A Right to Believe...

[the commissioner 10]

I believe, the Official Eagle Scout insignia should not be made of pewter, but reestablish the pride for the award and be remanufactured, once again, in sterling silver.

 

I believe, that the Official Eagle Scout insignia is not truly owned by the Scout. The Eagle Scout recipient has earned the HONOR to wear the Official Eagle Scout insignia for his achievements through Scouting.

 

I believe, that the Official Eagle Scout insignia is inspired by all who are in the Scouting program; from the youngest Tiger Cub to the oldest adult professional or volunteer Scouter. The Eagle Scout recipient is our representative of the very best of what can be achieved through Scouting.

 

I believe, that the Official Eagle Scout insignia should be a registered award. That the Official Eagle Scout insignia should always be in control by BSA from the moment it is manufactured, from the time of its presentation and throughout the lifetime of the Eagle Scout recipient.

 

I believe, that upon the death of an Eagle Scout recipient, should the family heirs of the estate for the Eagle Scout recipient not wish to take custody of the Official Eagle Scout insignia or donate the Official Eagle Scout insignia to a recognized BSA museum, the Official Eagle Scout insignia must be returned to BSA.

 

I believe, in the matter of auctions, each auction firm must take responsibility for maintaining the creditability of the Official Eagle Scout insignia, that no Official Eagle Scout insignia will be released to the winning bidder without verification that such bidder is an Eagle Scout recipient, or are members of an Eagle Scout recipients family seeking replacement, or by other means of verification before it can be released from auction. It sickens me to see the Official Eagle Scout insignia posted for auction on Ebay by person or persons who are only seeking a monetary gain from the awards historical and merit value.

 

I believe, BSA should establish a recovery network with all on line auction networks; flagging any Official Eagle Scout insignia being presented for auction and to establish procedures for the recovery of the Official Eagle Scout insignia should a successful bidder be determined not to be an Eagle Scout recipient or are members of an Eagle Scout recipients family seeking replacement. In such incidents, the winning bid is to be returned to the bidder and the auction firm should make necessary arrangements to return the Official Eagle Scout insignia to BSA.

 

BSA will examine the returned Official Eagle Scout insignia for reissuance or in the case of wear, melted down, and the newly manufactured Official Eagle Scout insignia be presented to a new Eagle Scout Recipient.

 

This is what I believe

 

[acco40 95]

So, if that's the case, the BSA, who will maintain ownership, would surely not charge the Scout who has earned that honor correct?

[emb021 16]

Sterling silver is expensive.

 

If you want a sterling silver eagle, you can order one, I believe.

 

And what does National do with those returned eagle medals???

[GernBlansten 10]

I believe, some scouter here posted that we do not own the BSA uniform, that BSA retains ownership of it, however we have the honor of paying for it, cleaning it, wearing it, repairing it, decorating it, and disposing of it.

[John-in-KC 311]

Yes, the Eagle Presentation set comes in Sterling Silver.

 

I've bought 3: One for EagleSon, one for a friend of ours in our church who earned his Eagle, and one for a friend of ours across town.

 

Whoever The Commissioner is, if he wants his vision to come true, he needs to find a way for BSA to pick up the tab. Not every family (or every Troop) can afford the sterling Eagle. Vision without implementation is a pipe dream.

 

Feedback is a gift, someone told me.(This message has been edited by John-in-KC)

[BadenP 93]

I wonder how the Commish feels about all the 13year old Eagle Scouts who go through Eagle mills and are undeservingly awarded the Eagle without really doing most of the work but are signed off anyway. The eagle award unfortunately does not hold the same prestige it once did because the standards have fallen so drastically in the last 20 years or so.

 

This is what so sad with scouting today, and why IMHO we continue to lose more and more boys each year, when you lower the bar for requirements and allow substandard work to pass on its own merits then why should the boys care about earning the Eagle.

 

I would love to see scouting recapture some of that lost respect and standards that have slipped away over the years, then maybe the Commish's dream would become a reality and scouting would see a badly needed surge of membership growth. As it is now his vision is little more than a pipe dream. If something is easy to obtain or earn without much effort than how can you expect it to be considered an honor or respect it.

[scoutldr 732]

I was awarded the Eagle in 1970. I was a member of an Explorer Post, sponsored by a Vol Fire Dept. I have a photo of myself and my bride to be, age 16, admiring my new medal on my uniform. For some reason, I received 2 medals. One in the presentation kit, and another by itself in a silver colored box. I never really knew why. THis past Sunday, Mrs. G, the wife of my late Post Advisor, called and said, "they were cleaning out the shed behind the firehouse and found something that belongs to you. An Eagle Scout certificate in a broken frame and wallet card with your name on them." I said that was odd, because I have a certificate and wallet card. So, I promised to come see her and retrieve my "duplicate" Eagle credentials. Still have no idea why I would have been issued two.

 

"The Commissioner" suggests something akin to the Congressional Medal of Honor where it is illegal to own one unless you are the rightful recipient or survivor. A noble thought, but not practical. I too have had the thought of bidding on every one I see, to be the "caretaker" of someone's award...but I don't have that much money. It's sad that there are no family members who would care for it.

[Beavah 205]

Interestin' first post. Welcome to da forums, commissioner.

 

Yah, an award is somethin' which is given, not loaned, eh?

 

Sometimes I think it's odd to ask others to do somethin' we aren't willin' to do ourselves. I believe that anybody who truly believes can put their money on the line, set their auction preferences to search for such things on an ongoin' basis, buy 'em up with a nice high bid, and return 'em to da BSA, eh?

 

That way an Eagle or his family who needs the money gets a fair value for their property, and da commissioner or any of da rest of us can feel good about protectin' the Eagle Scout insignia.

 

That's a fine thing for someone to do who really cares about such things. Lots better than askin' da government, da auction house, or da BSA to do it for us. Personally, though, I spend my money on tryin' to help kids in the program do things like go to camp. Memories and lessons learned bein' a better investment than silver or gold, eh?

 

If we're not willin' to shell out for it personally, I'm not in favor of involvin' others. I personally don't believe that we should be required to relinquish to an online auction house our private personal history, so that they can verify whether each person is "worthy" to bid on any particular item (only college graduates are allowed to buy college rings or textbooks, eh? )... or that an auction house should release our personal information to a third party so that da third party could determine whether they like the fact we're buyin' somethin' they sold years ago. The unintended consequences of a nice thought can make it not so nice, eh?

 

Beavah

(This message has been edited by Beavah)

[Mr. Boyce 13]

I like the idea of the medal being silver; what's the spot rate on an ounce? $10 or so?

[evmori 11]

Yep you can order the sterling silver medal. My son has one.

 

(edit as a result of FFD)(This message has been edited by evmori)

[packsaddle 753]

Mine will be buried with me. You can dig for it if you want. But it will be one of those eco-burials, only a gps location out in a forest. Anyway you'll do better to dig for my gold crowns.

It's a well-meaning sentiment but I agree with Beavah.

[FScouter 24]

This is an interesting topic, but since it doesnt deal with political parties, foreign affairs, the Constitution, religions or lack thereof, homosexuality, racism, or global warming, Im moving it out of the Issues & Politics forum.

[emb021 16]

"Mine will be buried with me."

 

"you'll get my eagle medal when you pry it out of my cold, dead, fingers..."

 

 

[packsaddle 753]

Heh, heh, I sure wish I had thought of that first! Good one!

[GernBlansten 10]

Don't worry Pack, the undertaker will have already harvested everything worthwhile from your desecated corpse and sold your Eagle award on Ebay, preferably not to a gay or athiest.