1. I passed my Eagle Board of Review!! NOW WHAT? Click to advance

2. Congratulations!!! You have successfully passed your Eagle Board of Review and you’re ready to party. Not so fast, buckeroo, there’s more to this than what meets the eye. This PowerPoint will take you through the remaining steps to get you to your big day.

3. So, what do I do next? 1.Your troop sends your paperwork to Council. 2.Council records your achievement and forwards your paperwork to BSA National in Irving, Texas. 3.National reviews your paperwork, approves it, and sends your Eagle Certificate and the rest of your Eagle credentials to Council who then forwards the packet to your unit.

4. OK, but what do I do? You can start planning your Court of Honor. Talk to your unit as to the protocol of Eagle Courts of Honor. A separate Eagle Court of Honor is suggested to recognize your achievement. Several Eagle Scouts can share a Court of Honor if desired. Your troop should announce your rank advancement as soon as possible.

5. What is required? An Eagle Court of Honor is a special day in your life, just like a wedding, baptism or graduation. It is a one time event. No do-overs. You need to spend some time on planning this day to get it right. It can be as simple or complicated as you want. You can find hundreds of sample Eagle Court of Honor programs on line.

6. OK, let’s do this. An Eagle Court of Honor should follow a planned out format. For an example: –An Opening Ceremony with flags –Introduction of the MC and Guests –Introduction of the Eagle Candidate(s) –Background of the Eagle Rank and what it takes to achieve it – nice place for a Candle / Rank ceremony –The Eagle Challenge

7. Continued –The Eagle Oath –Presentation of the Eagle Rank –Presentation of Mother / Father pins –Any other presentations ( letters, Mentor pins, etc.) –Thank you from the new Eagle(s) –Closing Ceremony So, that’s not so hard………..

8. Things to consider When planning your Court of Honor, make it meaningful. Use folks who have helped you reach this point as presenters. Send out invitations as soon as you have set the Court of Honor date. Remember to allow National at least 6 weeks to process your paperwork. Invite local dignitaries. The Mayor, School board members, your Pastor, Teachers, anyone you think would appreciate your day.

9. While you are waiting for your paperwork, send invitations to the President, the Governor, Senators and Representatives, other famous Eagle Scouts, or celebrities. They may not show up, but they will usually send some type of memento to recognize your feat. Have someone read / present these to you. Let them know ahead of time. Look on the Internet for names and addresses.

10. COMMON PITFALLS If you avoid these, things will go better: –Y–You fail to make a program with details – this is not where you want to try and wing it. –Y–You fail to write out your thank you speech – see above. –Y–You print only one copy of the program – someone will forget it – more is better. –Y–You print the program in 10 font. – We’re OLD! - Print the program in a LARGE (32) font. –M–Mom or Dad try to take pictures – designate someone else to be the photographer.

11. More things to avoid: –You wait till the day/minute of the Court of Honor to show everyone your program. – Let people practice their parts ahead of time. –You use new candles in a ceremony – pre-light the candles, blow them out - use a simple non child proof lighter. –You have a complicated Audio / visual show – keep it simple. If you don’t have someone who can comfortably run it, you probably don’t need it. –You fail to “Be Prepared” – ‘nuff said.

12. RESOURCES The Eagle Court of Honor Handbook – US Scouting Service Project - www.macscouter.com National Eagle Scout Association – www.NESA.org www.NESA.org BSA Troop Program Resources #33588A Pages 87 - 93

13. RESOURCES The Eagle Court of Honor Handbook – US Scouting Service Project - www.macscouter.com www.macscouter.com Your Scoutmaster and Troop Committee Other Eagle Scouts in your troop The Internet search engines.

14. Good Luck and remember to have fun! It’s your Special Day!!