RememberSchiff Posted March 27, 2016 Share Posted March 27, 2016 (edited) Read about an Eagle Scout project and that this scout would soon join an Eagle Fraternity that includes (Microsoft) Bill Gates. Another story mentioned that Indiana Jones a.k.a. Harrison Ford was an Eagle Scout. And John Glenn was many things, but like James Kirk he was never a Boy Scout. These are common misconceptions by the media and public but why not "fix" the problem in a "courteous" Win-Win way? Does the BSA bestow Honorary Scout? Honorary Eagle Scout? I know there is the Silver Buffalo award, but that is recognition of service to Scouting. Honor the mislabeled famous and honor those less famous citizens who act like scouts. Recognize the "Good Deeds" of others towards others. Let National honor the mislabeled and worthy famous and councils honor the local citizens. The Utah vice principal who took a CPR class (Be Prepared) and two days later saved a 9th grader whose heart stopped. The Gainesville,FL policemen who responded to a complaint of "loud" teens playing basketball by joining. If he wasn't a scout, he is now. Also award "Honorary Scout" to the unknown passerby who stopped to ... after all an unknown passerby helped an American businessman who was lost in the English fog . My $0.02, Edited March 27, 2016 by RememberSchiff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eagle90 Posted March 27, 2016 Share Posted March 27, 2016 Definitely NOT an honorary Eagle. That would be an affront to every Eagle who worked their tails off, put in the time, and dedicated their early years to the Scouting program. And many of whom are still giving back to the Scouting program. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RememberSchiff Posted March 27, 2016 Author Share Posted March 27, 2016 Not every. "Honorary" doesn't bother me, production milled Eagles do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Krampus Posted March 27, 2016 Share Posted March 27, 2016 Does the BSA bestow Honorary Scout? Honorary Eagle Scout? I know there is the Silver Buffalo award, but that is recognition of service to Scouting. Honor the mislabeled famous and honor those less famous citizens who act like scouts. Recognize the "Good Deeds" of others towards others. Let National honor the mislabeled and worthy famous and councils honor the local citizens. BSA offers the Spirit of the Eagle Award which is a posthumous award for Scouts under 21 who passed away while on the trail to Eagle. To my knowledge the BSA has never awarded an "honorary" Eagle. That's what they should be doing rather than giving out Eagles to adults who complete the requirements after their 18th birthday. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonkatim Posted March 27, 2016 Share Posted March 27, 2016 (edited) http://www.scoutstuff.org/bsa/gifts-gift-cards/awards/medals/medal-north-star-award.html#.VvgBT8_mqUk This could be taken over for the purposes listed above. Not just for non-scouter large donators. Edited March 27, 2016 by tonkatim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
desertrat77 Posted March 27, 2016 Share Posted March 27, 2016 I don't have a problem with "honorary" anything, so long as the honoree did something for the greater good of the community and/or scouting. On the other hand, I recall that Bill Gates received the Silver Buffalo several years ago. I'm still trying to figure out what he did to deserve it. Certainly nothing that improved the capabilities of the BSA IT department. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NJCubScouter Posted March 27, 2016 Share Posted March 27, 2016 RS, I think the kinds of people you are talking about should be recognized by the BSA with some sort of award or "status", under whatever name. "Honorary Scout" I would not have a problem with, but I don't think "Honorary Eagle" is a good idea. "Spirit of the Eagle", as Krampus mentions, is something completely different. It is really the BSA's way of reaching out to a family that has lost a child who was a Boy Scout. Even if that could be considered an "honorary Eagle", it's obviously a very rare and self-limiting thing and I don't know of anybody who has a problem with it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vumbi Posted March 27, 2016 Share Posted March 27, 2016 (edited) I could go with 'Scout Spirit Award'. Honorary Eagle? Out of the question. And those instances of living up to the slogan are what ALL scouts should do regardless of rank. Honorary Scout? Smacks a little of the phony 'Doctorates' that are handed to persons who sometimes did nothing more than donate money to something and then later strut their status as if they actually earned the degree. Desertrat, I'll tip my hand about how I feel about computers here: when I think of the hours of life I've lost waiting to fix blue screens of death...I could, in some ways, view Gates in a negative light. But as you probably know...money talks and the BSA top brass definitely likes the money. See colon star dot star backslash...... Edited March 27, 2016 by vumbi 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
qwazse Posted March 27, 2016 Share Posted March 27, 2016 I like the notion of honorary first class scout. None of 'Schiffe's reasons for recognition parallel The Eagle award. Thus I hesitate to use that name. On the other hand, maybe we should focus on having our elected officials honor our fellow non-scout citizens for their noble deeds. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CalicoPenn Posted March 27, 2016 Share Posted March 27, 2016 The Boy Scouts has an honors society - it's called the Order of the Arrow. It used to be a society of honors campers but that emphasis has changed (frankly for the better - it's strengyt has always been service to others and the camping aspect seemed a bit forced as a result). Why not utilize that platform instead of ranks? Make folks Honorary Order of the Arrow Members - it might also help to improve the publics understanding of just what the OA is (and maybe even help revitalize the concept in many of our Councils where the program has degenerated into a weak shadow of its former glory). It opens up the field so local Lodges can honor police officers that respond to noise complaints by playing B-ball with the kids, and so that the National officers can honor people like Bill Gates Jr. BTW - check the newspaper article - did they leave off the Sr. on Bill Gates' name? The BSA issued its own press release about the number of Eagles in 2015 and named Bill Gates Sr.(though whoever then took the press release and created the article for "PRNewswire" left the Sr. off in the first paragraph but left it there in the quoted section). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stosh Posted March 27, 2016 Share Posted March 27, 2016 Whereas there are other organizations out there that have an Eagle Award that are not BSA, using Honorary Eagle Award designation might offend non-scouts who have earned their Eagles. But alas, looks like one is a bit of a johnny-come-lately.... http://blog.scoutingmagazine.org/2015/03/30/bald-eagle-scout/ http://oquirrhhillsmiddle.org/community-involvement-the-honorary-eagle-award/ http://www.friar.com/blog/glenn-yeakel-honored-boy-scouts-america/ https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10152900715045555.1073741850.114122970554&type=1 http://www.thealmanac.net/article/20140723/NEWS/140729994 Google is an interesting phenomenon.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RememberSchiff Posted March 27, 2016 Author Share Posted March 27, 2016 Thanks for the feedback. For "Honorary scout", my thought was to honor those who act like scouts though they had not been scouts. So rather than correct the public/internet perception that "John Glenn was a Scout", let's make him a Scout, an honorary one. Win-Win. North Star, Silver Buffalo, OA..are different critters. Yeah "Honorary Eagle Scout" may not work. I was thinking this would be for former scouts who did not earn Eagle but whose life was "an Eagle trail". I was thinking Walter Cronkite, Harrison Ford (he often mentions scouting and has rescued scouts!), Bill Gates Jr. for his non-Microsoft philanthropy. There would likely be controversy over some choices. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TAHAWK Posted March 27, 2016 Share Posted March 27, 2016 The Boy Scouts has an honors society - it's called the Order of the Arrow. It used to be a society of honors campers but that emphasis has changed (frankly for the better - it's strengyt has always been service to others and the camping aspect seemed a bit forced as a result). The OA has always expressly been a service organization and recognition for those Scouts and Scouters who best exemplify the oath and Law. It was never about recognizing camping skill. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eagle94-A1 Posted March 28, 2016 Share Posted March 28, 2016 I know Green Bar Bill was listed as an Eagle Scout, don't know if it's honorary, or if he got it pre-adult ban. But he was a Knisght Scout in Denmark. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TAHAWK Posted March 28, 2016 Share Posted March 28, 2016 Bill is listed as a recipient of the Danish equivalent of Eagle Scout, "Knight-Scout," and recipient of B.S.A.'s Distinguished Eagle Scout Award. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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