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Eagle Letters... extreme recipients?


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When one of our Scouts reaches the rank of Eagle, and the date for the ECOH has been decided, I send out a proud letter announcing the achievement. This letter goes to the President, our Congressional members, local elected officials, and a few others.

 

On this particular occasion, the Scout gave me a list of people he wanted me to send the Eagle announcement letter to. The list included a number of politically extreme and rabid commentators, some rock&roll/indy musicians with very controversial lyrics, and a number of sports stars, some of whom have been publicly involved in criminal or abusive activities.

 

As I look over the list I really have to wonder how appropriate sending such an announcement to a group that appears to me the exact opposite of what Scouting is all about. The commentary, the lyrics, and the actions of this group seem to the polar opposite of the Scout Law. I can't imagine that they'd even take the time to reply, and if they did, would they send a letter of congratulations... or use it as an opportunity to demean Scouting?

 

While I would prefer not to, I see no other option than to sit down with this Eagle Scout and discuss the list, and inquire why he believes these individuals should receive a letter. Is it that he just likes them, or does he really believe they should know of his achievement? This is a more than a bit surprising, and does makes me wonder about this Scout.

 

Have others encountered such a predicament? In my 12 years of sending out Eagle letters I sent many a letter to sporting organizations and professional associations, but never had a request for such an extreme group as this.

 

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Could the list have been made up for the shock value? In our troop we have the parent(s) choose whom they would like the announcement sent to. The letters received are sent to Eagle Scout C/O Scoutmaster Elm Street USA. They are then put in plastic sleeves and added to the end of his Eagle Project Book. Some are read at the ECOH and then presented to the Eagle Scout. Never had to deal with your situation.

 

Please if you speak to the scout make sure your personal beliefs do not interfer. I may not like what Mr. YX speaks of however alot of others do, sort of thing.

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The parable about hiding your light under a bushel comes to mind... If he provided the addresses, I'd do it.

 

Intended as such or not, I see his wanting to send the announcement out to extremists as a form of witness.

 

It's a tactful way of saying that yes, there are still people who demonstrate what it means to be physically strong, morally straight, and mentally awake, especially if the recipient chooses to live a lifestyle which goes against that which we say we believe in.(This message has been edited by eolesen)

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I would come up with a standard list of letters that the troop will request. Anything other than that, is up to the scout. One of my last Eagle Scouts wanted a letter from the Pope. WHen I looked into it, it required a fee to request it, the exact amount escapes me. That was a non-starter. Most politicians have a web request form. WHen an employee of mine retired in May, I requested a letter 60 days in advance from the WHite House Greetings Office. Still waiting...

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Kinda like Desert here.....

 

 

Nothing like blowin your own horn here.......

 

 

 

I am also in the camp that an Eagle does not need a huge banquet or COH...

 

 

I am more in the line of the boys reaching first class need to to be more recongized than Eagle.....They can take care of themselves....

 

More scouts get first class.....so it means the rank has a bigger impact on the boys.(This message has been edited by Basementdweller)

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I'm mixed on this one. If the kid is sincere, go for it. On the other hand, if one of his requests is for Jerry Sandusky or the like, I'd blow off the whole list as a poor-taste joke.

I get requests for letters, but if the kid, his unit, or his project have nothing to do with my organization, I attribute the request to someone blasting out letters to anyone they can think of, or maybe somebody else's list. I ignore those requests.

BDPT00

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Why are you the one sending out the letters? It is not your achievement. It is his. And this is supposedly an Eagle Scout level scout, so surely he could send out his own letters.

 

Stop helicoptering.

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Excuse me BSA24?

 

Stop helicoptering? What are you talking about?

 

Who should send out a proud letter announcing the achievement of Eagle if not the Scoutmaster?

 

Are you suggesting that the Eagle Scout himself sends out such an announcement?

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That is exactly what I am suggesting.

 

Instead of sending announcements, he should be sending out invitations to his COH to receive the award. If he wants, he can do as I did many decades ago and send out invites to his Congressmen, the President, and other dignitaries and people who are interesting to him.

 

They may actually show (watch October Sky for an example of that), or they might not and send him a nice congratulations letter and apologies they cannot come.

 

That way he invites who he wants, since it is his COH, and his award, and not yours, and he doesn't have you mother-smothering him about his invite list and judging it unsuitable (which I think is absurd and definitely not in your scope of authority).

 

 

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Yah, well. Actually, it's the troop's court of honor, not the boy's. Just like it's the high school's graduation, not the boy's. The lad and his family are free to have any kind of reception at their house after the event, with whatever guests they want, but da COH itself belongs to the troop, not to the guest of honor and his family.

 

SMT224, I reckon a lad is just havin' some fun. Perhaps even yankin' your chain. I've come to find I'm sort of a rare bird in da Scoutin' adult community, in that I really like young fellows like that. Lots of folks don't.

 

So me, I reckon I'd advise yeh to take a step back from the cliff and just smile and be old and wise on this. It ain't one of the things that's worth chargin' off on a high horse about. Send out the letters, eh? I'd do it just out of curiosity about what responses I'd get. ;) Yeh might be very pleasantly surprised. And it's good for folks out there to know that some of da people who follow 'em are scouts. Helps 'em to see that scouting is "us" - part of the community - rather than "them", part of a cultural/political party.

 

No matter what da responses are, though, it will be somethin' that you and the young man can laugh about for many, many years. Don't waste such a wonderful gift from a bright young fellow. Have some fun with it. If it were me, I'd use his list to generate some "over the top" additions of my own and send to those additional folks as well.

 

Beavah

 

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BSA 24, I hardly see announcing the achievement of Eagle for a Scout I've watched since he crossed over from Cubs "helicopter" or "mother-smothering" behavior as you so condescendingly have remarked in you comments. Perhaps the tradition of your Troop is to stand aside and allow the Eagle Scout to send what ever letter he chooses to whom ever he wants and then to conduct his ECOH as he see fit. If this is the case, I wish you and your Troop only the best. As such, I would not presume to be so arrogant as to tell you how to conduct your Troop celebrations and traditions. If you believe that the Scoutmaster should not proudly announce that a Scout has achieved Eagle, then dont do it. But dont tell me how I should conduct my business or what I perceive to be within the scope of my authority. Quite frankly, I think the Scoutmaster has not only the authority, but an obligation to make such an announcement.

 

Basementdweller what are you saying? That because I wrote a proud letter announcing the achievement of Eagle, that I should not be invited to the ECOH. Why would you make such a comment?

 

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Almost none of the dignitaries in that memo will ever know that Johnny Scout is an Eagle.

 

Your announcement memo will be opened by an intern, who will get on the computer, find the appropriate congratulations template (Form Letter 113, Eagle Scout; Form Letter 114, Gold Award; Form Letter 115, State Football Championship; Form Letter 116; State Fair Livestock Best in Show; Form Letter 117, Graduation from College; etc.), type in Johnny's name and troop, sign the boss' name electronically, print on nice stationery, and mail it to you. Might get proofed by a senior staffer, but that is as high in the chain as that memo is going.

 

Sure, that congrats memo will look nice in the leatherbound book, strategically located at the Eagle COH reception, with all of the other memos, prepared by the other interns.

 

Earning Eagle is a great achievement, but it's not a coronation, or a lifetime achievement award. It's a solid first step in becoming a responsible citizen. If a SM, or a parent, believe that that rates a memo, then more power to them.

 

But to me, it seems with each passing year, folks collectively make a bigger and bigger deal out of earning Eagle. Past the point of what it should be.(This message has been edited by desertrat77)

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