Eagle Scouts

Bubby'sDad said:
I think a lot of Philmont burned last year in one of the large western forest fires. Hopefully it didn't do enough damage to change the character of this long time Scouting landmark.
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The fires were in 2018 - we were set to go in late June, got rescheduled to August and then cancelled.
 
Both my DS's are Eagles. My KP class of 2013 DS made Eagle at age 12 (yes, it's possible). He got 7 palms. Went on to O/A where he made Vigil Honor and earned the Founders Award. Went to Philmont, Northern Tier, National Jamborie, two NOAC's, and National Service Project at Shasta-Trinity. Was on award winning Ceremonies Team and was Lodge Chief and Regional Secretary. BSA gave him so much leadership training. He had opportunities to attend and later teach both youth and adults at leadership training, including NYLT and Bushmaster. BSA flew him around the country to train other youth. I am certain that the leadership training and experience he got from BSA is the key that got him accepted at two SA's.
 
DS just passed his Eagle BOR in November (just in time for all his college and scholarship applications!) and he received the award last week at a Court of Honor for 5 scouts from the troop who made Eagle over the last year or so. He is now a JASM and previously led as SPL and several other positions. Scouting has been fantastic for him!

I recently asked him about his best or most memorable scouting experience, but he really could not narrow it down to one or a few things. I would say that NYLT has probably had the biggest impact on him - first as an attendee, then as staff SPL (+1 to ders_dad!).

As for me, I am an ASM now and it has been a fantastic experience - as a youth, I made it to Life and regretfully never finished Eagle - though I will say without hesitation that my best scouting experience was the World Jamboree (Canadian Rockies, many many years ago).
 
My son is a Life Scout. Scouting has provided him with so many amazing opportunities. NYLT, NAYLE, National Jamboree, Sea base Bahamas, 12 day Philmont trek not to mention many summer camps . He loves to volunteer at Cub Scout Day camp each yr, with only 1 requirement, that he works the sports field. Opened his eyes to Stem, outside of school environment , with the Nova program and awards. One final push to get his Eagle, hopefully I will get my mom Eagle too. The most amazing thing is that he turned his Boy Scout flag route into a business at 14 yrs old. He has pd for all his trips, etc. He has employees that he manages at 15 yo. Scouting offered him this opportunity to open a business. We r super proud of him.
 
Eagle Scout here. Would definitely recommend to anyone currently in reading that it's best to start on your Eagle requirements right after you get your Life Scout. I became a Life freshman year of HS, and after being the Senior Patrol Leader for a year (summer between freshman/sophomore to summer between sophomore/junior), I lost interest in scouting because of the underground bureaucratic BS I had to deal with as a SPL. This pushed me back on Eagle progress, and academics at school were becoming increasingly demanding. I got all of my Eagle stuff completed 10 days before I turned 18. Don't push it off like I did. It'll be a hell of a lot less stressful. Plus, Eagle will help for your ROTC/College Apps 😉 .
 
Many great posts here. Pride of Eagle Scouts. Awesome. My DS is an Eagle Scout. He finished 85 Merit Badges allowing him to earn his 12 Eagle Palms. He loved scouting. We still talk about some of the best high adventures we did in Scouting. Scouting definitely prepared him well for the Naval Academy and all the Academies. We lived next to a joint base so we used many of their training facilities including high rappelling tower, NCO Training bases and several airbases to train on Aviation and Drone Pilot Certification. DS also completed NYLT, Venturing with a Summit Award and got his Ranger and Quest Awards.

My DD is also in her Trail to Eagle Scout now. She’s finishing up her Venturing to qualify for her Summit Award. I joined Scouting as an Adult Scouter. When I was 11 years old, I couldn’t find a Troop where I grew up so I missed out in Scouting. At age 9, I wanted to join as a Cub Scout but my parents were too busy and couldn’t take me to Pack meeting. We went once and that was my last. So I was determined to put my children through scouting when they became of age. I’m so happy they enjoy scouting as I would have. I’ve been a Scouter for 10 years and held many positions in Troop Crew and District. My favorite is Scoutmaster. Under my watch, 15 young men became Eagle Scouts. When my first five Scouts in the Troop made Eagle, that fulfilled my childhood wishes to be a Scout. My DS and I are both OA Brotherhood with Vigil ready. We’ll probably will remain Brotherhood. I’m looking forward to watching my DD grow in scouting and become an Eagle Scout sometime next year. She’ll be going to her Star Scout Advancement soon. Eagle is awesome. You should all be very proud of your Eagle Wings! And yes Academies, colleges, your employers, and your neighbors love Eagle Scouts.
 
@CrewDad Definitely get your Vigil Honor. You will be glad you did! My DH and both DS's are Vigil and that ceremony is one of the best and most meaningful experiences they have ever had. (Also provided good essay material for applications.)
 
Thank you for your nice reflection and the Vigil experience. It would be an honor to be Vigil. If only I can remain “be prepared” and ready to serve. I have to be very good in multitasking here. Be a good husband good father and good man to my staff and boards. With all I am doing I have to also be a good substitute master to my 2 year old dog our DS left behind. Our pup is wearing one of DS Eagle badge on his collar. He’s learning to do his “good turn daily. ^^
 
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