New Eagle Scout

Last night Daniel Fox passed his Eagle Board of Review. He joined our Troop straight out of Cub Scouts after having earned his Arrow of Light. During his career in the Troop he has been Patrol Leader, Senior Patrol Leader, and Junior Assistant Scoutmaster. He's been to summer camp 5 seasons, went to the last National Jamboree, and did a 10-day 95 mile high adventure trip out of Charles L. Sommers Canoe Base up into Quetico Provincial Park, earning the 50-Miler award and the Quetico Service award. He is an Ordeal member of the Order of the Arrow. He took a 10-hour training course in how to set up and run rock climbing programs, and attended the Council Junior Leader Training course. He has taken Den Chief Training and has the Den Chief Award. He's been on dozens of Troop campouts and activities.

His Eagle Project consisted of renovating our Church's (and sponsor's) kitchen. The walls and ceilings got two coats of paint. The commercial-style exhaust fan and rotor was replaced and the external shutter was repaired. The kitchen sink's countertop and faucet were removed and replaced. Wall cabinets were purchased, assembled, and installed on one wall that did not have them. The endcap on a base cabinet countertop was replaced. And all the paint spatters and spills from the last 3 paint jobs were all cleaned up.

He has been on his high school's soccer, lacrosse, and math teams each of the last 4 years. He has been on the honor roll almost every semester. He will be matriculating at the University of Illinois' College of Engineering this fall.

The BSA has a program called Venturing that is for both boys and girls ages 14 to 21. It is a "traditional" BSA program in that it uses the following Oath and Code:

Venturing Oath

As a Venturer, I promise to do my duty to God and help strengthen America, to help others, and to seek truth, fairness, and adventure in our world.

Venturing Code

As a Venturer, I believe that America's strength lies in our trust in God and in the courage, strength, and traditions of our people. I will, therefore, be faithful in my religious duties and will maintain a personal sense of honor in my own life. I will treasure my American heritage and will do all I can to preserve and enrich it. I will recognize the dignity and worth of all humanity and will use fair play and goodwill in my daily life. I will acquire the Venturing attitude that seeks truth in all things and adventure on the frontiers of our changing world.

Venture Crews can be co-ed, but a sponsoring organization (church, VFW, Elks Club, school, or other community organization) can choose to limit a Crew to one sex or the other. A co-ed crew must have co-ed adult leadership at all activities. The same membership criteria apply to Venture Crews that apply to Cub Scout Packs and Boy Scout Troops. Venturing includes Sea Scouts; such Crews are called Sea Scout Ships. Venturing Crews usually focus on high adventure activities, but can also focus on vocational interests (e.g., EMT, law enforcement, etc.). However, the latter are more usually Exploring Posts, which these days are part of the BSA's Learning for Life program. Posts are also co-ed and accomodate ages 14 - 21, but they do not have the same membership criteria limitations as Packs, Troops, Crews and Ships do. Call your local Council for more information and for contacts for Crews or Ships near you.

I only hope I have the same opportunity as you and get to watch my son soar to Eagle Scout. :-)

Take the training and sign up as a leader! When it was time for my son to cross over there was no local Troop, so we started one and I started out as Scoutmaster. I wouldn't necessarily recommend that if there are local Troops in your area; I'd take the basic training and sign up as an ASM (not necessarily in that order). The big difference between WDL and ASM is that the Boy Scout program focuses on youth leadership as opposed to adult leadership. WDL's turned ASM's are famous for stepping in where they should let the boys work things out for themselves, albeit more slowly and more erroneously than adults would. Even if your son never makes it to Eagle (I didn't), he will still gain a lot from the program and you will too.

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