Getting Ready for Eagle Court of Honor
Congratulations!!
Your Scout has just earned the rank of Eagle Scout!! But wait, there's something that needs to be done - honoring the new Eagle Scout at an Eagle Court of Honor. An Eagle CoH is a bit different and each troop does it their own way. In our Troop, the parents put on the Eagle CoH for their Scout. There are a number of things to consider and prepare for an Eagle COH and we will address it here.
What happens after the Eagle Board of Review
CoH Date/Venue/Cost
Joint COH
Congratulatory letters and memorabilia
Guest speaker
Program
What happens after the Board of Review
Your Scout successfully completed their Eagle Board of Review! What happens behind the scenes after the Eagle BOR? The Eagle packet is prepared by Council (Silicon Valley Monterrey Bay Council) and sent to National. National will verify the Eagle packet and then notify Countil of their approval. While the award of Eagle Scout isn't official until after National BSA has approved it, once they have approved it, the Eagle Scout rank is considered awarded on the date of the Eagle Board of Review. Once this is done, it's time to prepare for the Eagle Court of Honor!!
Date/Venue/Cost
Just like a wedding, there are a number of things to consider when setting the date and venue for the Eagle COH. Venues we've used in our Eagle COHs: SJ Womens Club, Church halls (Trinity, The River...). You will want certain people to take part in and attend the COH. Their schedules must be considered when setting the date - and then making sure the venue is available. People that you may want to check with when setting the date for the COH:
Troop schedule - make sure it's not on an event that's already scheduled for the Troop
Guest speaker
Family and friends
Key troop adult leaders
Cost for an Eagle Scout Court of Honor is paid by the Eagle Scout's family
Guest Speaker(s)
A guest speaker is optional, but a guest speaker adds a lot to the program and signifies how important this milestone is. A guest speaker can also be invited to say a prayer or lead other religious activity for the COH.
Joint COH
If two or more Scouts earn their Eagle rank near the same time, the families can work together on a joint Eagle COH. This helps by reducing the overall work for any one family and helps share any cost.
Congratulatory Letters and Memorabilia
Since the rank of Eagle Scout is an important milestone and well recognized by many people, various institutions and leaders will recognize this achievement through congratulatory letters and possibly memorabilia. Requests have traditionally been sent to national, state and local leaders and a flag flown at either the US Capitol Bldg or the Pentagon are also very popular requests. Several websites have information for these items:
Other sites can be searched.
While these list the most common sources for these items, you may also consider something that is more personal to the new Eagle Scout. I heard one case where the Eagle Scout was an avid guitar player and the parents contacted a famous guitar company for a congratulatory letter (which they sent!).
Program
Since you are putting on the Eagle COH, you have full flexibility in how the program is structured. The following information are ideas you can use to put a program together. Do a google search on "eagle scout court of honor program ideas" and see a plethora of ideas. Ask other families who had Eagle COHs for copies of their program and the script they used. A script is required along with the program so everyone knows exactly what they will be doing and saying.