Troop launches 11 Eagle scouts in one year

[WisconsinMomma]

A nice story, sounds like a nice Troop too.  Congrats to all the boys! 

https://www.jsonline.com/story/communities/southwest/news/west-allis/2018/01/17/11-eagle-scouts-fly-out-one-west-allis-troop-and-all-one-year/1035548001/

[Chadamus]

I initially read that as 11 year old Eagles. Glad I re-read it!

Thanks for sharing.

[gblotter]

It sounds like that troop is running a great program.

We once had seven Eagle Scouts in one year, but that was an unusual group of boys who had a tight bond and were motivated by each other to be in the same ECOH.

[Jameson76]

They do come in waves

We had 8 one year, followed by 9 the next, then 16 the next year.  Went down some following years with  5, 7, 5, 7.  We have a large group of 8th and 9th graders so a good number of benches being built, stairways, trails cleared etc etc

[Tampa Turtle]

I have a picture of 14 newbies from summer camp in 2010. Of the 'incoming class of 2010' 12 made Eagle (4 deathbed, 3 pre-14), 1 Life, 1 dropout. A really good class...lucked out time wise we trained them early about being responsible for own sign offs and showing up for advancement opportunities at camp outs. 3 of those scouts left us and Eagled elsewhere.  The group of 19 the year before had few 'survivors' and 2 Eagles over very long careers. 

We seem to average 4 to 6 a year (though a peak of 7 a couple years ago) out of Troop averaging 40-60 scouts. We get a number of military dependent boys every year who are at Star/Life and since they are usually only posted 24 months the best of them jump right in to try to make Eagle before they have to move again. 

[Back Pack]

There were 26 scouts in my join class. Over 7 years we had 18 of them earn Eagle but all at different times. In 26 years we’ve had about 120 Eagles. 

[Sentinel947]

2 minutes ago, Back Pack said:

There were 26 scouts in my join class. Over 7 years we had 18 of them earn Eagle but all at different times. In 26 years we’ve had about 120 Eagles. 

Wow. We've had about 80 Eagles since 1993. Or 24 years. 

[Jameson76]

4 minutes ago, Sentinel947 said:

Wow. We've had about 80 Eagles since 1993. Or 24 years. 

That is a good group

We have had 138 in 33 years.  So much depends on the group that comes in, how they get along, and whether the peer group(s) work together.  I like to think overall program is more important; are you seeing more scouts on outings, how is the High Adventure interest, what about attendance at meetings.  Eagles are important and seem to be the KPI (Key Performance Indicator) of the day.  More critical is are you bringing in new scouts, are current scouts not in 5th or 6th grade bringing in their friends.  We had 5 - 6 scouts join last 12 months that we not crossover webelos, ranging  7th to 9th grade.  They joined because their friends talked about it and said it was fun, they stay active due to program and camping.

[qwazse]

One year sure felt awful busy. I think we had 8 then. I think we're up for another flurry. We have a bunch of life scouts who are about the same age.

I'm always glad when we have about 5 times that number who will never get their bird. Those boys add a lot of flavor to the troop.

[Tampa Turtle]

We had an interruption in our Troop history but when corrected for that gap in 40 (active) years we have had 123 Eagles. Higher frequency the later you go.

[gblotter]

4 minutes ago, qwazse said:

I'm always glad when we have about 5 times that number who will never get their bird. Those boys add a lot of flavor to the troop.

I'll confess that the closer they get to 18, the less motivated I am to offer my encouragement and assistance. I am really not a fan of these deathbed Eagles (for reasons I've stated in other threads).

[Tampa Turtle]

22 minutes ago, gblotter said:

I'll confess that the closer they get to 18, the less motivated I am to offer my encouragement and assistance. I am really not a fan of these deathbed Eagles (for reasons I've stated in other threads).

Depends on the boy and the situation. The boy that blows us off for a few years and comes back at the last minute for the college application gets a lot less effort than the one who has been active all along, contributed to the troop, and just didn't check off things while having fun --yeah all work hard for that guy.

[Back Pack]

28 minutes ago, Tampa Turtle said:

Depends on the boy and the situation. The boy that blows us off for a few years and comes back at the last minute for the college application gets a lot less effort than the one who has been active all along, contributed to the troop, and just didn't check off things while having fun --yeah all work hard for that guy.

Yes. I had many friends who got Eagle a few months before 18 but they were always active in the troop and OA. I got mine just before my 18th birthday but I had over 120 nights camping, 500+ service hours, was on an OA ceremony team, nylt and worked at camps and as a ranger. I can honestly say I spent 7 full years in scouting. I didn’t need much help when doing my project because I was old enough to read and understand the process. When asked why I waited so long I told my board that I was savoring my scouting experience. I let me record speak for itself. 

[gblotter]

1 hour ago, Back Pack said:

I had many friends who got Eagle a few months before 18 but they were always active in the troop and OA. I got mine just before my 18th birthday but I had over 120 nights camping, 500+ service hours, was on an OA ceremony team, nylt and worked at camps and as a ranger. I can honestly say I spent 7 full years in scouting. I didn’t need much help when doing my project because I was old enough to read and understand the process. When asked why I waited so long I told my board that I was savoring my scouting experience. I let me record speak for itself. 

@Back Pack I think everyone joins in their admiration for a Scout such as you.

Perhaps our troop is an exception in this regard, but once our boys hit high school their participation slows to a trickle. We never see them at meetings or outings. Then in a desperate last-minute scramble, they inevitably resurface shortly before their 18th birthday - sometimes expecting that everyone else will also scramble on their behalf to help carry them across the finish line. That's not a formula I can get excited about.

I am the father of three teenagers, so I get it. I witness their busy lives firsthand, and I understand their competing priorities. That is why I advocate striking while the iron is hot and while plenty of time is still available. Then they can enjoy high-adventure trips and other incredible Scouting adventures during their high school years without all the last-minute scrambling and pressure to finish off Eagle while applying to colleges or taking final exams. I know others here disagree with that advice - so be it.

Edited January 24, 2018 by gblotter

[Col. Flagg]

1 hour ago, gblotter said:

@Back Pack I think everyone joins in their admiration for a Scout such as you.

Perhaps our troop is an exception in this regard, but once our boys hit high school their participation slows to a trickle. We never see them at meetings or outings. Then in a desperate last-minute scramble, they inevitably resurface shortly before their 18th birthday - sometimes expecting that everyone else will also scramble on their behalf to help carry them across the finish line. That's not a formula I can get excited about.

I am the father of three teenagers, so I get it. I witness their busy lives firsthand, and I understand their competing priorities. That is why I advocate striking while the iron is hot and while plenty of time is still available. Then they can enjoy high-adventure trips and other incredible Scouting adventures during their high school years without all the last-minute scrambling and pressure to finish off Eagle while applying to colleges or taking final exams. I know others here disagree with that advice - so be it.

This may be heavy-handed, but our PLC put in place many years ago a definition of what constituted "active participation". Why? About 12 years ago our troop recirculated back to a younger-aged unit, but we had a large number of older Scouts (15+) too. Big age discrepancy. About a year later the younger Scouts became part of the PLC, saw the lack of participation from the older guys, read the GTA and, with advice from the SM, decided to define "active participation". The PLC set baseline minimums for service projects, camp outs and such. Rather than requiring attendance at 50% of all camp outs or 75% of service projects, they made participation a scale commensurate with how boys choose to engage in the troop. So, if someone was in band and could not camp very often, they were required to meet the threshold through troop meetings and service projects instead. If someone played football (making Monday nigh meetings impossible) they needed to make up their threshold in other activities. This helped TREMENDOUSLY!!! Over the next few years we saw participation grow exponentially.

Also, if there were any boys on the verge of being considered in-active, the SM would send them a reminder of the policy. This kept those waffling Life Scouts on track...and participating more.