Re: My First Try at Processing an Eagle Project.......H E L P
Pam Glidden (pglidden@YAHOO.COM)
Mon, 26 Apr 1999 11:11:34 -0700
Hi Gary,
I don't know if this will help any or will pour gas on your
frustration. I hope it helps. During my phone conversation last
Friday with John Dalrymple, (the Director of Advancement at the
National Scout Office) we were discussing what constitutes being active
with the troop and patrol. He DID ask if the Scout was registered!
But that was not all he said on that subject. His very next comment
was, "Well, if the young man in question is registered in Scouting and
has managed to accomplish all of the requirements in his Handbook for
the Eagle Rank, I can't imagine how he could do so without being active
at some point!"
The impression I got while speaking to him was that
National had purposely NOT specified how much activity was required to
meet this requirement. John stated that they don't expect 100%
attendance to meet it. He stated that these young men lead active
lives and that they (National) understood that priorities sometimes
have to shift temporarily.
Now unfortunately, we all know some people that would take advantage of
an iron clad statement that x# of hours were required to prove
activity. So let's say for example a young man were to be working
toward Eagle ( and pushing his 18th birthday!) and suddenly just as he
finished all of his requirements come down with some illness that
required a prolonged quarantine at home; should he be robbed of his
Eagle rank simply because he had not shown recent activity? I'm sure
that National would like, as I would, that none of us would do such a
thing, but human nature being what it is, someone WOULD take exactly
that stance in their eagerness to not award this honor to an
undeserving Scout! That would be a shame. So National has to word
these guidelines exactly as they do in preparation for that kind of
circumstance.
Or another example could be a brand new SM that says to a seventeen and
a half year old prospective Eagle Scout, "Well Johnny, I am new at this
job, only had it a week, so I haven't seen how active you have been in
the past. I am not willing to sign your Eagle application until I have
personally observed you being active for the next 6 months." If the
guidelines were not written exactly as they are, unfair statements such
as that could be made and actually gotten away with!
Well, I hope this helps. I truly don't believe National ONLY expects
registration, but they are not going to define activity other than
having met the outlined basic requirements in the handbook and on the
Eagle Application. Personally I can't see a young man working for as
long and as hard as he has to do, to meet the other Eagle requirements
to achieve Eagle status; if he were a liar and a cheat.
(As he would have to be if he had not been active very much or at all.)
Sincerely,
Pam Glidden
District Advancement Chairman
Chief Seattle Council
--- "Gary A. Musselman" <Gaalmus@AOL.COM> wrote:
> I am deeply disturbed by the position,
> "National-supported" or not, that mere
> registration is sufficient to fulfill the Eagle
> requirement for being "active" for six months (Paul >Wolf wrote:
"Very Simple. BSA has defined
> "Active in your troop and patrol" as maintaining
> membership in BSA. It has been consistent EVERY >time the issue has
come up that NO ONE may define
> criteria for that requirement other than >membership.") .
>
_________________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Get your free @yahoo.com address at http://mail.yahoo.com
