Eagle Scout Candidate Seminar

A Resource for Troop Leaders

To Aid Their Life Scouts in Reaching Eagle

By: Randy Smith
Troop 389 / Tejas District
Arlington, Texas

 

Introduction:

This Eagle Candidate Seminar is a resource for troop leaders to use in explaining the Eagle process to their Scouts and their parents. I have found that parents and Scouts really appreciate knowing all the rules as well as the pitfalls early in the Eagle process, while they have time to comply. The families normally count on the troop leaders and if you don't share this information with them, they may become upset when the Scout cannot complete his goal of reaching Eagle rank because of misunderstood requirements.

This web page gives some hints on conducting this seminar, but the real resource is the associated PowerPoint presentation (see link below). Download the presentation file and save it to your computer, and then edit it for your particular unit's use.

This resource should be used in conjunction with my Eagle Scout Leadership Service Project Planning Guide, which the boys will find very helpful in planning and conducting their projects.

Conducting the Eagle Candidate Seminar:

·         The Eagle Candidate Seminar should be held about once or twice a year, depending on the number of new Life Scouts in your troop.

·         It should be presented by the Troop Committee's Advancement Chairman or other leader who is completely knowledgeable about the Eagle rank process. This person must understand the Eagle project and the local district and council's process and procedures for submitting the project for pre-work approval and the final report approvals. They should be able to discuss the local council and district's Eagle application process and the Eagle Board of Review procedures.

o        Note: every council and district seems to have different procedures and these can even change with each District Advancement Chairman. I suggest the troop committee's Advancement Chairman verify the current process before each time this seminar is presented.

·         This works well if conducted in a room away from other troop activities so that the parents and Life Scouts can hear and give their full attention to the presentation.

·         It is suggested that you mail or hand out a flyer announcing the seminar to the parents so they understand the importance of this information and don't have to rely on the Scout to remember to tell them.

·         The troop committee should also have well-defined Eagle Project approval and Eagle application submittal process, as well and be prepared to discuss that at this seminar.

·         Make sure the presenter understands the required merit badges (e.g. Personal Management, Personal Fitness, etc), which have specific time restrictions so they can explain these and the consequences of not starting them before the deadline. Remember, ALL Eagle requirements (except the Eagle Board of Review) must be completed before the boy's 18th birthday, so planning ahead is imperative.

·         Another pitfall to point out is that some troop / patrol leadership positions (e.g. Asst. Patrol Leader) do not satisfy the leadership position requirements, so these need to be discussed.

·         If you have not used PowerPoint for presentations, please ensure your PC, projector, remote mouse, and other technical equipment is compatible and that you are completely familiar with its use. Nothing will destroy your credibility more than fumbling with this equipment in front of your audience.

·         Light refreshments will help set the relaxed atmosphere.

·         If you are prepared to begin at the designated time and you know your material so you can smoothly move through the presentation, this seminar should take about 1 hour.

Materials Suggested for Seminar:

  • BSA Eagle Scout Leadership Service Project Workbook from BSA National Eagle Scout Association (NESA) web site - One copy per Scout
    • Note: the BSA website offers two forms of the Project Workbook: RTF and Acrobat PDF. The PDF version may be opened in the Acrobat Reader and printed, as is, but not edited. If you have word processor software (like MS Word) download the RTF (Rich Text Format), which can be opened in MSWord and edited.
  • BSA Eagle Scout Rank Application form from BSA National Eagle Scout Association (NESA) web site - One copy per Scout
  • My Eagle Scout Leadership Service Project Planning Guide - One copy per Scout
  • Scout Handbook -- Eagle rank requirements page
  • Court of Honor program (an example to show Scouts & parents)
  • Eagle medal & patch (show them the prize they are seeking)

The PowerPoint Presentation:

Right-click on button to left and save the file to your PC. You may right click and choose "Save Target As..." or left-click and open the file in your Internet browser, then save the file to your computer. Either way will accomplish the same result. Of course, you will need the Microsoft PowerPoint program software to edit and run this file. I have added some presenter notes on some slides, which should be removed before showing to your audience.

 

Contact the author with questions, comments, or suggestions:
Randy Smith

 

Page last updated: 19 February 2007