Eagle COH-Troop pays for?

[ZScout5]

I am trying to get an idea of what other troops pay for when it comes to Eagle courts. It seems to vary greatly.

 

Agreeing to help our troop, I discovered that families were paying around $100, while the troop was spending $500+! Plus the troop does all of the coordination. To me this is outrageous. Committee discussion led to agreement that the family should be paying more. However, after going through it all, the troop cost has only gone down to about $350.

 

What does your unit pay for?

[eagle90]

$500?? What are you spending that much on? We pay for the eagle presentation kit, flowers for the mom (Sam's Club for $15), a cake and punch, a NESA membership and neckerchief, and a couple of Dollar store frames for the certificates. Probably comes to about $125 or so.

 

Anything else is up to the families to supply.

 

Dale

[Mrw1]

We pay for the award kit, neckercheif and slide. The rest is whatever the family wants and that ranges from full dinners to no ceremony at all. Most seem to do cake and punch for the whole group and then something smaller for the family after.

[moosetracker]

Our troop just pays for the gift(s).. one is the Frame kit to frame the eagle certificate and an extra Eagle pin (we got the shadow box). Then we retire the Troops American flag and give that to the Eagle (so we buy a new Ameican flag to replace it.)..

 

The rest is up to the parents.. We have had parents hire out a banquet hall and cater the whole affair, and parents who have refreshments afterwards.. Normally it is a pot luck meal.. Some scouts don't get around to a ECOH, and just are handed their Eagle kits.

 

I would suspect our troop would have picked up the Eagle Kits, but our council pays for them, I always thought National didn't charge for it.. When I found out they did, I found out that someone unknown benefactor is picking up the tab for our councils Eagles..

 

Around $75 to $100..

[kari_cardi]

We pay for the Eagle kit and the costs formally associated with a COH. Anything more is up to the scout's family. I've heard that the recent ECOH for the son of the SE was quite the shindig.

[eisely]

Our troop pays a fixed amount per eagle scout. The last time I looked this was $125. Since we normally have three or four eagles per COH, this usually covers everything. The parents of the new eagles organize themselves into a committee which is responsible for coordinating everything, so the actual composition of the expenditures varies over time. One thing we do which is not mentioned in earlier posts is publish a program for the event. Anything above the budget is covered by the parents involved since they were the ones making the decisions.

[Eagle69]

When I was SM we paid for a cake, the Eagle Presentation kit was free because of FOS, punch, Eagle Napkins and Plates and plastic silverware and before PC's with good printers we paid to have the programs printed up.

[JFL49]

Our troop routinely schedules 3 Courts of Honor per year, in the fall, winter, and spring. Any and all rank advancements are presented.

 

If an Eagle family wants to hold an ECOH on their own (most do), they organize and pay for it. They invite the rest of the troop (if they want to)

[SMT224]

As with others posting here, our Troop budgets about ~$100 for the cake, Eagle kit, and neckerchief. The family is responsible for decorations and food. Some families cook all kinds of things, some cater, and some do an extended family potluck. It's always different, always good.

 

For the OP, ZScout5, what is being purchased for the $500+??

 

It must be an amazing ECOH!!!

 

[Beavah]

Yah, hmmm...

 

As I get older, I confess that I find da continued trend toward "Wedding Banquet" ECOHs to be tiresome. If anything to me stands out as a case of units and parents "not getting it", some of these monster shindigs are it. I'm far more impressed by units that make it a short special part of a regular troop COH, or do somethin' that's meaningful for the scout. The wedding banquets seem to always have a tone of "It's all about me Me ME!" (or our son, our Son, our SON!).

 

So like everybody else I really want to know what ZScout5's troop is spending so much money on. More importantly, I want to know if ZScout5's Patrol Leader's Council decided that was the best and most thrifty way to use those troop funds. If so, I'm good with it. If not, I'd let the boys know that they can spend those funds on whatever else they feel is more important. Maybe makin' sure lads who can't afford it have a full uniform, or sending the SPL and ASPL to NYLT, or buyin' new stoves for the patrols because da old ones are falling apart.

 

In fact, it might be a good Eagle Board of Review question, eh? "The troop has set aside $500 for your Eagle Court of Honor. Would yeh like us to use it for your party, or is there some other thing for the troop that yeh would rather see the money applied toward?"

 

Beavah

(This message has been edited by Beavah)

[fred8033]

Troop pays $25 for a gift, a BSA eagle pocket knife. Sometimes (not always) the troop pays for new candles for the candle tree used for the Scout Oath. That's it.

 

Council pays for Eagle award kit.

 

Council loans out ECOH kits with table decorations, special flags, statues, etc.

 

Eagle scouts can choose to be recognized at one of the four annual troop COHs or have their own ECOH. Their choice. Their cost. Hopefully, the scouts coordinate it and not the parents. If they want a special cake, the family pays for it.

 

The best ECOHs I've been at have been about 20 to 30 minutes long or are the last part of a troop COH.(This message has been edited by fred8033)

[Twocubdad]

ZERO.

 

Council provides presentation kit. Senior Patrol Leader, Color Guard, Escorts, Scoutmaster, Committee Chairman and Chartered Organization Rep. all volunteer their time at no cost.

 

Whatever the families want to do after the ceremony is on their tab.

[Eagle92]

When I had my ECOH way back in the day, I paid for the following:

 

Invitations

Programs

Cake

about 50% of the food

Thank you gifts to leaders and older scouts.

 

OH and the POST Reception Party where ya had to be 18+ to go to

 

 

 

What the troop, or members of, paid for:

Presentation Kit

Gift for me

50% of the food (had folks bring stuff for the event including the 'INFAMOUS TOXIC WASTE" drink)

and that was it.

[EagleBeaver]

Around here, Eagle Scout ceremonies are up to the scout and family to plan and pay for. The troop supplies the rank patch just like it does for every rank. Ceremonies and celebrations vary widely, from a 15-minute recognition ceremony to over an hour with a video of the scout's entire life, from just cake or snacks to full-blown dinners, from an outdoor campfire to a rented dining hall.

As long as families of Life scouts understand they don't have to outdo the most recent Eagle scout's party, we get a wide range and they remain personalized for the individual scout.

 

Scout On

 

 

[Eaglemom2b]

There were only 3 ECOHs in the 5 years my son was in his previous troop. I think the parent's paid for everything for all three. There were no shared decorations, themes or traditions.

 

From what the families told me they paid for all of the food and the pin set. If the troop paid for anything it was kept quiet.

 

For my son's new troop, I don't rightly know. Since my son should be earning his Eagle within the year it is probably something I should know.