Journey to Excellence
"Scouting's Journey to Excellence" is the BSA's council performance recognition program designed to encourage and reward success, and measure the performance of our units, districts, and councils. It is meant to encourage excellence in providing a quality program at all levels of the BSA.
Service Hours
Units are encouraged to report their service projects on the Journey to Excellence website. This helps provide the community an accurate report on the great service and dedication our Scouts are showing throughout the Black Swamp Area Council.
All Scouting groups are encouraged to participate in service projects. A service project is a special Good Turn that puts Scout spirit into action. Some Good Turns are big—saving a life, helping out after floods or other disasters, recycling community trash, working on conservation projects. But Good Turns are often small, thoughtful acts—helping a child cross a busy street, going to the store for an elderly neighbor, cutting back brush that is blocking a sign, doing something special for a brother or sister, or welcoming a new student to your school. Anyone can get involved in a Good Turn.
Did you know that your unit can earn points towards the Journey to Excellence program just for logging your units community service hours online? That’s right your unit can earn up to 200 extra points if you log your service hours online. All types of service projects can be entered into this system including the Good Turn for America projects such as the shelter drive, food drive, and blood drive. Units may also enter their service hours for community projects that they took on as a unit. Please log all service hours. Journey to Excellence is the BSA's council performance recognition program designed to encourage and reward success and measure the performance of our units, districts, and councils. It is meant to encourage excellence in providing a quality program at all levels of the BSA.
All service hours should be logged no later than December 31st each year.
What hours should be logged?
- Any service hours performed by your unit for individuals or organizations in the community
- Service hours performed by your unit to support your chartered organization
- Scouting for Food hours
- Eagle Scout project hours
Internet advancement is a tool for units to report youth advancements, awards, and merit badges. Before beginning internet advancement, collect all member information, including advancement records, award records, and merit badge applications with the appropriate signatures. To complete internet advancement, you must be connected to a printer to print the final report. For assistance, consult the help for instructions on using internet advancement.
Internet advancement for Packs, Troops, Crews and Ships:
- Units should submit advancements online monthly, or more often if needed. At the end of the year, make sure all advancements are submitted by December 31 so proper Journey to Excellence (JTE) advancement statistics will be accurate for your unit and district.
- Advancement for your unit needs to be recorded in Scoutbook.
Internet advancement for Explorer Posts:
- Units should submit advancements online monthly, or more often if needed. At the end of the year, make sure all advancements are submitted by December 31 so proper Journey to Excellence (JTE) advancement statistics will be accurate for your unit and district.
- The unit advancement chair must sign into My.Scouting.org using Microsoft Internet Explorer (version 9 or lower).
- Click on the "Advancement" button on the My.Scouting.org home page. Follow the instructions to submit advancement records and print an advancement report
- Have the appropriate people sign the printed unit advancement report and submit it to the Scout Shop to purchase advancements (rank badges and merit badges). The Scout Shop will submit the paperwork to the council. Save a copy for your files.
If you have any questions or problems with your My.Scouting password, contact the national help desk at (972) 580-2489.
If you have any questions or problems with internet advancement, please visit the BSA internet advancement website.
Contact:
For questions, contact your unit commissioner or your district commissioner.
