Re: Advice needed(long but serious)

I think that Mike Montoya's question re not allowing the Scout go for Eagle
for 3 - 4 months is right on target.

I have posted before that our troop has come close to denying advancement
before because of Scout Spirit at other ranks including having a Scout
write a contract with his peers as to what he was going to change. It
helped a great deal and this was at his Board for First Class!

Recently the same Scout came to the Board for Life. And was denied it
because he is obnoxious, pushy to the younger Scouts, disruptive in
meetings etc. He also has not been elected by his peers to OA. Sounds
familiar to Montoya's problem. He was given 3 - 4 months to cure the
problem and has since been approved by the same Board for advancement. He
knows that he has to show continued improvement or he will not get Eagle.

I do not see Eagle as an automatic. Even those outside Scouting that are
not aware of the work and requirements for Eagle know that an Eagle Scout
is a person who has accomplished something special. Scouting as a whole is
measured by this product.

I can still remember my own feeling of disgust when I arrested an Eagle
Scout for stealing thousands of dollars of property from his employer a
year after attaining Eagle rank. I had to wonder how he made Eagle and
what kind of Troop produced him.

I look at every candidate for Eagle as the measure and product of
leadership that we are trying to achieve. I start early in the ranks to
try to produce that product - as I think most do.

Mike, I think you have made the right decision for all of Scouting.

Not one shred of evidence exists in favor of the idea that life is serious.

Scott Drown
SM Troop 39, Maltby
Mt. Baker Council, Everett Wa.

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