I will begin holding merit badge sessions for the First Aid Merit Badge, which is required for the rank of Eagle Scout, by the way, this Sunday (October 27th) at the Pitarresi household (38 Stream Bank Drive, Freehold, NJ 07728) at twelve o'clock. The badge will likely take four to five sessions to complete; each session will likely be around two hours long. Further meeting dates will be announced. Please note that there are going to be requirements that must be completed beforehand; all Scouts who take this badge must have all first aid requirements between the ranks of Tenderfoot and First Class completed in their Boy Scout Handbooks. A test will be given during the first session, which will include the following:

• Scouts must receive a score of "80" or better to complete Requirement 1 of the merit badge (requirements for the First Aid Merit Badge can be found here: http://meritbadge.org/wiki/index.php/First_Aid) on a twenty-question, multiple-choice exam. It is highly recommended that information in the Boy Scout Handbook should be reviewed before this exam.
  
• Scouts will be split into groups and given an easy first aid scenario that they must complete.
  
• Scout will receive another forty-five-question exam containing content that will be taught during the First Aid Merit Badge. There will be no grade for this test, as Scouts have not been taught the material yet. However, this will allow me to see what topics I must specifically focus on for the class as a whole beforehand.

As a new Assistant Scoutmaster and merit badge counselor, I look forward to working with all of the Scouts to help them acquire the most distinguished rank in Scouting. Please contact me if you have any questions. 

Alex Karn

Phone Number: (732) 850-5816

E-mail: akarn2014@aol.com