FROM LIFE TO EAGLE

If you’re a Life Scout who is finishing up the Eagle-Required Merit Badges and has decided to work toward the rank of Eagle Scout, I have some tips for you.

1.Get leadership experience. Try to hold at least one leadership position while a First Class, Star, or Life Scout. This isn’t an official advancement requirement - a Scout can hold non-leadership positions of responsibility (e.g., Quartermaster, Chaplain Aide, Librarian, Scribe, etc) and still fulfill Eagle Scout rank requirements. However, a leadership position will help prepare you for your Eagle Scout project, and will provide valuable experience. So put your name in the hat for such positions as Patrol Leader, Assistant Senior Patrol Leader, Senior Patrol Leader and Troop Guide.

2.Select an Eagle Scout Leadership Project early. Start thinking about your Eagle Scout project early, so you can begin planning it soon after you make Life Scout. Take advantage of any time that you aren’t occupied with a leadership position - or sports or other non-Scouting activities - to plan your project. Approach your Eagle Advisor (Scoutmaster/Coach/Crew Advisor or designated unit Eagle advisor) to discuss your project and make sure it meets the following criteria:

-It must benefit a non-profit organization other than the Boy Scouts of America

-It must involve leadership. Leadership includes communicating your vision to your workforce, coordinating their efforts in achieving it, resolving any problems or issues that come up, and making any required decisions (note that although you have to do this, you can and should seek the advice of people with more knowledge than you).

-It should involve project management. Project management includes estimating the labor, materials and equipment required, soliciting volunteers, obtaining the needed materials and equipment, and ensuring that appropriate adult leadership is present during the work sessions and that safety rules are followed.

-It must be approved by the District Advancement CommitteeBEFORE you start working on it. You must submit your project using the Eagle Project Workbook, which is available in hard copy at the Scout Shop or as a Microsoft Word document on the Internet. Many Scouts prefer the latter because they can add digital pictures, spreadsheets, etc.

3.Plan your project thoroughly. Keep track of the time you spend on your project, from the time you first discuss it with your Eagle advisor. In my experience, Scouts spend approximately 40 hours planning a project for every 80 manhours of time that they and others spend working on it.

Check out this website: It has some great tips on choosing and planning your Eagle Project. Here are some of the things that you should cover inyour workbook:

-Project description

-The organization that will benefit from your project and how/why

- Detailed project execution plan, including a labor estimate (inman-hours) and the cost of materials, supplies and equipment. I recommend using spreadsheets for this, for two reasons. If you use the Word version of the Project Workbook, you can insert the spreadsheets into your text. Also, the spreadsheets will help you keep track of things as you execute the project and make it much easier to do your final report.

-Your plan for obtaining any required funding, through donations, fundraising, your personal funds, or some combination.

-Anticipated safety hazards inherent in your project, and your plan for mitigating them.

- Detailed drawings showing the location and design/assembly of any structures (bridges, decks, fences, benches, etc)

-Pictures of the area as it is before your project.

-The name and title of the representative of the benefitting organization, with whom you discussed the project

-Signatures of the person who represents the benefitting organization, your Eagle Advisor, and a unit committee member.

5.Keep good records for your Eagle Project Final Report. After your project is completed, you must fill in the last section of the Project Workbook, describing how your project went compared to your plan. Include a summary of man-hours, explain anything that you did differently and why, note any changes in your materials list, etc. Include some photographs of the finished project. You must also obtain signatures from your Eagle Advisor and the representative of the benefitting organization attesting to the completion of your project. Your Project Workbook - and this final report - will be reviewed at your Eagle Board of Review.

6.Apply for the rank ofEagle Scout. Unlike all the other ranks in Boy Scouts, you do not advance to Eagle Scout after your Scoutmaster Conference. You actually have to apply for the rank. Your application will be reviewed by Chief Seattle Council, who will verify your advancement records. You must use the new Eagle Scout Application, which now requires you to identify your Eagle Scout Leadership Project and the man-hours involved in it (the new form is in the Document Library on the District website). You must have a Scoutmaster Conference and must submit a statement of your life ambitions and a discussion of positions you held outside of Scouting that provided you with leadership experience. You must complete all the requirements for Eagle Scout and submit your application to Chief Seattle Council (via the Scout Shop in Bremerton) before your 18th birthday. You must also solicit letters of reference from the five or six people you list on your Eagle application. Letters should be mailed or delivered directly to:

Orca District Eagle Advancement Coordinator

1900 Austin Drive

Bremerton, WA 98312

OnceChief Seattle Council approves your application and I have received your reference letters, I will contact you to arrange for an Eagle Board of Review. You have been through several Boards of Review in your Scouting career. At each of them you reflected on your experiences and the challenges of the next rank. Your Eagle Scout Board of Review will be similar, but more formal. You will be facing adult leaders from other units in the Orca District who may not even know you, and you will be revisiting your entire Scouting experience and exploring your future.

Good luck. Attaining the rank of Eagle Scout is challenging - but like any challenge, you can meet it with a good plan and strong intent. I hope to see you one day at your Board of Review.

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