Ealge Application

[mdutch 10]

I am filling out my Eagle application and noticed that the dates on the blue cards for 2 of my merit badges do not match the date on the advancement report that was sent to council. Does anybody know if there is a way to correct this, or if it will become a problem?

Anyway, I have my SM Conference tomorrow, so I am off to go write my "statement of life purpose"

-Eric

[Lisabob 13]

Eric,

 

Were the MBs in question among those you had to complete for Star or Life, and if so, according to the printed records, were they completed prior to your rank advancement?

 

If they are part of the Star/Life requirements, then as long as the dates recorded are prior to you receiving that rank, then you should be just fine even though they don't match your blue cards. On the other hand, if they are part of the Star/Life requirement and the dates recorded fall AFTER you earned that rank, then I think you want to bring this to your SM's attention and ask for help getting things corrected. It should just require that your SM or advancement chairperson contact council - since you have your blue cards, it shouldn't be a big problem to get fixed.

 

Hope this helps.

 

 

[John-in-KC 311]

First,

 

I hope you have a great place for the Eagle Board, great people to have a conversation with on your Eagle Board, and ... A FANTASTIC EAGLE BOARD OF REVIEW.

 

As far as the advancement data goes, what Lisa said. Now, I'd like to have a few moments alone with your unit advancement coordinator. This is exactly the kind of detail you recheck as a Scout becomes an Eagle Candidate and then an Eagle.

 

Visit with your Scoutmaster when you get up. If he believes the effort is worth it, push the conference back a week or so. If not, go forward... you KNOW you've done the work and done it well.

 

Let us know when you're the newest Eagle Scout in BSA!

[mdutch 10]

Thank you for the replies.

To clarify, the cards are only off by 1 day w/ one badge, and one month for the other (the troop section of the card was clearly not legible). Council told us it wont be an issue to change the dates in the system.

I had my SM conference last night, and all went well. It was the first Eagle SMC that he did, so it was a learning experience for both of us. More on the SMC in a later post.

-Eric

[John-in-KC 311]

GOOD ON YOU!!!

 

Now, this will go against most policy, and there are some who will howl, but if there are Scouters in your life who've been special, you need to visit with your CC and ask if they can be part of your EBOR.

 

Also, depending on your District policy, if there is a special Scouting place to you, ask if that can be where you have your EBOR.

 

Eagle son was a camp staffer last year. He asked for his Camp Director (a District Commissioner), his PD (a RT Commissioner), and the Troop Resident Grandpa (Council Executive Board among other things) to sit his Eagle Board. He asked to have it under the flagpole at one of our Scout Reservations. It was a longer than usual board, there was much laughter as well as some really hard questions!

 

Good hunting, Eric... let us keep hearing how this part of the trail goes.

[Lisabob 13]

That's great - I'm glad to hear it worked out. Keep us posted!

[troutmaster 10]

John-in-KC;

 

Not howling, but from our perspective on Eagle boards, we try not to have too familiar faces on the board, so as to avoid any hint of favoritism. One troop rep is always there of course, usually the advancement chair or his appointed rep.

 

Back in "the day", before projects and harder early requirements, boards were made of community leaders much of the time. And of course, way back, there were special almost retesting boards. Do not know for sure if it is true, but the first Eagle Scout supposedly had his board done by Beard, West, and Seton. That would have been interesting.

 

The main thing, IMO, is simply to get a broad understanding of the boy's accomplishments, character, and be sure he met the intent of the requirements. Coach if necessary, and always encourage them. It should not be torture. Our board chair uses the Staple's "Easy Button" as a prop at the start, and on occasion during the board (if the scout is getting too flustered). Funny how that tends to help.

 

 

[sst3rd 129]

Our Eagle Boards are made up of the same folks that the Scout sees throughout his Scout trail, mainly Committee folks. Sure, every Board on all levels are a mixture of a large group of dedicated Scouters from our Troop, with an addition of a council Eagle Representative. This Eagle Representative does not run this Eagle Board, but represents the Council and is a resource. Our Eagle Boards are led, as all others, by a Committee member.

 

sst3rd

[John-in-KC 311]

Having watched a few Eagle Boards now, here are my thoughts:

 

- The EBOR is the young man's day or evening in the sun.

 

- Given the above, the young man is getting a chance to show some other people who he has really become, and how he ticks. In most cases, there are particular people who have been special blessings to the young man on the trail. The young man should have the opportunity to share the trail back with them.

 

- Again, given the above, the young man hopefully has some places that have become special to him in Scouting. An EBOR should not be an anticlimax, it should be one of several defining moments in his life. Doing the board at one of his special places will help engrave the moment in his memories forever.

 

Of course, this presumes the District or Council operates using unit level Boards with an approved Guest. Those which have District or Council level EBORs, well, those young men are going to go through a stamping/milling machine.

 

I'm glad our District does things the way they do!

[mdutch 10]

It'll be a little while before I have my BOR, as I am heading out of town to college soon. What I am told is that for the BOR I get to choose two people from the references on the application (preferably religious and either employer or educator) and then two Troop Committee Members. Seems reasonable enough to me.