BoyScoutSam

Here in southeastern Idaho our fees are $750. They cover registration, travel (by plane,) and lodging. There are only a few of us going, but I am pretty excited,

Yours in brotherhood,

Sam Fife

Hey I'm a lodge cheif from Idaho, I wanted to say congradulations too Kieran!

West Is Best!!

Hey, I'm a lodge chief wonderin what kind of special programs'll help to get quality lodge. I don't think our lodge has got it since 97 or something like that. I'm ready to work, and just want to know what things your lodge does GREAT that would assist in the quality lodge program. Thanx guys,

Yours in the Wimachtendienk,

Sam Fife of Shunkah Mahneetu

i dont think im a "paper" eagle. i guess i just dont like to bother waiting around when i could get going and move on to other things. thats just the way i work. when i got my eagle i was also a brotherhood member of the order, and a freshman in highschool.

i dont recommend getting it young, especially that young. but different strokes for different folks. i'm the kind of person who sets goals and gets done what i can. waiting around can be a waste of time and cause people to get bored and not follow through. i knew i'd get busy with other things and didnt want to risk not getting it like my brothers had both almost done. so i dedicated most of my time for a year and a half working on rank advancement and am glad i did. i went to every merit badge powwow the council and my district offered, worked hard, and learned a lot. about scouting, about the things the merit badges were teaching, and also about life, and about "doing your best" (as the cub scout program so greatly stresses) right now i dont have time to spend on merit badges like i used to. i havnt gotten an eagle palm in almost a year. or a merit badge since october.

and to set the record straight i was almost 12. my board of review was 2 days before my birthday. so its not AS extreme. lol.

the NYLT (national youth leadership training) program the national BSA piloted in my council last year talks about goals. i was staff for this and memorized the standard they thing goals should have. they say goals should be SMART goals. (Spacific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevent, and Timely)

the goal of eagle at that age was my biggest one at that time. and probably the biggest one so far. i set a time that was attainable, and i caught the spirit of scouting. thats the purpose of the eagle. to grow as a person, to make goals and achieve them, to work and sweat, to become a leader, with values with ethics and values as your guide.

i think if you set a goal, and follow through. be it eagle at 11, or eagle at 17 and a half, you arent a "paper" eagle, you've learned the things that Baden Powell wanted you to learn, and became the person that everyone since has strived to become. thats what the eagle scout is. thats what its all about. goals as extreme as this are what pushes us to our highest limits, the individuals envolved, and the scouting program. no one goes higher than the eagle.

wow that got long

WWW

it wouldnt have happened had my dad not been so supportive of me. i let him know i had that goal and he made it possible. he was the newscout leader at the time, and was the newscout district chairman as well. he had held the meetings for the newscouts in the troop in my livingroom for 4 years prior, and i had sat in. i even began teaching due to his lack of assistant. that happened by about the time i turned 9.

I still was able to catch the meaning of my rank, and the spirit of scouting. i think the most important thing for someone whos trying to earn something (especially as important and prestigious as the eagle) at a reletively young age is to commit not to stop there.

around here it is the common myth that once you have your eagle you are done with scouting. as a result the varsity and venturing programs are lacking. if someone isnt going to remain in scouting through the time they are able, they should wait and not get this award young. my reasoning was that if i had the eagle "out of the way" then i could fully devote my scouting self to other things (the order and scout camp) my brothers were both so busy in the order, and working on camp staff that they almost didnt get their eagle scout. they got it at 16 and 17.

this was my way of fixing that problem so that i could be dedicated to workin in the order and things have worked out great. the important thing is not to stop. eagle palms are important too. no one around here even knows what those are anymore. its really kinda sad.

I'm a new lodge chief, and i've stumbled on the scoutreach program. i believe it is one of the greatest things our lodge isnt doing. this program would not onla publicise the order in every troop, but it would help with quality lodge, and more importantly it would help those units who need it. my question to you all is how do i most effectively impliment this program into the lodge. we currently do nothing with the scoutreach mentoring program, but that will change. i just want it to take off running as fast as it can. thank you all inm advance

Sam Fife

Lodge Chief

Shunkah Mahneetu lodge 407 (grand teton council)

i agree with Lynda J. the older you get the more distractions you have. the younger guys can more easily catch the spirit of the order and have less other things going on. the guys without distractions are a huge asset to the lodge.

thanx. ya my brothers set a pretty high standard. 1 was a 2 term lodge chief, and the other was a section chief. both are vigils and much revered around here. i just took it a little farther. got into the program and just couldnt quit.

i was inducted into the order the weekend before i turned 11. so i was 10 yearts old at the time. i was a star scout, i am now 14, serving as lodge chief, and went through my vigil a few weekends ago. i also earned my eagle scout just before i turned 12. i think that the age thing is one to be concidered on a case bey case basis, and parent and scoutmaster support is a big thing to consider as well. mine were both great!

ya im here too. I'm the lodge chief of Shunkah Mahneetu in the grand teton council. we got south eastern idaho and a little bit of wyoming.

West Is Best!!!

And if you have any suggestions on how to make my lodge better i wanna hear them. i just got elected 3 weeks ago when the lodge chief was elected section chief. and i want to add some new programs to make the lodge better. and any neat ways to retain membership would be good too. the lodge is small right now and it doesnt need to be. i want to fix that. anything you could say to help me would be greatly appreciated.

YIB