The purpose of the Gold Award program is to:

• Recognize achievement by young adults.
• Encourage personal growth through exposure to activities related to the six experience areas of Exploring.
• Offer challenging and stimulating opportunities for young adults to develop and achieve personal goals in citizenship, character development, and personal fitness.
• Provide a favorable image of Exploring among youth, parents, schools, and communities.

Background

The Gold Award program has been developed to recognize a significant accomplishment in a young person's life; it requires outstanding performance in a broad spectrum of activities related to Exploring's six experience areas (career, service, fitness, social, leadership, and outdoor). The program was developed to challenge at to motivate young people over an extended period of time.

Qualification

The program is designed to challenge young men and young women with interests that cover a wide variety of Exploring activities. Several requirements must be met to qualify for the Gold Award; the requirements are listed separately below.

The Gold Award will be presented only to young adults whose personal conduct is in keeping with the principles of the Explorer Code and the Boy Scouts of America.

Requirements

1. The candidate must have been an active, registered Explorer for at least 12 months tenure before final qualification.
2. The candidate must have been an active member of the Explorer post, and served in one or a combination of leadership roles within the past 12 months (roles may be concurrent) as follows.

For leadership roles within the post, a candidate might be:

• An Explorer post officer.
• An Explorer officers' association member or committee member.
• An activities chairman for one of the post's two-day activities or superactivity.

For leadership roles outside the post, a candidate might be:

• An elected youth officer of a church or school organization.
• An elected or appointed team leader.

3. The candidate must have participated in a district/Exploring division, council, area, region, or national Explorer event.
4. The candidate must, in consultation with the post Advisor or a member of the post committee, set one personal growth goal related to each of the six experience areas of Exploring, in which the Explorer certifies completion of the goals.

For personal growth, a candidate might

• Complete a cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) course, or an Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) course.
• Plan and carry out a personal exercise program over a 4-month period. i.e., jogging, running, swimming, weight reduction, or physical conditioning.
• Practice for, and attain, the Presidential Physical Fitness Award.
• Complete a reading program of the scriptures, classical literature, historical series, etc.
• Serve for six months as a reading counselor for a child with reading problems.
• Visit a nursing home, on a regular basis, over a 4-month period, to help write letters or to read to patients or provide personalized services.

5. The candidate must plan, prepare for, and lead to completion two or more post activity projects that relate to at least two of the six experience areas; suggested post activity projects are listed separately below.

For post/ship activities, the action should involve at least five Explorers, and it should require a minimum of 4 to 6 months from inception to completion; the project should be approved and the goals of the project set by the post Advisor and/or a member of the post committee and the Explorer candidate. Both parties should certify the completion of the projects(s). Activities should be arranged to fit into normal post programming. Qualifying post/ship activities include, but are not limited to the following:

• Plan and, with the help of at least four other Explorers, carry out a conservation project that is approved by an agency of the federal, state, or local government, such as the National Park Service, the Department of the Interior, the Bureau of Land Management, state division of parks and recreation, city or county parks department, etc.
• Plan and chair a committee that stages a major social activity involving all members of a post, post members and their parents, or post members and their entire families.
• Plan and carry out a series of post activities over a 4- to 6-month period, related to careers of interest to post members. Professional or volunteer consultants could be asked to present information regarding their specialty, profession, or occupation.
• Help organize a new Explorer post, or revitalize an inactive Explorer post; coordinate activity with BSA local council staff members.
• Organize a recruitment drive to add members to your own post or to other posts in the district/council. The drive should last at least 1 month, and the recruitment plan should include specific activities oriented toward recruiting new members, goals, methods of publicity, etc.

6. The candidate must be able to recite the Explorer Code.
7. The candidate must submit three letters of recommendation to the post Advisor that confirms he or she lives in accordance with the principles of the Explorer Code. The letters should come from adults outside the post, such as school or church leaders, employers, or community leaders.
8. After completing all other requirements, the candidate should prepare evidence of completion of the work and submit it to the post Advisor/Skipper. The post president/boatswain, in conjunction with the post Advisor/Skipper, should then appoint a review committee of four to six people including Explorers and adults. The committee should review the candidate's written presentation and interview the candidate to determine whether that person grew as a result of the pursuit of the Gold Award.
9. Finally, the candidate must have qualified for the Gold Award before his or her 21st birthday.

Suggested Qualifying Activities