What should the Troop pay for at ECOH?

[clemlaw]

I haven't been to one yet in our troop, since we've only had one Eagle since my son started, and I was out of town that day.  But the ceremony is planned, and as far as I can tell, paid for, by the family.  It doesn't seem to be a troop event.  All of the scouts are invited guests, but it doesn't appear that they are expected to attend unless they have a personal connection with that scout (which is likely anyway, since it's a pretty small troop).

 

This does strike me as slightly weird for a couple of reasons.  First of all, it seems kind of weird that the family is expected to plan and pay for an event where an honor is being bestowed upon the scout.  I guess if they wanted to have an elaborate reception afterwards, that would be one thing, but it just seems weird that they are in charge of the ceremony itself.

 

One of our other ASM's, who is also an Eagle, put his finger on what I think is really wrong.  Every ceremony is apparently different, and it's not really viewed as a "required" troop event.  He pointed out in his experience, and I think this was true for me as well, that a younger scout attending an ECOH can conclude "that can be me someday" when he sees a succession of older scouts going through basically the same ceremony.  And seeing the other Eagles come forward, some of them adults, many wearing old medals, really made an impact on me.  I think this point is kind of lost when Scout Smith has a big bash, Scout Jones has a modest ceremony in a church basement, and he didn't attend Scout Johnson's ceremony at all.

 

In our troop, the only connection of that type comes from the fact that the names of the Eagle Scouts are painted on the troop trailer, and we also have a display of all Eagles' names that comes out a regular Court of Honor.  

 

The other ASM's son will probably be one of the next to make Eagle, and there will probably be 4 or 5 before my son does, so hopefully we'll be able to lobby to turn them back into troop events.

[gumbymaster]

Every Eagle's journey has been a unique experience.  For this reason, I have generally liked the ECoH ceremonies for one Eagle at a time.  Their friends speak of memories of the journey - they are often accompanied by photos or video.  I think these tend to be very motivating for the younger Scouts.

 

The Troop of my youth made planning the ECoH the final (unwritten) requirement.  For me, there was nothing as awkward as how to plan a ceremony for honoring onself - at least a first.  But as speakers are identified and asked, and other parts fall together - it becomes nice.  My journey was very different than that of the 3 other Scouts who got their Eagle the same year I did, we each had our own circle of Scout and non-scout friends and family to invite.

 

Since each Eagle did their own ceremony, it was up to them to plan the food to be served, the venue to fit the planned attendance, etc.  It was very much like planning a wedding - and an experience that served me well when I helped the family of my best friend's bride plan and set up parts of that ceremony, or when I was able to intelligently offer advice to, or do assigned tasks for, my own bride as she and her mom planned ours.

 

The Troop did the usual kit, 1 year NESA membership, etc.  Someone got the cake, not sure who.  For the rest, I worked within a budget established by my family (not that I was an extravagant spender anyways).

 

Now, some families cannot afford such an elaborate ceremony, so I can see a case for the troop having a "starter budget" or similar, or dovetailing a troop CoH.  It's really got to match the Scout and their needs.

[David CO]

We have our scouts recognized at a school awards night, which takes place at the end of the school year, so we don't do ECOH.

 

Our emphasis is on school unity.  We want our students' scouting achievements to be recognized along with those of our athletic and academic programs.  

 

My feeling is that a scout has achieved his rank as soon as he has earned it.  

Edited October 1, 2016 by David CO

[desertrat77]

We have our scouts recognized at a school awards night, which takes place at the end of the school year, so we don't do ECOH.

 

Our emphasis is on school unity.  We want our students' scouting achievements to be recognized along with those of our athletic and academic programs.  

 

My feeling is that a scout has achieved his rank as soon as he has earned it.  

David, this concept is a new one to me...and I must admit, I like it!

[David CO]

David, this concept is a new one to me...and I must admit, I like it!

 

It is a big deal for some of our scouts to see the athletes applauding their scouting achievements.

[MattR]

I have the scouts organize their ECOHs. The troop pays for the necker and awards, I make them a slide. The scouts decide what they want and where they want it. I tell them to aim for 30 minutes and then don't worry about the time. The longest I've seen is about 50 minutes. Nobody reads letters because nobody wants to hear it.

 

The scouts may end up with the same award but they all get there differently. These scouts are all wonderful in their own way. When it comes time to planning their coh I ask them what scouts and Eagle means to them. Their coh should reflect that. So, typically there are stories and slide shows that make moms cry and scouts laugh. I always enjoy ecohs. Maybe part of this is because my scouts typically don't get eagle until they're 18, so really this is not just congratulations but also a good bye and good luck.