Scouters weigh in: Should Eagle Scout Courts of Honors be individual or group?

Readers argued strongly for both possibilities when Scouter B.T. asked whether Eagle Scout courts of honor should be staged separately or for more than one new Eagle at a time.

Front Line Stuff

If two Scouts are ready for courts of honor at the same time and one wants to have a separate ceremony, the troop should accommodate him.

Our troop has always believed that a boy’s Eagle court of honor is unique for each Eagle, so he should have full control of it. It’s up to the Scout to determine where and when it will be, what will be said during the ceremony, who will be invited, etc.

If we’re going to honor young men for showing that they’re mature and worthy of leadership and responsibility, there’s no better way to confirm it than by letting each one determine how he’s going to be recognized.

Troop Committee Member S.R.,
Orlando, Fla.


Our troop committee thinks the Eagle court of honor should be one of the highlights of a boy’s career in Scouting and should not have to be shared with someone else.

Last year three of our Scouts completed the Eagle requirements at the same time and had their boards of review the same night. But each wanted his own court of honor and picked the ceremony he and his family liked from among the four we have on file.

Assistant Scoutmaster R.J.
Rockford, Ill.


Because our troop is large and many Scouts achieve Eagle, it would be virtually impossible for every new Eagle Scout to have an individual ceremony. Parents and Scouts need to realize that an Eagle court of honor is a huge investment of time and energy on the part of those planning and participating in it, as well as community representatives who will attend.

No boy, other than those in the Lone Scout program, reaches Eagle rank without the support of the troop. Therefore, the needs and abilities of the troop must be considered when planning the ceremony.

Troop Treasurer M.W.
West Milford, N.J.


Each youth who has earned the Eagle Scout Award deserves individual recognition. In 20 years as a chartered organization representative for two troops, I have coordinated more than 30 Eagle Scout courts of honor, none of which has been identical to another. The new Eagle and his parents plan the ceremony in detail with a troop adult coordinator.

Check the Eagle Court of Honor Handbook introduction and notice the use of “personal event,” “individual,” and “…attention should be focused solely on him.” We should treat our top achievers to the most special event they can plan and we can make happen.

Chartered Organization Representative R.L.O.
Silverdale, Wash.


The benefits of sharing are obvious, from costs to the convenience of dignitaries and other guests.

More importantly, the troop should always be in control of the event and not allow the parents to run it. This means the troop should have a policy regarding the Eagle court of honor program so that all courts are consistent. If a troop allows parents to choose the venue, agenda items, and reception details, you set up the troop for competition between families and questions of fairness.

Council Vice President for Membership B.M.
East Meadow, N.Y.


When new Eagles in our troop complete the requirements about the same time, we have a combined court of honor. The budget goes further for refreshments, and the crowd is larger and more festive.

However, we also encourage each new Eagle Scout to have the type of court of honor he prefers. If he and his family want a separate event, we plan for that. Some boys want a formal ceremony in a church while others choose different settings. My son and two friends planned a campfire setting for their ceremony.

Troop Treasurer B.B.
Leawood, Kan.


I believe a troop should have a combined court of honor if it has more than one new Eagle Scout. If parents want to have a party to honor their son’s achievement and invite close friends and relatives, they may do that, but an Eagle court of honor is for the entire unit.

E.V.
Bristol, Conn.


Our troop tradition has always been that the new Eagle Scout is completely in charge of his court of honor. This includes when, where, who speaks and presents—the entire program.

We encourage the parents to support their son in his planning. This has led to some creative and exciting courts of honor at camp-outs, in our church sanctuary, and in families’ homes with parents, grandparents, and other relatives.

Every Eagle has been proud to create for himself a memorable event that he shares with others. Some have been simple, others elaborate. And in a couple of instances, two Eagles have planned their events together.

Assistant Scoutmaster E.H.
Chesterfield, Mo.


I am always upset that a troop would rob an Eagle Scout candidate of his “day on the pedestal.” A young man who has worked toward the goal of an Eagle badge for three to seven years deserves his night.

I have attended many multiple Eagle ceremonies and have noticed that many people who attend do not know all the honorees. In a one-hour ceremony, each Eagle might get his 10 minutes in the spotlight, but is that really what he deserves for all he has gone through?

I remember a number of years ago when two Eagle candidates asked me for a joint ceremony; but when I talked with the families, I could see conflict building. One family wanted to invite a large number of guests from their large family, while the other wanted few from their small family. There were also questions of costs and choice of refreshments.

Each Scout who attains Eagle rank deserves to be the focal point of attention for once in his life. And we as troop committee members and Scoutmasters should give him his deserved glory.

R.F.
Amesbury, Mass.


Last summer my son and a Scout buddy earned Eagle at the same time and wanted to have their court of honor together. I didn’t know this was allowed, but once the troop assured me it was up to the Scout and his parents, we began planning.

The young men had a beautiful joint ceremony. They wanted to share their new status and did so in a truly special get-together. I would recommend this to any new Eagle and family who would like to share the spotlight.

Troop Committee Member M.M.
Orlando, Fla.


We have always encouraged candidates to get their Eagle Scout Award with their friends. Twice we have honored seven Scouts at one ceremony. We even have had one new Eagle who, rather than get his award alone, chose to wait to be recognized until his friends had earned theirs and could join him.

Our troop committee recently decided to have two Eagle courts of honor per year. In April we were scheduled to honor eight new Eagle Scouts, and we already have six who should be recognized in the fall.

Although this means the ceremony can be long, I think boys find it more enjoyable to get their award with boys who have been in Scouting with them for years.

We feel that each new Eagle Scout deserves to have every troop member and family present to recognize him for his achievement.

Scoutmaster D.Y.
Strongsville, Ohio


As a member of our local council’s NESA (National Eagle Scout Association) chapter, I am involved with Eagle Scout boards of review. When an Eagle candidate has passed the board, we inform him that the court of honor is his to plan. We suggest resources he may use (local council, National Council, and the Internet) and tell him that he should involve whomever he wishes to be in the ceremony.

We also suggest that other Scouts who have earned Eagle at the same time consider having a joint ceremony. However, we try to make it clear that this is his crowning moment in Scouting and that he alone should be the center of attention at his ceremony on that special day.

Scoutmaster D.W.D.
Old Town, Me.


The number of Eagle Scouts make individual courts of honor impossible for some troops. My Scoutmaster (Harry Maidment of Troop 25 in Manchester) awarded more than 300 Eagle Scout badges during more than 50 years of service. If he had held separate courts of honor, he would have had to have had one every eight weeks.

Besides, five or six young men receiving Eagle badges warrants a picture in the local paper. Positive publicity is a blessing.

R.C.J.
Manchester, Conn.


The question to ask is: What do the Eagle Scout candidates want? They should make the decisions concerning their ceremonies…

Since earning my Eagle in 1969, I have been an assistant Scoutmaster in seven troops in four states. Virtually all of them have vested the Eagle Scout candidates with responsibility for most of the decisions regarding the ceremony.

As long as what the Scouts wish to do is respectful of the aims of Scouting, basic troop traditions, and the significance of the Eagle Scout Award itself, the job of adult leaders should be to provide counsel and guidance in the planning and to help them execute their plans.

Assistant Scoutmaster C.B.
Olympia, Wash.


30 Comments

  1. What strikes me about the above opinions is how many of them are so polarizing. “You have to be an individual,” or “You have to realize the needs of the Troop come first.” There’s also a disturbing amount of ‘Me Me Me’ up there.

    ECoH’s are a celebration and recognition – nothing more. They can be as complex or as simple as those who are being honored wish. As leaders, it is our responsibility to ask one question, “What kind of ceremony do you want?” and to be the facilitator no matter the answer. For some, joint or combined ceremonies are a great way to go. For others, solo recognition is the right path. But the way to get to that determination should be based upon the wishes of the Eagle Scout and his family – and no one else.

  2. I know about this subject because it was tradition in my old troop that each Eagle have their own individual Court of Honor. That meant that some boys had to wait sometimes weeks or months before being recognized. In my particular case me and my best friend, Mike, earned our Eagle near the same time so we collaborated on having a combined ceremony, a first for our troop. So, depending on the circumstances and consulting the boys and proper prior planning , you can make a special occasion for both boys. It would be harder for more than two boys at a time but it could be done. You should always make sure that each one gets his due in the ceremony. Don’t short anybody.

    David
    Eagle Class of 1979

    • Why would there have to be months of waiting if the ECOH was held separately? There wouldn’t be any need to coordinate with anyone other the the Scout and his parents.

      • My son passed his BoR in October, 2017. Two other boys passed the same day. Our troop will not plan for more than one CoH per month and it becomes tricky with all the other weekend events on the calendar, plus there were already planned ECoHs for November and December. One October Eagle is having his CoH in january, 2018, one is having his in February and my son is being relegated to March, 2018. I feel a 5 month wait is really too long and something is lost as the time passes (especially since he will be 18 by then) but what can I do?

  3. In 2012 we had 6 Eagle Scouts. All of the guys AND their families wanted to team up to have dual. The dual ceremonies were great as they guys, by and large, were in lockstep with their advancement from Tigers to Eagle. The ceremonies were great and we had some pretty large crowds. I think family members from the other Eagle Scout’s family were impressed not only with their Eagle but with the other one. All of the ceremonies were planned by the Scouts’ and their families so they had the ceremony they desired. It also reinforced the concept of collaboration to the Scouts to get these cool ceremonies done.

  4. The general consensus is that the Eagle(s) should decide and I think that is the best. They will need to both agree on the ceremony elements and who is invited. Some families want to supply a dinner or special place to have it (their home church, etc.). Most of the Eagles I have presented are to young men that have come up through the ranks with friends and it is common for them to want to receive the award together.

  5. I have had 25 eagle scouts through my tenure, and have had both kinds of ceremonies.

    Thing to remember, is that the COH belongs to the BOY and not the troop. It is HIS choice of the guests, decorations, presentations, etc. He should not be forced to share it with anyone. UNLESS, he wants to share it with a brother, or close friend – and I’ve seen some nice ones done that way. He gets one shot at this, and it should be the way he wants it.

  6. It should be up to the Eagle Scouts being honored. They did the work needed to become an Egale Scout.
    I think the bottom line to this question was stated in an earlier comment:
    “Eagle Scout is completely in charge of his court of honor.”

  7. Our unit has always let the Eagle Scout have compleate say on his ceremony; solo or multiple. As a resource, we video each ceremony and give one copy to the scout after the event ends and place one copy in our archive so future scouts can watch them for ideas. That way they can mix, match and add portions to create their own presentation.

    • The most impressive ECoH I have ever been to was a joint one for 3 boys. I have also been to several singles.

  8. As a member of our District Eagle Advancement Committee we encourage the individual Scout and his family to decide on what to do. We emphasize the importance of highlighting the achievement in any manner they see appropriate, but in the end it should always be up to the Scout and his family. Additionally I encourage the Unit Committee Chair’s and Unit COR’s to follow the lead set for them rather than superimpose their own ideas into the mix.

  9. Tonight we just had my son’s Eagle Court of Honor with 11 of his best friends. They came up together and wanted to be honored together. It was the most amazing court of honor our troop every had. We are a family not just a troop.

  10. Used to have a manual went with scoutmaster fundamentals. Said it was the Scoutmasters job to work out the ceremony that the boy wants with him and his family.

    While personally I would give every kid his own, if he and his family decide with another eagle and his family to have them together (or more, I suppose) it would be the sm’s job to accommodate them, not the other way around.

    Note it DID NOT say “the committee” or ” the troop” or “the district” or any other group who have tried to step in on this in the past, scoutmaster working with eagle and his family.

  11. Our Troop feels that it is up to the individual how they would like to have it done and they pick the ceremony or compile one of their own. In the years that I have been SM we have only had it happen twice that two boys had their BOR the same night. Both groups were close with one another and wanted the ceremony held the same day. They both received individual attention at points in the ceremony and backed away for each other. Both ceremonies were very nice. Every other one the BORs have been months apart and the same with the ceremonies.

  12. The Scout is an Eagle the minute his board of review is completed and the paperwork is completed. The ceremony is just recognition. I waited to have my ceremony with my brother almost a year after I earned the rank. Joint, large, small, individual it really doesn’t matter it was the journey to get there that counts.

  13. Eagle Courts of Honor should be the decision of the scout and his family. We have done several in the past twenty three years, some simple some rather complex. Some right away some may take awhile due to circumstances outside our control.
    One of our Eagles joined the Marines soon after his Board and we couldn’t render his honors for a couple of years but we did it and it was great.
    This is the new Eagle’s time and his family, should they want to do a joint ceremony great, no problem, it’s theirs to do as they wish. The Troop is there to help and support but it is their show.
    Like I tell all our new Eagles, it’s your ceremony and we will be there for you but we wont do it in the parking lot!

  14. To the commenter who stated…that would mean going to a ceremony every 8 weeks. Yeah, so? Sounds great to me. My troop currently has around 8-10 boys who recently finished their projects or recently had their Eagle BOR. there will certainly be a lot of ceremonies over the next sixth months and I for one can’t wait!

  15. The troop I am with has always believed it is up to the family of the Eagle scout. In fact my two sons made Eagle on the same day. Their best friend made it just a few weeks later. The friend had little family in the area, and so the boys decided they wanted their COH all together. In fact, it was proposed to the PLC that they would have it on a campout close to home. The youth had activities planned for the outing, and the ceremony was before supper at camp. They lucked out, as the adults cooked turkey and ham for the supper for all after the ceremony. The three eagle scouts planned their ceremony, and coordinated their invitations. It worked very well for us. We have almost 60 eagles from our troop, and only twice we have had more than one scout recognized at a time. Be flexible and supportive, that is all that is required.

  16. In our troop the decision is entirely up to the boy and his family. Some have had individual ceremonies, some do it as a group. The receptions afterwards have ranged from very nice sit down dinners, buffets where everyone brings a dish, punch and cake only, picnics, and some have even chosen to have their ceremony included with a regular Court of Honor because they “don’t want a fuss”. What I have noticed is that what ever has been chosen fits the wants and desires of the individual, and that is what makes the event special for that specific boy.

  17. I got my eagle in 1982, it was presented at my church, and I was the only one. To me with the eagle being the highest award for a young scouter, it should be presented one at a time this is and always will be a very special award. I think it a no brain er that it be awarded one at a time.

  18. it should be totally up to the Eagle Scout and parents either way, they shouldn’t have to be made to do it someone else’s way just because “that’s how the troop has always done it”. ECOH’s are to recognize that boy’s fabulous achievement and shouldn’t have to share it unless they desire to. My son is in the Order of the Arrow so that is how it was themed and I was told by everyone in attendance including council executives that it was the best ceremony they have ever seen.

  19. We have a large Troop, and have a very large bubble passing through. Last year we had a total of 15 Eagle Scouts. While I like and prefer individual ceremonies, it is virtually impossible with that many Scouts; our year would have been preparing for and participating in Eagle Courts of Honor!

  20. It’s an honor that doesn’t have to be something that is earned so individually I shared my eagle court of honor with to others that neither of us could see doing it seperatly. All of us joined together we bridged up together and we even earned every ranked together and it was our teamwork that took us all the way. We each had our strengths weaknesses that together we made us stronger. And we were always there for each other I could not see us earning it seperatly our eagle honors were the product of our friendship and fellowship. Plus it takes more than just the eagle to earn the honor without the rest of the troop and those who helped him along the way an eagle should pull those that were there for him to that pedistole with him.

  21. Our Troop does it both ways. We had one group of 5 boys who entered Scouts together and who all wanted to have their CoH together. One of them waited over a year from the time he earned Eagle before he had his Court so that they could do this. We’ve had others do them individually.

    My sons and two of their best buds are planning on doing theirs all together when the four of them have earned their Eagles (three of which should be done soon).

  22. In my troop it has always been up to the scout to organize the ECoH. We rarely had more than one scout reach Eagle in close proximity to one another so most were for the sole scout though some may delay their ceremony and have a joint ceremony for another scout close behind. I’ve been to many ceremonies of different ceremony scripts, venues and receptions. These have ranged from the scout building, churches, homes, state parks to large and small to finger foods to meals… As stated by others some of the statements in the article seem to completely lack the scouting spirit. I think S.R. said it best. Personally I had my own ceremony for the reasons above at my church with a spaghetti dinner afterwords and wrote my own ceremony combining parts and pieces of multiple ceremonies I found online and in the ECoH handbook.

  23. I say leave it up to the Scouts . But at the same time if you have more than one Eagle going through his ECoH then be sure to get input from each one and devote the same amount of time and attention to each one . Personally I see n problem either way as long as all Eagles are treated equally as this is great honor .

  24. I had my Eagle Court with my buddy Peter, we started scouts together in grade school, and finished up at the same time. We did summer camps together and worked on merit badges together. I was proud to stand side-by-side with him, and share this special moment.

  25. I think it should depend on the situation. I am an Eagle Scout-Class of 1992 and in my Troop (Troop 484, Loogootee,IN) we had a total of five Eagle Scout Candidates (Including me) who were close to completing the rank of Eagle Scout around the same time. We collectively decided to have one big Court of Honor instead of having five separate Courts of Honor. I think if an Eagle Scout candidate wants to have a separate Court of Honor, it should be made so. BUT, if in my situation…if there are two more candidates who are close of earning that rank, then there should be one big Court of Honor to honor all of the Eagle Scout candidates.

  26. There is no right or wrong or a perfect answer. When I was a youth my troop had only six Eagles in ten years. Three had their BOR the same night. Two others finished at the same time. So the troop had three Eagle COH dinners in local restaurants. Our son joined an “Eagle Factory” with well over one hundred Eagles in ninety plus years. Their tradition is to have an annual troop dinner inviting everyone alive that was ever associated with the unit. Typically there were one to four scouts being honored and up to two hundred guests. It was handled in such a way that each boy was afforded a significant amount of time that focused on them, their family and the troop. It was great for boys who grew up together share the joy. But this was not without its problems. The adults wanted to have a steady but controlled supply of scouts reaching the rank just at the right time. Each year there was a race to the dinner. A frenzy ensued each spring to get in the last requirements before the dinner. Scouts had their advancement held back so the dinner would not run to long if there were too many Eagles and there would be a holdover for next year’s dinner. Eagle projects were sabotaged so particular scouts would not complete their requirements until after the dinner. Parents who would not bend to the will of the Scoutmaster had their boys punished. The dinner was made more important than the desires and needs of a scout and his family. As a result of this and other violations of the guidelines of the BSA our son and others had to find another troop. He has been an Eagle over two years and may never have his Court of Honor.

  27. Just Voting:

    Eagle COH should be that only. Only multiple scouts at families request. Prefer 1 at a time. Never multiple for convienence.

    Heard of 14 one time, a whole graduating class from one troop.

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