The Alvin Johnson Adventure & Service award was designed by the boys of Boy Scout Troop 123, Faith Lutheran Church, Bismarck, North Dakota in March 2003.

As a Boy Scout the criteria for earning the award are:

1. Earn the Cycling Merit Badge

2. Earn the Backpacking Merit Badge

3. Do 6 hours over the required hours of Community Service at your ranking.

This Adventure and Service award was made to honor the memory of Alvin and to honor the spirit of adventure. Tenderfoot Scout, Alvin Johnson, died April 12, 2000. Alvin is remembered for his contagious enthusiasm for any and every task placed before him; he always volunteered. He served Troop 123 as Scribe, keeping records of attendance, maintaining an updated Troop roster, tracking of the Troop’s patrol contest and writing letters for the Troop. He was a very, very fine Scout.

Many people from his neighborhood and from the Troop tell stories of Alvin performing acts of kindness; how he shoveled snow off people’s sidewalks and mowed their lawns without expecting pay, without being asked to, without their knowledge.

Community Service

Each Spring the Troop cleans the church’s yard as a way of saying thank you to Faith Lutheran congregation for sponsoring the Troop. On a Tuesday in April of 2000, Alvin came to Scouts at 6:00, an hour before the scheduled time, (that is why the clock on the patch is set at 6:00) to start raking (that is why there is a rake behind the clock on the patch). He just came early on his own and went to work. This was a typical act of kindness from Alvin’s big heart.

Cycling Merit Badge and Backpacking Merit Badge

Alvin was a Tenderfoot Scout, needing only to complete two additional requirements for Second Class. He had earned Cycling, First Aid, Fishing, and Canoeing merit badges. Alvin loved the outdoors. He was rewarded at summer camp in 1999 by the boy leaders for being the best in the Troop at exemplifying “Scout Spirit.” The Boy Scouts of America recognized Alvin’s accomplishments by issuing the family a Spirit of the Eagle award.