New Eagle Scouts in Your Ward?

[Bob Crockett]

My youngest son went all the way to get all his merit badges and got sign-off for his project, and started scoping out the project (build trails), and then quit once the Church quit scouting.  His mother gave him all the encouragement necessary.  I'm not sure I did, but I was there at the initial trail building effort and I was involved in helping him line up a dozer. 

The Church left scouting for a reason.  It wasn't right for the boys.   I suspected it for years, even though I had the uniform and often ran events as a leader.

Edited September 23, 2020 by Bob Crockett

[gopher]

On 9/21/2020 at 2:43 AM, Bernard Gui said:

Yesterday, our grandson Dedicatissimo (son of Artisticosso) along with four other lads in their stake received the Eagle Scout award. They earned it before the Church separated from Scouting, but due to current circumstances were unable to receive them until now. What is remarkable is that they started their trail back when the separation was announced, which put a lot of pressure on kids, leaders, and parents to complete everything on time. They did not run “Merit Badge Mills.” They served in positions of leadership. All the service projects were substantial. The average age of the boys was 13.5 years. Held outside at the heroic Scoutmaster’s large property, it was a moving experience. Dedicatissmo is my only grandson (out of 10) to earn the award. The rest were too young, some by just a few months.

Did Scouts in your ward make concerted efforts to earn their Eagle before the deadline? Our stake has some who have formed a non-LDS troop to continue in Scouting. Do you have any?

Our ward hadn't had an Eagle scout in a few years, but when the announcement came out one young man decided he would finish his Eagle requirements before the deadline.  He was able to convince three other young men to do the same.  It was the first time we've ever had an Eagle court of honor with four Eagle scouts so it was very cool.  Usually, we'd have a ceremony for a single Eagle scout.

[Amulek]

12 hours ago, Bernard Gui said:

Thanks for the comments. I suspect there were many who just let it slide. IMO, that’s a shame.

Were not for the mandatory leadership service requirements, I think more boys would have pushed for it.

Almost all of the young women in our ward - including the majority of the Beehives - worked tirelessly to earn their young women's medallion before the program expired. Unlike the young men, they were able to do so because that program didn't have the same sort of mandatory time minimums that had to be met. 

 

Quote

In the past having Eagle Scout on your resume was a big plus. It may have lost a bit of its luster now, but my hat is off to those who made the effort to finish the course. That will serve them well in future endeavors. 

While I never much cared for camping (too many scout camps in the Texas heat), I took a lot of good things from my time in scouting, and I'm still proud that I completed the program. Many of the skills and whatnot gained over those years have, in fact, proven to be valuable to me over the years. 

 

[Bernard Gui]

1 hour ago, Amulek said:

Were not for the mandatory leadership service requirements, I think more boys would have pushed for it.

Almost all of the young women in our ward - including the majority of the Beehives - worked tirelessly to earn their young women's medallion before the program expired. Unlike the young men, they were able to do so because that program didn't have the same sort of mandatory time minimums that had to be met. 

I think several young women in our ward pursued their medallion.

1 hour ago, Amulek said:

While I never much cared for camping (too many scout camps in the Texas heat), I took a lot of good things from my time in scouting, and I'm still proud that I completed the program. Many of the skills and whatnot gained over those years have, in fact, proven to be valuable to me over the years. 

Camping in the New Mexico mountains...nothing is better! Camping in the Northwest can be a soggy affair, but you learn to deal with it. I agree that many things I learned in Scouting have served me well. 

[Bernard Gui]

13 hours ago, Tacenda said:

True, hope you get more comments to help you out.

Thanks! Not sure why I need help, though. 

[Bernard Gui]

3 hours ago, Bob Crockett said:

My youngest son went all the way to get all his merit badges and got sign-off for his project, and started scoping out the project (build trails), and then quit once the Church quit scouting.  His mother gave him all the encouragement necessary.  I'm not sure I did, but I was there at the initial trail building effort and I was involved in helping him line up a dozer. 

The Church left scouting for a reason.  It wasn't right for the boys.   I suspected it for years, even though I had the uniform and often ran events as a leader.

Everyone approached the change differently. I don't agree that Scouting wasn't right for the boys. 

[Bernard Gui]

3 hours ago, gopher said:

Our ward hadn't had an Eagle scout in a few years, but when the announcement came out one young man decided he would finish his Eagle requirements before the deadline.  He was able to convince three other young men to do the same.  It was the first time we've ever had an Eagle court of honor with four Eagle scouts so it was very cool.  Usually, we'd have a ceremony for a single Eagle scout.

Kudos to the boys and leaders who saw it through, especially the young man who did the encouraging. They will never regret it. It's inspiring to see a group of young men move together for a worthy purpose. I hope to see more of that with the new program.

Edited September 23, 2020 by Bernard Gui

[Tacenda]

42 minutes ago, Bernard Gui said:

Thanks! Not sure why I need help, though. 

Help as far as information, nothing else.

[Bernard Gui]

27 minutes ago, Tacenda said:

Help as far as information, nothing else.

OK. Thanks!

 

[InCognitus]

On 9/20/2020 at 11:43 PM, Bernard Gui said:

Yesterday, our grandson Dedicatissimo (son of Artisticosso) along with four other lads in their stake received the Eagle Scout award. They earned it before the Church separated from Scouting, but due to current circumstances were unable to receive them until now. What is remarkable is that they started their trail back when the separation was announced, which put a lot of pressure on kids, leaders, and parents to complete everything on time. They did not run “Merit Badge Mills.” They served in positions of leadership. All the service projects were substantial. The average age of the boys was 13.5 years. Held outside at the heroic Scoutmaster’s large property, it was a moving experience. Dedicatissmo is my only grandson (out of 10) to earn the award. The rest were too young, some by just a few months.

Did Scouts in your ward make concerted efforts to earn their Eagle before the deadline? Our stake has some who have formed a non-LDS troop to continue in Scouting. Do you have any?

Congratulations to your grandsons for such a great achievement.  

Unfortunately, due to the whole Covid experience I have lost touch with what has transpired in my ward with the young men, which is a shame.  I was, until a year ago, the Scoutmaster by default in our ward (I was an assistant Scoutmaster for over four years, and one by one different Scoutmasters either moved from the ward or received other callings, and in the last year I was the last man standing in a way).  Last year we had two boys in the program, and we shared the scouting experience with another ward that met in our building, and the Scoutmaster of the other ward was phenomenal.  But in the last six years I learned to appreciate Scouting in a way that I never recognized when I was a scout.  We had two boys get their Eagle Scout award last year, and one boy last year was on track to get the award, but I think the changes at BSA made his whole family lose interest in a big way.  One of the boys from the other ward received his Eagle early this year.  

Edit to add:  There is no coincidence that my activity on this board started up last year at this same time, because that was when I was released as Scoutmaster when all the changes were made in the Young Men program. There was a void in my life upon that release, and my Wednesday nights were open with nothing to do.   

Edited September 27, 2020 by InCognitus