"...wish they had made it to Eagle."

This week I came across parents of a Scout that is very close to completing his final steps. Unfortunately, his parents told me he was not going to make Eagle. My heart sank with frustration. I do not know the circumstances of this Scout’s decision. I decided to reach out to him and offer a supporting hand. He sent me an e-mail saying that scouting has taken a back burner. I hope he is one of the readers of this blog and understands that achieving Eagle is going to give him a great foundation to build his future. He only has until his 18th birthday to complete the requirements. He could actually spend 1 to 2 hours a week and complete his tasks with ease.

I have lost track of the number of people I have met that have told me that they only made it to Life Scout or another rank and many of them have said they wish they had made it to Eagle. Personally, I have benefited from being an Eagle. When I was in college, I saw an ad for a weekend clerk for a motel. I decided to apply for the position. I went into the motel and there was two older women working behind the desk. I asked for an application and filled it out. I gave my application back to the women and they asked me to wait. I watched them scan over my application. When they got down to the part of the application where I put my Eagle Award, they pointed and chatted. They then called me up and confirmed with me that I was an Eagle Scout. The next question from one of the women was “Can you start tomorrow?” That was the shortest and the easiest interview I ever had.

After college, I sent out close to a 100 resumes for jobs. I received a call for an interview. When I went into the Vice Presidents office, he told me that the only reason I got the interview was that I had put Eagle Scout on my resume. We talked for an hour, mostly about scouting. Two weeks later, I was offered a job.

My nephew, who is an Eagle Scout, joined the Navy a few years ago. He put Eagle Scout down on his paperwork. The Navy asked to see his certificate and then promoted him before he arrived to boot camp.

Another little benefit to achieving the Eagle rank is the number of scholarships that become available. The National Eagle Scout Association gives out many scholarships every year.

These are only some small and short-term benefits. The long-term affect of achieving a high award at a young age will set the foundation of character and greatness for any boy who becomes an Eagle. All Eagle Scouts are goal achievers.

When is the last time you achieved a major goal?

Yours in Scouting,

Steve