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| Trail To Eagle |
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Once you have earned the Life Scout rank and are ready to
begin your Eagle Scout leadership service project, the workbook will help you plan and
record your progress and complete and submit a final report.
 | Read a message from the Chief Scout Executive to Life Scouts |
| Learn about the Twelve Steps from Life to Eagle |
| Review the requirements for Leadership Service Projects |
| Download the Eagle
Scout Leadership Service Project Workbook |
| Consider joining the National Eagle Scout Association |
A Message from the Chief Scout
Executive
Chief Scout Executive
Roy L. Williams |
Congratulations, Life Scout.
In attaining the rank of Life Scout, you have had the opportunity to learn and master
many skills. You've hiked and camped in good and not-so-good weather. You've learned to
take care of yourself and others in the out-of-doors, as well as in your home community.
Before you now is the opportunity to master yet another set of skills. These skills are
encompassed in the requirements for the rank of Eagle Scout. One of these requirements is
your demonstration of leadership skills. You do so by planning and carrying out an Eagle
Scout Leadership Service Project.
The Eagle Scout
Leadership Service Project Workbook will help you meet this requirement. You will
use this workbook to plan, receive the necessary approvals, carry out, and then report on
the completion of your project.
After completing your project and all the other requirements for the rank of Eagle
Scout, complete the following steps:
- Review the Eagle
Scout Rank Application. Note that you will need to list references of people who will
speak on your behalf. You will also need to prepare a statement about yourself.
- Fill out the Eagle Scout Rank Application. Ask your unit leader and/or unit advancement
committee person to assist you.
- Secure the signatures of your unit leader and unit committee chairman. Their signatures
indicate approval and recommendation by your unit.
- Submit your Eagle Scout Rank Application and the statement about yourself with your Leadership Service
Project Workbook to your local
council service center.
The contents of your application will be certified and the references you have listed
will be contacted. After certification and reference verification, you will be contacted
by the Eagle Scout board of review chairman, who will set your board of review date.
Eagle Scouts are recognized as a group of men who are outstanding in all that Scouting
represents. I encourage you to become a member of this elite group.
Sincerely,
Roy L. Williams
Chief Scout Executive
The 12 Steps from Life to Eagle
The following 12 steps have been outlined to ensure a smooth procedure for the Scout,
the unit leadership, the local council, and the volunteers who are to conduct the board of
review. Eagle candidates should share these steps with their unit leader so that they can
fully understand the procedures that must be followed.
- In order to advance to the rank of Eagle, a candidate must complete all requirements of
tenure; Scout spirit; merit badges; positions of responsibility; while a Life Scout, plan,
develop, and provide leadership to others in a service project; and the Scoutmaster
conference.
- Using the Eagle Scout Leadership Service Project Workbook, the candidate must select his
Eagle service project and have the project concept approved by his unit leader, his unit
committee, and the benefactor of the project, and reviewed and approved by the council or
district advancement committee. The workbook must be used in meeting this requirement.
- It is imperative that all requirements for the Eagle Scout rank except the board of
review be completed prior to the candidate's 18th birthday. When all requirements except
the board of review for the rank of Eagle, including the leadership service project, have
been completed, the Eagle
Scout Rank Application must be completed and sent to the council service center
promptly. (Youth members with disabilities should meet with their unit leader regarding
time extensions.)
- The application should be signed by the unit leader at the proper place. The unit
committee reviews and approves the record of the Eagle candidate before the application is
submitted to the local council. If a unit leader or unit committee fails to sign or
otherwise approve an application, the Eagle candidate may still be granted a board of
review. The failure of a unit leader or unit committee to sign an application may be
considered by the board of review in determining the qualification of the Eagle candidate.
- When the completed application is received at the council service center, its contents
will be verified and the references contacted. The council advancement committee or its
designee contacts the person listed as a reference on the Eagle Scout Rank Application
either by letter, form, or telephone checklist. The council determines the method or
methods to be used. The candidate should have contacted those individuals listed as
references before including their names on the application. The candidates should not be
involved personally in transmitting any correspondence between persons listed as
references and the council service center.
- The Eagle Scout Leadership Service Project Workbook, properly filled out, must be
submitted with the application.
- After the contents of an application have been verified and appropriately signed, the
application, Eagle Scout Leadership Service Project Workbook, and references will be
returned from the council service center to the chairman of the Eagle board of review so
that a board of review may be scheduled. Under no circumstances should a board of review
be scheduled until the application is returned to the chairman of the Eagle board of
review. Reference checks that are forwarded with the application are confidential, and
their contents are not to be disclosed to any person who is not a member of the board of
review.
- The board of review for an Eagle candidate is composed of at least three but not more
than six members. One member serves as chairman. Unit leaders, assistant unit leaders,
relatives, or guardians may not serve as members of a Scout's board of review. The board
of review members should convene at least 30 minutes before the candidate appears in order
to review the application, reference checks, and leadership service project report. At
least one district or council advancement representative must be a member of the Eagle
board of review if the board of review is conducted on a unit level. A council or district
may designate more than one person to serve as a member of Eagle boards of review when
requested to do so by the unit. It is not required that these persons be members of the
advancement committee; however, they must have an understanding of the importance of the
Eagle board of review.
- The candidate's unit leader introduces him to the members of the board of review. The
unit leader may remain in the room, but does not participate in the board of review. The
unit leader may be called on to clarify a point in question. In no case should a relative
or guardian of the candidate attend the review, even as a unit leader. There is no set of
questions that an Eagle candidate should be asked. However, the board should be assured of
the candidate's participation in the program. This is the highest award that a Scout may
achieve and, consequently, a thorough discussion of his successes and experiences in
Scouting should be considered. After the review, the candidate and his unit leader leave
the room while the board members discuss the acceptability of the candidate as an Eagle
Scout.
The decision must be unanimous. If the candidate meets the requirements,
he is asked to return and is informed that he will receive the board's recommendation for
the Eagle Scout rank. If the candidate does not meet the requirements, he is asked to
return and told the reasons for his failure to qualify. A discussion should be held with
him as to how he may meet the requirements within a given period.
Should the applicant disagree with the decision, the appeal procedures should be
explained to him. A follow-up letter must be sent to the Scout confirming the agreements
reached on the action(s) necessary for the advancement. If the Scout chooses to appeal,
the board should provide the name and address of the person he is to contact. (See
"Appealing a Decision" in the National BSA Policies and Procedures, No.
33088A.)
- Immediately after the board of review and after the application has been appropriately
signed, the application, the service project report, references, and a properly completed
Advancement Report are returned to the council service center.
- When the application arrives at the council service center, the Scout executive signs it
to certify that the proper procedure has been followed and that the board of review has
recommended the candidate for the Eagle Scout rank. This workbook and references are
retained by the council. The workbook may be returned to the Scout after council approval.
Only the Eagle Scout Rank Application is forwarded to the national Eagle Scout
Service.
- The Eagle Scout Service screens the application to ascertain information such as proper
signature, positions of responsibility, tenure between ranks, and age of the candidate.
Any item not meeting national standards will cause the application to be returned for more
information. If the application is in order, the Scout is then certified as an Eagle Scout
by the Eagle Scout Service on behalf of the National Council. Notice of approval is given
by sending the Eagle Scout certificate to the local council. The date used on the
certificate will be the date of the board of review. The Eagle Award must not be sold or
given to any unit until after the certificate is received by the council service center.
The Eagle Scout court of honor should not be scheduled until the local council receives
the Eagle Scout rank credentials.
Leadership Service Projects
How to Start
You have earned the Life Scout rank and are ready to begin your Eagle Scout leadership
service project. This workbook will help you plan and record your progress and complete
and submit a final report.
The Requirement
 As stated in the Boy
Scout Handbook: While a Life Scout, plan, develop, and give leadership to others in a
service project helpful to your religious institution, school, or your community. (The
project should benefit an organization other than the BSA.) The project idea must be
approved by the organization benefiting from the effort, your unit leader (Scoutmaster,
Varsity Scout Coach, Venturing crew Advisor), unit committee, and by the council or
district advancement committee before you start. You must use this Eagle Scout Leadership
Service Project Workbook, No. 18-927A, in meeting this requirement.
Originality
Does the leadership service project for Eagle have to be original, perhaps something
you dream up that has never been done before? The answer: No, but it certainly could be.
You may pick a project that has been done before, but you must accept responsibility for
planning, directing, and following through to its successful completion.
Limitations
Routine labor (a job or service normally rendered) should not be considered. Work
involving council property or other BSA activity is not permitted. The project also may
not be performed for a business or an individual, be of a commercial nature, or be a
fund-raiser. (Fund-raising is permitted only for securing materials or supplies needed to
carry out your project.)
Size
How big a project is required? There are no specific requirements, as long as the
project is helpful to a religious institution, school, or community. The amount of time
spent by you in planning your project and the actual working time spent in carrying out
the project should be as much as is necessary for you to demonstrate your leadership of
others.
Examples
A look at some projects other Scouts have done for their Eagle Scout Award illustrates
that your project can be to construct something or can be to render a service. Scouts have
| Made trays to fasten to wheelchairs for veterans with disabilities at a Veterans
Administration hospital. |
| Collected used books and distributed them to people in the community who wanted and
needed, but could not afford, books. |
| Built a sturdy footbridge across a brook to make a safe shortcut for children between
their homes and school. |
| Collected and repaired used toys and gave them to a home for children with disabilities.
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| Organized and operated a bicycle safety campaign. This involved a written safety test,
equipment safety check, and a skills contest in a bike rodeo. |
| Surveyed the remains of an old Spanish mission and prepared an accurate map relating it
to the present church. |
| Built a "tot lot" in a big city neighborhood and set up a schedule for Boy
Scouts to help run it. |
| Set up a community study center for children who needed a place to do schoolwork. |
| Trained fellow students as audiovisual aides for their school. Arranged for more than
200 hours of audiovisual work. |
| Prepared plans for a footbridge on a trail in a national forest. Worked with rangers to
learn the skills necessary to build the structure, gathered materials and tools, and then
directed a Scout work group to do the construction. |
Approvals
Before You Start
Your project idea must be approved by your unit leader, unit committee, and council or
district advancement committee before the project is started. The following questions must
be answered before giving this approval:
| Who will benefit from the project? |
| How will they benefit? |
| What official from the group benefiting from the project will be contacted for guidance
in planning the project? |
| How many people will be recruited to help carry out the project? |
After Completion
Although your project was approved by your unit leader, unit committee, and council or
district advancement committee before it was begun, the Eagle Scout board of review must
approve the manner in which it was carried out. The following must be answered:
| In what ways did you demonstrate leadership of others? |
| Give examples of how you directed the project rather than doing the work yourself. |
| In what way did the religious institution, school, or community group benefit from the
project? |
| Did the project follow the plan? |
| If changes to the plan were made, explain why the changes were necessary. |
National Eagle Scout Association
The National Eagle Scout Association was created in 1972 with the express purpose of
bringing together Eagle Scouts of all ages so that they may be of greater service to
themselves, their local councils, and their communities, thereby conserving and developing
the human resources potential represented by those who hold Scouting's highest rank.
When you receive your Eagle badge, you will be eligible for membership in this elite
association. You should give it serious consideration.
Applications are available from the Buckeye Council Service Center. |
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