.
The greatest change in the GMA is not the
merit-name changes or merit groupings, but in the merits themselves.
Each of the merits has been reviewed in detail. Individual merit
requirements have been modernized and updated. Unnecessary repetition
of requirements in various merits has been eliminated.
New areas of emphasis have also been added to
various merits. For example, the Bachelor merit has been updated
to include requirements that focus on money management and the development
of a budget. The Christian Missions merit has been updated with
options for other approved churches using the Royal Rangers ministry to direct their boys to gather information and resources from their
missions organizations.
So, what's new for the GMA?. A new excitement,
an enhanced challenge, a modernized and updated merit system,
flexibility,
and lots of options, options, options!!
CAN'T WAIT TO GET STARTED!!
See
how the GMA compares with the Boy Scouts' Eagle Scout Award here.
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