Re: Eagle Advancement
(no name) ((no email))
Fri, 10 Nov 1995 01:53:54 -0600
(Kim, I understand that perhaps you don't have time to read all of the
postings here, but since you posted the question here, I'll answer it here
as well as to to send you a copy of the posting.)
Kim wrote:
>Our District is implementing some changes around the District Advancement
>Committee. There are several unit leaders questioning proposed changes. Would
>the list please give me a feel for how different districts handle Eagle
>Advancement, patricularly around project approval and Board of Review?
Districts handle the Eagle portion (in particular) of the Advancement
function of the Program Committee of the District (in other words, the
Advancement function is a major subcommittee falling under the Program
Committee) in different ways. Most of the ways center around the
personalities of the person/group/team "running" the Advancement show in the
District, the way the local Council wants things handled as far as the
composition, area and scope, and finally, according to the way the District
Executive(s) may or may not
involve themselves into the "mix".
The personalities of the person/group/team running the District's
Advancement function has a lot to do with the way it's going to be handled.
For example, there are several here that have been serving as a one-person
"committee" to handle the Advancement function. Nothing wrong with this,
because as we all know, we're really lucky to get that one person most of
the time, and if we get that person for more than two years at a time, we're
REALLY doing something great! Some folks work better by themselves, while
others appreciate the group effort in getting things approved, arranged and
formatted. There are a few, however, that like the "task approach" -- that
is, one person whom approves all of the Eagle projects, another to approve
the applications for all special awards, another to approve the composition
of the Eagle Board of Review or whom arranges to get the Board to meet. If
there's any major disagreement between the group or team, most of the time
it results in one person leaving the subcommittee because of the
disagreement. At least with one person, you don't have to worry about
"trying to please three different types of personalities".
Some Councils TELL their Districts "how they want things to occur", as much
as creating a book or training session for the new Advancement Chair,
informing him or her on how THIS Council view the Eagle Advancement process
in particular, and how THIS Council is going to handle Boards of Review.
There are three ways that National says that Boards of Review for Eagle can
be conducted (Chris, correct me and please add to this if you like):
* Central Board of Review at the local Council level, to be conducted by the
Council's Advancement Committee or by members of the Council's Executive Board
designated as the "advancement committee".
* Central Board of Review at the District/Division level, to be conducted by
the District's Advancement Committee with an invite to the unit to allow one
or two of it's unit committeemembers to be present.
* Unit Board of Review, to be conducted by the unit's Committee, under the
supervision and direction of at least two members of the District's or
Council's Advancement Committee (and either chaired by the District/Council
representative or by the Unit Committee's Chair)
There are pros and cons to each of these. If you like, I can followup with
a separate posting on these three. Suffice it to say, Kim, each of the three
(with some minor modifications, for instance, an Advancement Committee
member may NOT participate on a Board of Review of a Scout he or she
personally knows or is in the same unit (or District, in some cases) with;
the Council Board of Review is held at the Council Service Center unless
there are special circumstances which
forces the Board to meet at another location (a hospital, for instance). )
works well for those willing to make it work, which I am reading that your
District is experiencing change with.
>Primary discussion is around Eagle Project approval. Is the project approval
>an Advancement Committee approval (i.e. approval by committee) or just approval
>by an Advancement Committee member (any one on the committee can grant
>approval)? If it is the commiitte approval method, has this led to delays in
>getting projects approved?
Most of the "group or team" approach has been done with little or no delay,
in my observation, and takes about the same period of time as the "single
person" approach. Most "groups or teams" have a mimimum number of people to
be in attendance to constitute a quorum...no quorum, no action.
With the current amount of technology out here, faxing of applications and
materials, and teleconferencing meetings works just as well as the
face-to-face way. I haven't heard of any Districts or Councils doing their
work by email (although it would be something that would eventually come
about!).
The actual approval comes from the Advancement Committee Chair, no matter
how the approval comes about. So, the actual delay may well be in having
that one person to sign or give approval to the project or application.
>Another area for discussion is the Eagle Board of Review. Who sets it up? Is
>it a function of the Unit Committee Chair (making sure there are reps from the
>District Advancement COmmittee, Council, etc. present)? Does the District
>Advancement Committee (Eagle Chair) set everything and determines who is
>present?
In most cases, the District or Council Advancement Chair sets up the Boards
of Review, with assistance from the District's professional staff. In some
rare (and special...and most of them are done because the Advancement Chair
refuses, gets too busy, or have some problem with the unit's leadership)
cases, the unit does the arranging and coordinates with the District/Council
to insure that the appropriate person is there.
One of my personal pet peeves is the unit leader or Committee chair that
somehow "can't wait for the District/Council to put together a Board" for a
Scout, and calls everyone up, and *then* wants me (when I was on the
District's Advancement Committee) to "drop everything and come out tomorrow
night for my Scout's Board of Review". There's a reason why it takes so
long (and those during that task
realizes that people -- including him/herself -- are waiting!) to get
everything ready. The Advancement person has the responsibility of insuring
the packet is complete and that everything was completed according to the
way the Council wants him (or National says is the way they need him) to do
it. A lot of times, it involves calling the Council, the unit and in some
rare cases, the Eagle Scout Service to get approval or clarification on a
Eagle project, or the dates of leadership tenure, or some other detail that
will cause it to be rejected at the National level.
When a Scoutmaster calls me, informing me "We're having a Eagle Board of
Review" on Saturday evening, and can I attend representing the District?, my
immediate response is "Why so soon? Why can't it wait for another week?"
It just bugs me, that's all. I end up going there anyway.
Hope the information helps out, Kim!
Settummanque!
(MAJ) Mike L. Walton (Settummanque, the blackeagle) (
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