Separate Eagle Ceremonies for Two Eagles

[SagerScout]

Oh yes, Rooster7, we are in agreement on this one (someone mark it on the calendar! Rooster and Sager agree!) It frankly never crossed my mind that the boy and his parents might NOT be in close consultation and agreement when planning such an event.

 

That said, if it were my own son, I would defer to his wishes on a ceremony such as this, even if they conflicted with my own. After all, he would be the one that earned it. (I've never grasped why families manage to make wars out of weddings, either. Yes, my step-daughter hurt my feelings at her wedding, unintentionally. So what? It was her wedding. It didn't kill me to smile and be polite.)

 

[Rooster7]

- I didn't think it would be impossible...Although, I am somewhat opinionated.

[red feather]

The scout earned his rank.. In my troop it is up to the scout as to what kind of ceremony he wants

The troop leadership will help facilitate the plan if wanted. Haven't had a problem in close to 30 years.

[FScouter]

The boy's parents should not have to beg and plead with the committee to get a separate court of honor for their son. The decision should be soley with the boys and the parents. They should have as much input into the ceremony as they want. The committee is there to support the unit, not to take the most expedient path.

[k9gold-scout]

In our troop the parents plan the COH with the help of the Eagle Advisor and set the date with the Parents Comm. I can't rember of a local COH for more than one scout. Last year we had 5, this year 6, we have had only 1 or 2 for many years, but now we have a big growth spirt and have a constant 15 to 20 Life scouts each year.

[bt5eagle]

Thanks for all the great suggestions and for being reoriented towards what is best for the scout reaching his Eagle. We will take this issue to the parents and the scouts and let them decide how they want their COH. Part of the problem with putting on multiple COH's is that in the past, the troop (i.e. Scoutmaster) did all planning and prep work for an Eagle COH. The way to avoid being overwelmed seems to be to get the parents of the Eagle involved and have them share the planning and arrangements.

[shemgren]

I just found out that two Scouts in my troop who worked at the same time on their projects and had their BOR on same night (seperate BOR's of course) are planning to have their Courts together. These Scouts came up as Cubs and into the troop. This was their idea and in their case, as Eagle Advisor, I support it. We will take steps to issure that each Scout gets his proper recognition.

[yarrow]

We come from a big troop. Almost every COH is an Eagle COH. Sometimes we have 2-3 together. When we joined the troop I thought this was a little odd having gone to a number of individual Eagle ceremonies. I think every Eagle should have their own ceremony with help/advise from the troop. It doesn't have to be an expensive affair. The only thing I have liked about the way our troop does it is that I like all the other younger boys getting their badges and ranks first. It adds importance and suspense and encourages the younger boys to look to the future.

[Twocubdad]

I received my Eagle along with five other guys -- we had a total of 13 in our troop that year. A local businessman and old Eagle Scout did the presentation, but no other big speeches or individual elements.

 

That was in '73 and most of our troop was attending Jamboree -- no one wanted to be the low-man. Later in the year we had another big flock as the requirements changed on Dec. 31. They increased the number of merit badges to 24 and some other stupid stuff, like dropping camping and cooking a required MBs.

 

I thought that was the norm until two years ago I went to see a cousin receive his bird. BIG DEAL! Had local politicians give speaches, read letters from the President, Senators and Congressmen, everyone from his Wolf Den Leader on up spoke. All followed by a big catered dinner. It was like going to a wedding.