Archive for the ‘Eagle’ Category


Boy Scout Troop 68 recently honored another of its members who has earned the rank of Eagle Scout. Alex K. is the troop’s eighteenth Eagle Scout. That means it was time for me to create another slideshow for an Eagle court of honor. Alex and his mother picked out several pictures from before when he joined Scouting, and I had plenty of pictures of his years in Scouting. Alex picked out the two songs used, both of which caught me by surprise, but they seem to work out very well.

To honor Alex K., our newest Eagle Scout, I add his slideshow to the Melrose Scouting Productions Podcast. I hope you enjoy it as well as the audience did at his court of honor.

More information and videos about the Eagle Scouts of Troop 68 can be found at the troop’s Eagle Hall Of Fame: http://melrosetroop68.org/EagleHall.html

Click here to DOWNLOAD this Podcast
Subscribe to Melrose Scouting Productions Podcast through iTunes.
or at http://feeds2.feedburner.com/melrosescoutingproductions
Check out other Scouting podcasts at PTC Media.

The Eagle Project is one of the biggest challenges to attaining the rank of Eagle Scout in the Boy Scouts of America. For many Scouts it is probably the first time they have ever had to plan, prepare, and conduct such an activity. Dozens, even hundreds, of hours will be spend on a project. Papers need to be signed, people and groups contacted, materials bought, and refreshments need to be provided. It is quite a job for a teenager to carry out. Yet they do, and communities benefit from the projects.

There has recently been an article passed along in Scouting groups about an Eagle project that helped a group of children half a world away. Alex Griffith, a sixteen year old from Maryland, decided to help an orphanage in Russia when it came time for his project. It was the same orphanage that he lived in before he was adopted by Dwight and Jenny Griffith as a young child. To understand the enormous nature of this project here is an except from an article on the CNN website:

Alex devoted 2 ½ years to his Krasnoyarsk Playground Project. In addition to recruiting more than 500 volunteers in five countries, he raised more than $60,000 by soliciting help from local Rotary Clubs and joining forces with other Boy Scouts for candy sales, car washes and barbeque fundraisers. Alex oversaw every aspect of production, from designing and purchasing the playground to shipping equipment overseas.

The whole article can be seen at:
http://edition.cnn.com/2009/LIVING/wayoflife/09/10/cnnheroes.alex.griffith/?imw=Y
Be sure to check out the project’s website for the facts and figures from this project: http://www.krasplayground.org/ (By the way, the picture shown with this article is from this website.)

This was an awesome project. And tell the truth, another awesome aspect of this project is that CNN decided to list Alex as a CNN Hero. It is great to see a national news agency picking up a positive story of Scouting.

The rank of Eagle Scout, Boy Scouting’s highest honor, is something to be taken seriously. The family, troop, and Eagle Scout will spend a lot of time planning the Eagle Court of Honor. In recent years, a video of the Eagle Scout’s years as a Cub and Boy Scout has become a common part of the ceremony. It is easy enough to put one together with today’s digital photos and computer programs. I should know. I have put together many of these slide shows over the years.

One of the great things about having a video podcast is that I can post videos of a lot of Scouting activities. One subject area I have been lacking in is posting the videos of the Eagle Scouts of our troop. During the next year I plan to slip in the occasional Eagle video not only to recognize these Scouts who have earned this prestigious award, but also to give you ideas on what you could do for the Eagle Scouts of your troop.
This video features Chris K., who earned his Eagle Award in February 2007. Chris was the troop’s 16th Eagle Scout since I became the scoutmaster. He picked out the music for this video, and to tell the truth I did not know how it would play with the photographs. He choose the theme from the Lion King and the theme from the old television series, The Monkees. I have to admit, it turned out very well. The audience at the court of honor really enjoyed it. I hope you do also.
Leave a comment here using the link below, or at the PTC Media forums. You can also rate the videos of Melrose Scouting Productions at the iTunes Music Store. It really is great to hear what you think about the podcast videos.

Click here to DOWNLOAD this Podcast
Subscribe to Melrose Scouting Productions Podcast through iTunes.
or at http://feeds2.feedburner.com/melrosescoutingproductions
Check out other Scouting podcasts at PTC Media.

We have all heard of famous Eagle Scouts like Neil Armstrong, Steve Spielberg, and Ross Perot. But today’s Boy Scout may have a little trouble identifying with these gentlemen. After all, they are (dare I say it?) old. How about someone younger, someone 20, 30, or 40 years closer to the age of today’s Boy Scouts?

If you are a tech geek you may remember a television show on Tech TV several years ago called The Screensavers. The show featured a young man by the name of Kevin Rose. Kevin loved modifying computers and finding those special programs to make it run better and do more. He rapidly became a popular member of the show and soon became the host.

After The Screensavers was canceled, Kevin turned his interests to the internet. He and his friends began a little website called Digg.com which soon became an internet sensation. He is one of the driving forces of Revision 3, an internet television site, and occasionally appears on the This Week In Tech podcast with his old friends Leo Leport and Patrick Norton.

During a recent Diggnation podcast episode Kevin admitted to Alex, his co-host on the show, that he was a Cub Scout and a Boy Scout. In fact, Kevin earned the rank of Eagle Scout when he was only 16 years old, and went on to earn two Eagle palms.

Kevin and Alex went on to discuss merit badges that Kevin had earned, goinf camping, and building campfires. It was pretty obvious that Alex was not a Scout when he was younger. These two guys are still very much like college guys even though Kevin is now 32 years old.

Watch the Diggnation episode HERE.

I had never thought of Kevin Rose as an Eagle Scout when I watched him on television and later on his podcast. He always came off to me as a bit of a rebel. But he is also very smart, seems to know what he wants, and he knows how to get there. Now, when I look closer at what he has accomplished in his short time as an entrepreneur, yes, I can see the traights of an Eagle Scout. But as a scoutmaster, I do wish he would watch his language a bit more and drink less beer.

During lunch today I read an article that was linked in an email to the Boy-Scout-Talk Yahoo group. It was a link to an article written by Rebecca Hagelin titled simply “Boy Scouts”. Here is a small portion of the article:

Turn on the television for 30 minutes and show me how boys and men are portrayed – you can watch just about any station at any hour and the image will be the same. When sit-coms and commercials contain family groups or interactions between the genders, the man is usually stupid, lazy, and doltish.

If our media culture showed positive male images and if we actually put effort back into teaching boys that real men are also gentlemen, we would get more of the behavior our society needs to survive.

What the nation really needs are more Boy Scouts. And I mean that literally.

As a mother of two Eagle Scouts (now ages 20 and 21), I can personally testify about the tremendous positive impact that Scouting continues to have on their lives.”

I thought the article was very well done and hit some good points.

I have recently been guided to watch a video placed on Youtube by the Middle Tennessee Council – Boy Scouts of America. The council recently held its 17th Annual Patron Luncheon. One of the speakers at that luncheon was Eagle Scout Daniel Wakefield. He gave quite a speech. A very well thought out and motivational speech. I would like to suggest that you watch and listen to it.

If you would like to pass this on to people you know, then pass along this blog post, or pass on the Youtube feed which is http://www.scoutingnews.org/2009/04/13/middle-tennessee-council-boy-scouts-luncheon-2009/

Nearly two years ago I wrote a blog post that reprinted a list by Michael Conkey about the rules for a young man to follow if he wished to date his daughter. The list included that the young man must be an Eagle Scout, follow the Scout Law, and follow the two deep leadership rule, among other things. (You can read the blog post HERE.)

My attention has recently been drawn to a website by a note I read on Twitter from LatterDay_Scout. The website, Scouter Stuff, has a series of shirts for sale that go along with “the rules for dating” very well. The shirts state, “I only date Eagle Scouts”, and are available in several styles and sizes. They can be seen at http://www.cafepress.com/ScouterStuff

Fellow Twitterer krisleeb asked the question, “What about those of us who married Eagle Scouts?” It sounds to me like the Scouter Stuff needs to add another series of shirts to their store.

As a scoutmaster of Boy Scout Troop 68, I have seen seventeen young men earn the Boy Scouts of America’s highest award, the rank of Eagle Scout. During most of the Eagle courts of honor, the new Eagle Scout will at some point stand up before the audience of friends and family and talk about his time in Scouting, and thank those who have helped him get to this point of his life.

Troop 68’s latest Eagle Scout is Mike Schwieters. Mike finished his Eagle award with only days to spare before his eighteenth birthday. Mike was an active member of the troop throughout his teen years, and still volunteers to help the troop if we need it when he is home from school. He is now in his second year of college and remains a good friend.

As Mike’s Eagle court of honor came to its closing, Mike stepped forward to say a few words to those who gathered for his special day. His speech was full of memories and some humor, but it also hit a few points that were good for the younger Scouts to hear. He spoke about how to treat others in the troop, and to take the challenge and earn the rank of Eagle Scout.

Mike’s Eagle court of honor was held last May, and ever since then I have wanted to post the video of his closing comments. He stopped by for a visit this weekend so I asked him if he minded if I would post the video to this podcast. He did not mind, so here it is for you to view. I hope you and your sons and Scouts enjoy it and take as much away from it as the members of our troop did.

Click here to DOWNLOAD this Podcast
Subscribe to Melrose Scouting Productions Podcast through iTunes.
or at http://feeds2.feedburner.com/melrosescoutingproductions
Check out other Scouting podcasts at PTC Media.

You are invited to leave a comment using the link below, at the iTunes Music Store, or at the PTC Media forums. Drop me an email at webmaster@melrosetroop68.org. It is great to hear what you think about these podcast videos.