HOW TO HANDLE EAGLE SCOUT PAPER WORK
Tips from the Advancement Committee, Monticello District
1. BEFORE THE PROJECT:
- Electronic submission (preferred): The BSA has made the Workbook available in electronic format (PDF, DOC and RTF) from The National Eagle Scout Association (NESA) at http://www.nesa.org/trail/manual.html If the Scout downloads the PDF file, he must print it and treat it like a printed workbook. If he chooses to use the RTF or DOC as a strawman on which to hang the proposal and the report, the Scout and Unit Leaders will need to handle the signature pages carefully. Most of the instructions in this tip sheet still apply to electronic submissions. Click here for details on electronic submission.
- Paper submission: Unit Leader, the Unit Committee and the potential beneficiaries review the project. They sign page 3 of the Eagle Scout Service Project Workbook (BSA Form 18-936 2006). Make sure the Workbook is the new one, with a photo of a Scout on the cover, not the silhouette of a mountain range. The Scout sends the original Workbook to the District Advancement Chair with the proposal.
Tip: We recommend writing the Project Descriptions and Planning Details (pp. 2, 3) on separate paper and not attaching them to the Workbook until the Scout is ready to assemble the finished Project Report. Most Scouts use PC word-processors and often they must make changes. It is easier to make copies of the proposals, too. Use the official Workbook for everything else, especially the signatures.
- The Unit Leader or Scout may call us anytime during proposal preparation. Better to resolve any doubts than to put effort into something that does not qualify.
- Here are our criteria for evaluating Eagle Project proposals. (From a letter to a Scout)
- 1. An
Eagle project must be a community project. It cannot be a Troop
project which the Scout happens to lead. (Answer this question: "Is
this a service project that a Troop has already done?" If yes, it is
not an Eagle project.) In fact, it is a plus if the project involves
non-Scouts as well as Scouts.
2. An Eagle project shows the Scout’s leadership. It must require the participation of more individuals than the Scout to succeed. (Answer this: "Could I do this project by myself, with more money, time or effort?" If the answer is "Yes," it is not an Eagle project.) I look for excessive adult involvement in the plan, especially in directing the effort or making the preparations. (Answer this: "Am I really going to be able to decide who does what, and when, and what needs to be done?")
3. An Eagle project has an effect that survives the Scout. This is why so many Life Scouts build things. Non-construction projects require exceptional creativity. For example, taping World War II veterans’ experiences is not an Eagle project; videotaping the interviews as an oral history project, giving it to the County library, and having it indexed so future scholars and researchers can find the material is an Eagle project. (Answer this question: "How will others benefit from this project after I have written my report and become an Eagle Scout?") The benefit does not have to be earth-shaking, but it has to be there, and you have to recognize it before you start.
- The most items that are most often missing from Eagle Project proposals are:
- Rough schedule of work. This shows that the Scout has broken the project into manageable pieces and has a plan for getting it done.
- Budget and list of materials. Estimates are OK, but the Scout should understand the value of the material in the project. but still provide a budget with estimated costs, even if the beneficiary is providing the material.
- Fund raising plans. Include a description of how to pay for the project. If the beneficiary is donating the material, say so. Family members may not give money or materials to the project, although the Scout may use his own money, earned through work, chores, allowances, Troop account, etc.
- Please remind your Scouts to keep copies of everything. The Advancement Chair may call with questions. They need to have a copy of what they sent to understand the questions.
- We try to answer proposals in 48 hours, but impress on the Scouts the need to apply the Fifth Point of the Scout Law to the busy grownups. The District Committee person who approves projects just might be out of town the week the proposal hits the mailbox.
2. AFTER THE PROJECT
- Here is what we typically write in the approval letters.
"Submit a clean, neat copy of your project documentation, a copy of your life purpose paper, the project approval, and the original copy of the Eagle application form to your Troop Committee for review. When they agree that the project was completed and documented properly, and that the Eagle application has been completed properly, they (usually the Advancement Chairman) will submit the Eagle application (without the project documentation and life purpose paper) to the Council for review. (Be sure the form is complete and all dates include day, month and year.) The Council official will certify that official advancement records are in agreement with the dates on the application (or will contact your Scoutmaster if there is a problem) and return the Eagle application form to your Troop Advancement Chairman or Scoutmaster. At this point your Troop Committee or Scoutmaster may schedule a Board of Review with the Council Representative by calling the District Advancement Chair. A reminder -- be sure you have a duplicate of the Eagle application form and all documents in case there is a problem with mail services."
- The Scout must use the latest edition of the Eagle Scout Rank Application, available from the Scout Shop. If he downloads the PDF version from The National Eagle Scout Association (NESA) (http://www.nesa.org/trail/58-728.pdf ) , he should print it out and handle it as a paper form from then on. The printed form may be color or black and white, however, the form is not designed to be handled as two pages. The Scout should print the Application on two sides of a single sheet of paper.
About the time the Application goes to Council for
certification of the advancement record, the Committee Chair should contact the
District Advancement Committee (monticelloeagleboards@comcast.net)
to have a Council Representative assigned to the Board of Review. While the
Application is making the trip to
It is also a good idea for the Scout to provide advance photocopies of the Project Report to the members of the Board of Review who have not seen it. This way we don’t open the meeting with silent reading. Please, never send out the original Application or report. Save it for the Board of Review.
Please contact us if you have questions or suggestions. E-mail works best (monticelloeagleboards@comcast.net).
Thank you for your dedication to the Scouting Program. Our Scouts could not achieve what they do without your help.
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us know.
updated: 17-Jan-2007