January 2016 - I Want My Eagle

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What Paperwork Needs To Be Turned In For Eagle Rank

What Paperwork Needs To Be Turned In For Eagle Rank

Through the years of being an Eagle Coach here in my district, we developed a checklist of how to put together all the paperwork required for the Eagle Scout Rank.  I wanted to share this with you so you will know how to put things together before you turn it all in to your district.

Each district may have slightly different procedures but the list I will give you covers all the Eagle Rank requirements that need to be completed.

Let me give you a couple of pointers before I give you the list:

First, quite a number of scouts love putting their Eagle Rank paperwork in plastic sheet protectors to make it look nice.  This is a worthy thought but we have found that it makes it very difficult for those that are reviewing it for a number of reasons.  There are signatures required.  Every time you or others need to get a signature, the papers have to be pulled out then put back in.  Also, depending on the size of your council, the Eagle Secretary (the one who gets all of the Eagle Rank paperwork for the whole council), may have hundreds of sets of paperwork that need to be reviewed.  Each one needs to have some of the paperwork taken out and faxed to the BSA national office.  This makes it extremely difficult for them.  I recommend not using the plastic sheet protectors.

Second, three-ring binders are very thick.  Here in Utah National Parks Council, we literally have hundreds of sets of Eagle paperwork stacked up for the council to approve.  When they are put in thick three-ring binders, it takes up quite a bit of space.  I recommend putting your paperwork in a thin, three hole report folder.  It takes up much less space.

Here is the list of things you will need to turn in.  (Please consult your home district advancement chairman to clarify if needed)

  1. Eagle Rank Applicationhttp://www.scouting.org/filestore/pdf/512-728_WB_fillable.pdf (See previous posts (Filling Out Your Eagle Application Correctly – Part 1 and Filling Out Your Eagle Application Correctly – Part 2 for more details)
  2. Member Unit Advancement Summary – Your Unit Advancement Chairman needs to login to Scoutnet and print this off for you
  3. Statement of Ambitions and Life Purpose – Essay of what you want to do with your life and awards you have received.  (See previous posts Don’t Forget – Most Commonly Skipped Eagle Requirement and Filling Out Your Eagle Application Correctly – Part 2 for more details)
  4. Eagle Scout Service Project Workbookhttp://www.scouting.org/scoutsource/BoyScouts/AdvancementandAwards/EagleWorkbookProcedures.aspx.  (See previous posts How To Prepare For An Eagle Project Approval that talks about the first section of this workbook)
  5. Any other district or council form that may need to be filled out for tracking purposes.

 

My Memories of Lord Baden-Powell

My Memories of Lord Baden-Powell

My name is Rowland and I’m a friend of Jason’s.  I really like what Jason is doing with his blog on iWantMyEagle.com and the thoughts on scouting he shares each week.  I asked him if I could contribute a post on his blog and he graciously allowed me to share my memories of Lord Baden-Powell.

No, I’m not 100 years old, and I don’t have memories based on a personal acquaintance with the father of scouting.  Several years ago I had the opportunity to attend Wood Badge training for adult scout leaders and my memories are based on an evening fireside where an actor portraying Lord Baden-Powell talked about the life of this great leader and the principles on which he built the scouting movement.

My Memories of Lord Baden-Powell

What impressed me the most is that the scouting program has strong roots in religious principles.  No matter what religion you are, you will find that the tenets of scouting reflect the tenets of many different religions the world over.  Consider his words, as referenced on the Boy Scouts of America web page:

“The Scout, in his promise, undertakes to do his duty to his king and country only in the second place; his first duty is to God. It is with this idea before us and recognizing that God is the one Father of us all, that we Scouts count ourselves a brotherhood despite the difference among us of country, creed, or class. We realize that in addition to the interests of our particular country, there is a higher mission before us, namely the promotion of the Kingdom of God; That is, the rule of Peace and Goodwill on earth. In the Scouts each form of religion is respected and its active practice encouraged and through the spread of our brotherhood in all countries, we have the opportunity in developing the spirit of mutual good will and understanding.

“There is no religious “side” of the movement. The whole of it is based on religion, that is, on the realization and service of God.

“Let us, therefore, in training our Scouts, keep the higher aims in the forefront, not let ourselves get too absorbed in the steps. Don’t let the technical outweigh the moral. Field efficiency, back woodsmanship, camping, hiking, Good Turns, jamboree comradeship are all means, not the end. The end is CHARACTER with a purpose.

“Our objective in the Scouting movement is to give such help as we can in bringing about God’s Kingdom on earth by including among youth the spirit and the daily practice in their lives of unselfish goodwill and cooperation.”

What better summary than this of the goal of the scouting program in the lives of our young men!  I’m grateful for the influence religious principles have on the scouting program and instilling character into scouts.

Anonymous Donor to Scouts

Anonymous Donor to Scouts

I saw this blog post by the Utah National Parks Council a few days ago and wanted to share it with you.  It is a quick short scouting story that inspires me and hopefully inspires you too.  Often times I am hard on myself for not doing more and when I read this, I had two thoughts.  First, I shouldn’t feel bad for not spending more time helping scouts.  Second, this kid gave all he could to help scouts and the amount doesn’t matter.  Remember, if you are giving what you can, it is enough.

Read the article by clicking the link below:

http://blog.utahscouts.org/trending/to-todays-anonymous-donor/

How To Run an AWESOME Flag Ceremony

How To Run an AWESOME Flag Ceremony

Participating in a flag ceremony is one of the first requirements scouts have to do when earning their ranks.  I think this is one of the most important requirements.  Scouts should learn respect for their country and flag at an early age.  I love it when I attend any event where they hold a flag ceremony!  I lived outside the United States for 2 years in Chile when I was younger and gained a profound respect for our country.  Our flag represents our country, and I get emotional just thinking about it seeing our country’s flag.

I remember on the plane ride home from Chile, the flight crew announced over the intercom that we were starting our decent into Miami Florida and welcoming us to the United States of America.  I started crying right there in the plane just thinking about how grateful I was to be back in MY country!

To this day, every time I attend a scouting event that has a flag ceremony, I have the same feelings.  When a scout troop performs the flag ceremony with distinction, and you know that they have worked hard and practiced it, it enhances the audience’s experience and emotions for the country and flag.  We have all been to a scouting event where it is very obvious that it was thrown together at the last second and mistakes are made.  This is better than not having one, but proper respect for the flag demands that we do better.

At my oldest son’s Eagle Court of Honor, we asked the 11 year-old scouts to do the ceremony.  We emphasized that we wanted it done very well and practiced.  They did AWESOME!  They put in the time and practice and we had lots of comments from attendees that it was very well done.  The scout who was calling, did not read from a paper.  He had memorized it.  The boys marched in unison with their feet synchronized and they put the flag on the correct side of the stage.  Everything was done as well as it could be.

I hope that anyone reading this blog – scout, parent, or leader, will be inspired to do the same and create an AWESOME experience for their audience on all flag ceremonies they are involved in.

Below is the text of the flag ceremony I have used with our scouts, for your reference:

Opening

Colorguard, Attention!
Will the audience please rise?
Colorguard advance!
Audience salute!
(Wait for colorguard to reach the front American Flag on left of audience view)
Please repeat the Pledge of Allegiance with me
(Repeat Pledge)
Colorguard, post the colors!
Colorguard, dismissed
The audience may be seated

Closing

Colorguard advance
Will the audience please rise?
Colorguard, retrieve the colors (not retire)
Audience salute!
(Wait until flags leave the area)
The audience may be seated

How To Write The Eagle Statement of Ambitions

How To Write The Eagle Statement of Ambitions

A few weeks ago I wrote a blog post Don’t Forget – Most Commonly Skipped Eagle Requirement, which talked a bit about how to write the Eagle Statement of Ambitions.  I want to expound on that requirement a little bit today.

I have served as an District Eagle Coach and have sat on hundreds of boards of review and read the Statements of Ambition for those Eagle candidates over the years.  I can honestly say that all of them are very different.  This is one of the funnest things for board members to read and it gives them insight to what kind of scout and person the candidate is.  It is very obvious that some candidates have spent the minimum amount of time writing and thinking about what they put in that statement.  Some are very thoughtful.

I remember one in particular had a statement that said he wanted to be the President of the United States.  I thought, wow!  What a bold statement from a 17 year-old.  When he came in for the review, we asked him about it. He was very serious and we found out that he had plans to make that happen.

You should think of your board of review like a job interview.  You are trying to show the board that you are the right candidate for the job, which is attaining the rank of Eagle.

Your Statement of Ambitions should be a minimum of two pages. The first page should be a double-spaced typed letter of what you want to do with the rest of your life.  This should be really easy for scouts to write.  I think of the movie “A Christmas Story,” when Ralphie is in school and his teacher tells them they need to write a theme.  They all moan!  Then when she tells them the topic, “What I Want For Christmas,” they all get very excited and want to do the assignment.  Scouts should feel the same way about this “theme.”

I have seen scouts write as little as 2 sentences or as much as 3 pages.  It should be 1-2 pages.  Also, you should use the spell checker on your computer and have your mom, dad, or scout leader proofread it to polish it up to look good before it is turned in with your paperwork.

This first page is where most scouts stop. That is only half of the requirement.  It also says to include a list of any leadership positions you have held over your scouting time in anything.  This includes school, band, church, work, anywhere!

Also, you need to include any awards you received while serving in these leadership roles.  If you earned your Duty to God at church, list it.  If you won high honors in your band at school, list it.  Basically this is a “brag sheet” of all your accomplishments while you were a leader.  Most scouts either forget to add this or don’t feel comfortable bragging about themselves.

In the real world when people are interviewing for jobs, they present a resume to potential employers to show off their skills and list all the great things that they know and have done.  This distinguishes them from all the other job candidates and proves they have the necessary skills to be there and do the job.  An Eagle Board of Review is no different.  You are a candidate for the Eagle Rank at the time of your board.  Present yourself it the best possible light.

2016 Boy Scout Progress Tracker (New Requirements)

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Here is the newly updated tracker with all the new 2016 requirements!

We have created an awesome tool that will help scouts more easily track their progress on scout ranks, will help scout parents know how to guide their boys with what to work on next, and for scout leaders to be more transparent with their scouts and parents with what requirements have been done and which still need to be completed.
The 2016 Boy Scout Progress Tracker is a simple PDF that you can download to quickly create a workbook that makes tracking scout progress a piece of cake.
It includes the very easy at a glance forms:
  • Tracking forms for all the relevant requirements on the journey to Eagle Scout.
  • Forms to make it easy to track time in leadership positions
  • Forms to track camping nights towards the required Camping merit badge
  • Form to track service hours toward all the ranks.
  • Easy way to track required and elective merit badges
  • It also includes a VERY easy to read advancement progress form so you can see quickly what requirements are completed and those that still remain incomplete.
Once completed by a scout, the 2016 Boy Scout Progress Tracker will make it extremely easy to fill out the Eagle Scout Rank Application and other paperwork when applying for Eagle Scout.
We have made it very simple and easy for anyone, whether you are a scout, parent, or leader to use this and track your scouting progress.  We have used this in our own unit and with our own boys for years and have had many other parents and scouts use it with great success earning their Eagle Scout Rank.
You can download it now on our website iWantMyEagle.com.  Click the Products menu in the top right hand corner to see our download page or click HERE to get it now.
Scouts that are currently working on their Eagle Rank, will not need the new updated PDF so we wanted to provide both.