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Eagle Scout:
A rare yet attainable achievement The fact that a boy is an Eagle Scout, the highest rank in scouting, has always carried with it a special significance, not only in scouting but also as he enters higher education, business or industry, and community service. The award is a performance-based achievement whose standards have been well-maintained over the years. Few who endeavor actually achieve the pinnacle of scouting, around five percent. Overall, more than one million boy scouts have earned the rank since 1911. Still, the goals of scouting's citizenship training, character development, and personal fitness remain important for all scouts, whether or not they attain the rank of Eagle Scout. Challenges To become an Eagle Scout, a young man must fulfill certain stringent requirements in the areas of leadership, service, and outdoor skills. Although many options are available to demonstrate proficiency in these areas, a number of very specific skills are required to advance through the ranks tenderfoot, second class, first class, star, life, and eagle. In addition to skills, boys must earn merit badges in order to earn the rank of Eagle Scout. This has varied subtly somewhat over the years in terms of quantity, but never in substance. The merit badges themselves signify mastery of certain life skills, as well as exposing boys to potential occupational fields of endeavor. Of the more than 100 merit badges available, twenty-one must be earned to qualify for Eagle Scout, and of this group, thirteen are required: first aid, citizenship in the community, citizenship in the nation, citizenship in the world, communications, environmental science, personal fitness, personal management, camping, cooking and family life. In addition, a scout has a choice between emergency preparedness and lifesaving and a choice among cycling, hiking, and swimming to round out the required list. Service Beginning with the star rank and continuing through life and eagle, a scout must demonstrate participation in increasingly more responsible service projects. At these levels, he also must demonstrate leadership skills by holding one or more specific youth positions of responsibility in his patrol or troop. Many people have heard of the "Eagle Scout service project", as it is colloquially known, however the actual title is "Eagle Scout leadership service project", and the name says it all. The eagle candidate must plan a service event of significance to his community, and design the project plan so well that another scout could run the project in his stead with only the plan in hand. That is quite an feat for anyone, let alone a teenaged boy! The service project plan is approved by the beneficiary, troop and council before being permitted to proceed. Accountability Lastly, to achieve the rank of Eagle Scout, at each of his rank advancements, a boy scout takes part in a scoutmaster conference followed by a board of review. The conferences are designed to help the scout to set goals for himself in line with his individual talents and abilities, and to ensure the young man has accomplished what he set out to do with each rank. The board of review process is handled by non-program adults who review everything the scout has learned since the previous review, and discussed with the youth his present and future as well. |
OUR EAGLE'S NEST 35. Kiefer Farstad July 2022 34. AJ Lines June 2021 33. Gabriel Heath June 2021 32. Luke Dembosky January 2021 31. Hunter Kizerian January 2020 30. Preston Leavit August 2018 29. Thomas Devine August 2017 28. Reagan Divar August 2017 27. Samuel Martin May 2017 26. Eion Williams January 2017 25. Andrew Hulin January 2017 24. Marcus Mercer October 2015 23. Noah Peterson July 2015 22. Zac Sanchez January 2015 21. Nicholas Roeper August 2013 20. Addison Kloeckner July 2013 19. Gabriel Garcia July 2013 18. Elijah Martin May 2013 17. Donavan Tracy December 2012 16. Emmett Peery August 2012 15. Marcus McAnally July 2012 14. Cameron Castro September 2011 13. Taylor Kruse June 2011 12. Nicholas Alvar December 2010 11. Nicholas Touma August 2010 10. William Brewer May 2010 9. Joshua Martin May 2010 8. Troy Hunt March 2010 7. Zack Knickerbocker January 2010 6. Eric Lawrence April 2009 5. Reece Lafortune July 2008 4. Patrick McEnulty August 2007 3. Brandon Johnson July 2007 2. Joshua MacDavid January 2007 1. Matthew Martin January 2007 |
