August 26, 200322 yr I was inspired to start this thread by two events - 1) Fat Old Guy's thread titled: Poll - Men's preferences for gifts, and 2) My sons' recent Eagle Court of Honor. This is what my sons gave their Scoutmaster at their Eagle CoH, who happens to be retired Coast Guard and a big wine drinker. They bought a crystal wine decanter - actually called a ship or captain's decanter. They had it engraved with his name (and their names on the other side) and this thank you Scoutmaster Xxxx Xxxx Thank you for being our mentor and friend It brought the guy to tears. I loved it. He's a great guy and deserved a special gift. So, my question for this thread is - "What gift ideas have you or your sons come up with to give to a special Scoutmaster?"
August 26, 200322 yr We have Troop t-shirts. Last Christmas I was presented with one that had Scoutmaster printed on it. I was touched! I love it! Ed Mori Scoutmaster Troop 1 1 Peter 4:10
August 26, 200322 yr "What gift ideas have you or your sons come up with to give to a special Scoutmaster?" lol...my sons never gave me anything but grief in Scouting...actually, they were perfect gentlemen...no, that's not true either...they just grew in a positive fashion, and that's pretty much all I could ask. As for gifts, that kind of giving was fairly unusual except at Eagle Ceremonies. A tradition was well established when I came along. And that tradition seemed to say that a gift for the SM from the new Eagle was appropriate. I cherished each one. But my favorite was one I couldn't really use. One Scout, upon receiving his Eagle, gave me an imitation type Swiss-Army knife with the fork and spoon and a couple of blades and corkscrew, etc. It was probably the cheapest imitation of an imitation ever made. But it really was all he could afford. Engraved with my name, too. That probably cost more than the knife. Even though it ultimately proved to be a useless tool, it was a very nice gift, indeed.
August 26, 200322 yr The best gift that a SM can receive is to see his (or her) scouts grow into responsible, successful young men, exemplifying the Scout Oath and Law in their daily lives, and passing on what they learned to others. IF they happen to make Eagle along the way, so much the better.
August 26, 200322 yr At his Eagle ceremony, my son gave his SM an engraved Snow & Nealy camp ax. The head was engraved with the BS fleur de lis (spelling?) and our Troop number. This is what our Troop also presents to the summer camp SPL if the boys earn Honor Troop there. When our last SM resigned he was presented with an LLBean fishing net because he is an avid fly fisher. MaineScouter
August 27, 200322 yr While perhaps out of reach for a single scout, a nice gift certificate for dinner for two and any associated baby sitting would be nice as well
August 28, 200322 yr I was given a model bridge with each Scout contributing a section. Did not cost much other than time and organisation. Has a plaque asking that the bridge link the Scouts with my future. It is unique and has pride of place in my office.
August 28, 200322 yr Our SM will be stepping down in 6 months or so after doing an awesome job so I'm very interested in what suggestions show up here. The engraved axe/hatchet sounds like a nice, memorable keepsake. Paul
August 28, 200322 yr Paul, here is a link to the company we buy our gift axes from. They are a Maine company (literally right in our backyard) and they make a great product. I would suggest that you call them and ask about engraving. I know they have the fleur de lis on file from us. I faxed them one from a clip art and their graphic artist created our engraving. We paid the initial set up fee (can't remember what it was) but now it only costs an extra $3 to get it on any handle. Oh, we get the "Hudson Bay," in case you're wondering. Check out the gift packages, too. http://www.snowandnealley.com/ MS
August 29, 200322 yr Would I be out of line if I pointed out that our scout troup sells a great flint and steel that makes a great Scoutmaster gift? ( http://www.onmyhonor.com/events0001/flint/ )
August 29, 200322 yr I'd like the men's input on this... Our Scoutmaster tendered his resignation last night after several years with our troop. Military transfer. He's been a great guy. Given a lot to the troop even though he has no son there and had lots going on in his personal life. For a parting gift, I was thinking about making a quilt in a canoe pattern I found (our troop has done quite a bit of canoeing). Each boy would sign one of the canoe pieces. The colors would be scouting/outdoorsy colors in outdoor motifs (leaves, moose, fish, tents, etc.) Is a quilt too effiminate? I and the other seamstresses in thet roop have to get sewing this baby quick as he only gave us about a month's notice. What do you think? Charity
August 29, 200322 yr I have a quilt my mother made me, its a square pattern with a fleur de lis quilted in the center of each square. In the center of each Fleur de lis is a patch of an event, or a rank , or a meritbadge, or a troop or pack number It is one of my cherished possesions. I am sure your scoutmaster will love his as well
August 29, 200322 yr Charity, Not sure... tell you what, ya send me one and I'll try it out in my den for you. (grin) Could you let the boys do some of the work like cutting out the pieces?
August 29, 200322 yr I thought it would be best if the boys participate, just not sure how we could do the logistics of that and still keep things a secret until presentation. I'll mull that one over.... Charity
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