Eagle Project and Balancing Roles

[Eagle94-A1 2687]

Well, oldest is officially working on his Eagle Project. It's taken about 3 weeks, but everything has been reviewed, questions the  DAC and Eagle BOR  had answered, some additional documentation completed, and it is approved. Now the hard part: implementation.  His project is building a mobile gaming station for the pediatric ward at a hospital.

Today, he presented his proposal to the head of a foundation for a grant. Question the head had was: why only one station, how many are needed? The head also asked if he would be willing to present his proposal to the foundation's board of directors for final approval. To help him out, Oldest and the head's secretary will be meeting to create a PowerPoint presentation to secure the funds.  She is also going to help him out . He is now in the process of upgrading his project a bit.

I now know why an "Eagle Project Coach" is recommended. The planning and paperwork alone is a major pain in the buttocks. It is a far cry from the single page of my youth. And he has not gotten into the nuts and bolts of the project, just the preliminary work for approval. And that is where the balancing act lies for me. When my friends and I did our projects back in the day, we did all of the work ourselves: planning, presenting, executing. Adult interaction was basically approvals and providing transportation. Heck one friend used the powertools in his dad's workshop for his project as it was before the G2SS. When I conducted my project, only adult there was my mom, and she was providing food and drinks for us while working on the project. 

So while trying to give him as much experience on his own, I know he needs adult help. And I've helped Scouts in the past. In fact one of the folks on the district Eagle BOR who was in when he presented his project to the DAC told my son that I helped his son back in the day on his Eagle Project. I provided contact info, gave ideas, and provided resources for that Eagle to use for his project. So I am trying my best to limit how I help to how I would help other Scouts. It's hard balancing the roles of dad and ASM. But his project is really testing me.  I am extremely proud of what he wants to do, and yes I have been bragging to my friends . That led to one of them reminding me "It's his project."