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When a Scout has finished his Eagle,
has submitted the final paperwork to his Council, it is time to
start planning the Eagle Court of Honor. In Troop 63 the Eagle
Scout in conjunction with his parents and the PLC will plan and
execute the Eagle Court of Honor. Attaining Eagle Scout is
recognized at all levels of our society as being a great
achievement, requiring dedication and effort. This outline was
designed to help you plan and execute your son's Eagle Court.
This is your copy - feel free to annotate as we're going along -
and don't forget to ask questions! Remember, there's only one
opportunity to do it right - so let's not waste that
opportunity!
- If there are multiple Eagle Scouts
all awaiting their Courts of Honor, do you want to do a
combined or separate ceremony for your son? - Note: Combined
are less expensive for each family, respectively, and will
be better attended, but also "shares the spotlight," which
is less acceptable for some Scouts and/or families.
- Do you want your son's Eagle Court
to be part of a general Troop Court of Honor, or as a
separate, "Eagle-Only" Court of Honor? - Again, Troop COH's
are usually much better attended, and also put less stress
on the Troop leadership versus running separate COH's.
- If you want a separate COH, do you
want it to be entirely private, or run with Troop
participation. - Private ceremonies usually have only invited
Scouts as guests, and to help run certain aspects of the
program, e.g., the flag ceremonies. Otherwise, the COH would
be open to the entire Troop membership; i.e., it would be
similar to a regular COH, except that it involves only the
Eagle Ceremony.
- Discuss Dates. If Troop COH, when
is the next general COH? If Individual COH, what are your
desired dates? (List three options, availability of
relatives is usually the primary issue, but vacations and
sports, school, and Church functions involving your family
should also be taken into consideration!)
- Where to Hold? (Outside Chapel,
Scout Hall are the most usual, but others are possible,
e.g., the Your Church, Grand Hall; Discuss!)
- Who will reserve this choice? When
will they make the reservation? Is there a cost involved in
making the reservation? How much? [Note that the cost is the
responsibility of the family, not the Troop!] What if the
desired locale is already taken - what is Plan B? Different
date? Different Time? Different Locale?
- Awards . Council provides
Eagle package, including Eagle Medal and one patch, Mother's
Pin, and various certificates and letters of
congratulations. This must be picked up at Council (and
signed for) by a responsible party. Who will handle this? Do
they know where to go?/Discuss if No. Who will maintain
custody up until the COH?
- Other Awards - Troop 63 provides
TBD
- Other Memorabilia
- The Scout Shop also sells all
sorts of additional Eagle Scout memorabilia, e.g., rings,
knives, plaques, watches, you name it, they've probably got
it. Do you want any of this stuff? If so, suggest family
goes to Scout Shop and review items and make selections.
[Note that these additional items would be purchased by the
family.]
-
Congratulatory Letters . You will automatically
receive several congratulatory letters from various BSA
Executives with your Eagle package, plus several other
automatic letters in the mail from (usually) the Governor
and local congressmen and senators. Dignitaries of all sorts
will provide letters or certificates of commendation
addressed to the Eagle Scout if you request them. These files are Microsoft Word Mail
Merge data files. You may edit the files and use them as your
mail merge data, or extract the names and addresses.
- Local Press .
The Beacon will publish a small article on your
son (with his picture, or a picture of his Eagle Project),
if you contact them about a month ahead of the COH (they
probably will not send anyone to the COH, unless you're
someone whose name they'll recognize.)
The Actual Eagle Court
Ceremony
- Personal Appearance. This is one "for the ages," and
most Scouts like to look their absolute best. Impeccable
Uniform, haircut, shined shoes, the whole ball of wax. Keep
in mind as approaching the COH, get things up to snuff.
- Scout
Layout. Traditionally, the Scout will cover several
tables with personal memorabilia pertaining to his career in
Scouts. This includes, but is not limited to, Eagle Project
Notebook, All Scout Awards, Patch Collection, Photo Display,
Letters of Congratulations, and the Troops' Eagle Plaques
(now listing your name). Scout needs to start getting these
things together, plan layout.
- Guests/Invitations
- How many guests do you intend to
invite? Along with the Scouts, how many total are expected
(ensure that the Hall you intend to reserve can handle this
number of people!) Formal invitations (BSA letterhead) are
available at the Scout Shop - use for everyone? - or just
non-Troop guests? Note that all members of the Board of
Review and anyone who wrote a letter of recommendation for
you should be invited. If you're a transfer Scout, should
invite friends from former Troop. Someone from the Church,
preferably the Pastor, should be invited as well (and can
offer the invocation at the beginning of the COH!)
- Programs -Program sheets also available from the
Scout Shop, in lots of 100. Can be run through a
laser printer. We have many former examples on disk, Scout
can come by to set up anytime, or you can do on your own; if
prefer the latter, get exemplars of former COH's to get
correct protocol.
- "Ah, the memories!"
- Many families now tape their son's Eagle COH. Others take a million photos. Either option, this needs
to be done by someone other than Mom or Dad - they'll both
be involved in the ceremony! Do you want to tape? Hire a
professional photographer or use a willing volunteer for
photographs? Both? Discuss!
- Food - Virtually all Eagle COH's provide food, but
this can vary from just a "Eagle cake" and some drinks all
the way up to lavishly catered banquets. [Some families have
spent thousands of dollars of their son's Eagle COH's!]
1. For combined Troop/Eagle COH's, you may ask the Troop's
families to assist you in putting together a meal (but not
to share in the costs of catering.) Many families who wish a
major affair will handle the catering themselves, but ask
everyone else to bring snacks and drinks, pot luck items.
Other families cater for adults, and get pizza and soda for
the Scouts and other younger guests. The options are
endless. Note that the Hall may have additional options - or
limitations. So what do you want to do here?
2. If families will be asked to bring items, will you
assign dishes or do "pot-luck?" Who will coordinate this?
There are several Troop COH coordinators who can assist and
advise you on this.
3. The Scout Shop (again) has many Eagle items for use in
dinners at Eagle COH's; everything from napkins, placemats,
and cups to full tableclothes and embossed plastic
silverware! However, note that (although it isn't
outrageous), it ain't cheap. Do you want to use these items?
Which ones? Who will get? When? (Note sooner is better -
don't get "skunked!")
4. If major affair is planned, do not forget to allow
set-up and cleanup time in your reservation slot. As a rough
estimate, it takes about 90 minutes to set up a full COH,
and about 45 minutes to break it down.
- Review Basic Eagle COH Ceremony
- Note that higher
options are available (but are more complex to plan and run,
and take longer.) Are you happy with this one, or do you
want more? (Discuss options if more desired.) Note that you
need to select candidates (preferably Eagle Scouts!) for:
* Voice of the Eagle
* Charge to Eagle
* Induction of Eagle
In addition, parents need to provide some (written!)
details on their Scouting experiences, both as youths
(including Girl Scouts), and as Adults. If older siblings,
or grandparents, achieved Scouting Honors, please provide a
(written!) synopsis of that as well. (These facts will be
utilized in the preliminary introductions.)
Finally, if the Eagle Scout desires, he can coordinate
with the Senior Patrol Leader to pick members of the Flag
Ceremony Honor Guards, and the escorts for his parents (and
himself); again, Eagle Scouts should be utilized for escort
duties.
- Eagle Scout's Speech
- All Eagles give a brief (3 - 5
minute long) speech at the conclusion of their induction
ceremony. This is an opportunity to thank parents, etc., and
also to discuss what Scouting has meant to them, and what's
in their futures. Some Scouts talk about the "road to Eagle"
to the younger Scouts in attendance. Whatever you want to do
- but start writing it soon! - not the day before the COH!
Below are some links to sample Eagle Courts of Honor
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