Eagle Court of Honor

[HiStyleRider]

I'm a parent of a boy who recently achieved Eagle, and is among a rather large group of boys who have been encouraged by the powers that be to have a multiple Court of Honor. In all, we are looking at 7 boys at once. Is there any history of such a sizable group having the C of H together, and is there any suggested protocol? The concept is a bit overwhelming to some of us parents, trying to accommodate the wishes of all concerned. Space for a pretty big group of guests, costs associated with serving so many, managing the time for so many speakers, etc. We have agreed, in principle, on reducing how long each boy speaks, but,,,,,

[Beavah]

Hi HiStyleRider! Welcome to da forums!

 

That's a pretty grand achievement, havin' seven good buddies make it to Eagle together. Congratulations all around!

 

There's no rules or protocols for how troops do Eagle Courts of Honor. It's really all over the map. In lots of troops, the troop hosts the COH and the boys plan the event. In some troops, they delegate some of the event planning to the parents/family of the boy(s). Some troops, especially smaller troops, do one boy at a time. In other troops, especially larger troops, it's common to combine and award several Eagle badges at once. Some troops award Eagle rank at "regular" courts of honor.

 

Sometimes boys speak, sometimes they don't. Sometimes outside speakers speak, sometimes they don't.

 

My advice would be to keep it simple and keep it from gettin' too long. Not everyone has to speak. Perhaps the boys might select one or two representatives?

 

There are a few resources out there, includin' Mark Ray's Eagle Court of Honor book, that your troop can use for ideas in terms of ceremony features if they want.

 

Beavah

 

 

 

[BDPT00]

Beavah made an assumption ... these guys are all buddies. If they are, or if they've all been together forever, and if they all want to do it this way, then do it. BUT ... it's your son's (your family's) Eagle. If you want to do it on your own, then go ahead. If the troop is doing this just because it's convenient, then I don't think that says anything about it being special to anyone. On the other hand, doing 7 separate Eagle ceremonies so close together will get old real fast.

This is a personal decision. Find out what he wants.

When is this supposed to be?

Who's planning it?

BDPT00

[John-in-KC]

EagleSon was part of 6 at once

 

Part of it is economies of scale. Invitations, congratulatory letters, programs, ...

 

There can be a LOT of work in an ECOH, and the young men, while they can and will be helpful, have school and still their Troop or Crew.

 

Congratulations to these seven

[SSScout]

How old is the Troop? Find the "first" Eagle, if he's still around, ask him to come and speak about his time and his challenges. Seven at once is a wonderful opportunity, but as has been said, it's the boy'(s) party. Work with (him) them and do it right.

 

Newspaper coverage? PR?

 

Search these forums, you'll find many types of ceremonies, both grand and humble. From Petite Fours to hotdogs and slaw.

 

Congrats to all. Continued Good Scouting to them all.

[Hal_Crawford]

Congratulations to your seven.

 

One local troop had 11 at once. Made for an interesting story in the Washington Post because of the rocky trail they all traveled.

 

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/18/AR2008011803722.html

 

This is a great story and calls into question the notion that the media never says anything good about scouting.

 

Enjoy.

Hal

[HiStyleRider]

Thanks for the replies so far, it's good to know we parents here are not the only ones to go thru this.

Our biggest problem seems to be that the size of the group means that the guest list will be so big we can't use our typical venue for the ceremony, the host church that sponsors our troop. They just don't have one room big enough for the 60 plus Scouts and all the relatives likely to be attending, plus those invited especially by the 7 Eagles, another 100 or so. We anticipate well over 200 people.

Weather around here in Jersey in June means we have to look for an inside place to avoid rain or oppressive heat. Costs for a rental hall make the total cost well above any reductions due to economies of scale. It also makes it hard to consider catering the whole thing because most of the single C of H ceremonies here have been made up with the Eagle parents arranging and paying for (or cooking) main menu items, and volunteers in the troop bring side dishes, salads and dessert type items, reducing overall costs to the Eagle parent. That's not practical if we use a catering hall, and many other places (VFW hall, etc.) don't have sufficient food prep facilites onsite.

 

Several of the boys would have preferred individual events, but went along with the upper level leaders on the point about what BDPT00 says;

 

"If the troop is doing this just because it's convenient, then I don't think that says anything about it being special to anyone. On the other hand, doing 7 separate Eagle ceremonies so close together will get old real fast."

 

Some parents are getting the impression that the leaders want to take advantage of the potential publicity 7 Eagles could mean for the Troop over the interests of the boys, one even mentioned inviting the Governor to attend.

All of this makes it so that the total costs for this, even after breaking it down between 7 families, is close to twice the typical Court of Honor each.

 

I know that the Troop picks up some costs for ceremonial items, candles, badges, awards and the like, but is it out of line to ask that the Troop also help absorb some of the difference associated with the massive increase in attendees? Proposals by some places we have checked with are in the $1,500.00 range just for a room big enough to hold everyone. We would have had the church rooms free.

 

Food catering costs alone end up in the range of $2,200.00 to $3,100.00 and up, and servers, if we go that route, add on another 4 bills and change.

 

John in KC, six boys at once, that's terrific, and really shows a dedicated group of boys and parents, big KUDOS to you. Was your son happy with being part of a bigger group, or in retrospect, did he think the single award ceremonies gave boys more satisfaction that they were being honored better?

 

 

11 boys at once? WOWWW!! That's a link I plan on sharing with our leaders!

[John-in-KC]

They'd known each other since Cubs. Several were teammates on football; he and other were in band together.

 

Here's a compromise to get the Troop inside the basic church, vice the rental: TWO ECOHs. Strip that cost right out.

 

BTW, if the Troop wants 7 at once, and the kids/families not necessarily don't, then parents look CC in they eye and say "that's not OUR bill, Mr Stuckee. You're imposing that burden on us."

 

That'll get his attention!

[Eamonn]

I know, I know that this is really up to the Scout and his family.

But all too often this just don't work out that way.

Over time many Troops seem to take over just about everything and the COH becomes something that is done the way it is, because this is the way it always has been done.

 

The Troop OJ was in, had fallen into this type of a ceremony and it just wasn't that good.

 

He wanted to do his own thing, I think because the apple didn't fall that far from the tree.

His SM was a little put out when OJ told him what his part in the ceremony was going to be.

I was happy about not having to listen to the same old stuff and that horrible poem about some silly bush by the side of the road.

 

We did go a little over the top when it came to the "Celebration".

This was a family decision. We had waited for a long time because HWMBO was undergoing chemo and then we waited till her hair had come back.

OJ was fine with the wait and really enjoyed having my relative fly in from different parts of the world.

Friends of mine who work with food got together and did a wonderful job with the food.

It was more like a wedding reception than an Eagle Scout COH.

However when I think of all the ESCOH that I have attended, by far the one that comes to mind as being the best, was one held in an LDS church, and after a outstanding heartfelt ceremony they served cookies and punch.

I don't think OJ would have wanted to share his day with others, I know that we s a family enjoyed what we ended up with.

Eamonn.

[hendrickms24]

All,

 

The Eagle Scouts should have the biggest voice in what they want. Its their night so let them have it the way they want it within reason of course when it comes to the troops budget. When I earned my Eagle I was 18 years old. I asked the Scoutmaster to give the award to me at the next Court of Honor. They old me no way because the ceremony had to be separate from a troop Court of Honor. I found documentation that said that the Ceremony could be held during COH but in its self had to separate from the rest of COH. It still did no good because they said the Eagle Dinner was my only choice. In addition two other scouts were working on their Eagle so I had to wait so they could combine them in to one dinner. At my Eagle Dinner that I did not want in the first place I was 18 and half years old. I went and put on a happy face because my Father told me to do it for my Mother and that in life you will have to do some things no matter if you like to or not. My father was right in that regard but the troop could have saved money and done what I wanted to at the same time.

 

So what Im trying to say is please talk with the Scouts first before you make the decisions.

 

[Beavah]

 

A Court of Honor is a troop function, not a family function. Just like a high school graduation ceremony is a school function, not a family function, or a Silver Beaver presentation is a council function, not a family function.

 

It's up to the troop how they choose to put on a Court of Honor and present an award.

 

It's up to the family what they want to do for any private party afterward.

 

Now, mostly units share the planning and the cost burden with da parents, and combine an award ceremony with a reception. And I expect all units will listen to and try to accommodate requests from the Eagle candidates. Neither is required, and it's important to understand protocol and proper roles, because it helps guide things.

 

HiStyleRider, I think it's just fine for your troop to want to do a publicity event and highlight seven Eagle Scouts. Might get all your boys in the paper, which would be fun, and good for the troop. That's their show. I think it's also OK for parents to say "hey, we're only able to contribute X dollars". You're under no obligation to fund their show. Maybe that means they go back to singleton awards, or maybe it means that they have a combined award ceremony in a church and then go to private parties afterward or just do light hors d'ouvres out on the lawn. The caterin' bill you're talkin' about I find completely daunting, and really out of range for a lot of boys and families in the current economy.

 

Beavah

 

[Twocubdad]

Catering?? Servers??? Really?

 

Sounds like the expections are pretty high. This isn't a wedding. The only time we've had meals served at ECOHs is when they're in conjunction with another troop function. Maybe once the parent's provided fried chicken and everyone else brough in sides. Usually the troop buys a big sheet cake and a bunch of soft drinks.

 

I'm with da' Beav. I'm not too fond of the King for a Day philosophy of ECOHs. It's never really been an issue, but my thinking is that from the part where the SPL says "I now call this Eagle Court of Honor to Order" until he says "I now declare this Eagle Court of Honor Closed" belongs to the troop.

 

Seven ECOHs one on top of another would be onerous. When you think about adding seven troop activities of any type to an annual schedule, that's a lot. There's not another church nearby that would work with you? Maybe the CO of another troop.

 

Catering??