A Scout’s Campfire

Court of Honors

June 8th, 2007 spryken

Joel Cochran at JustOneHourAWeek has asked what other troops Court of Honor’s are like.  It seems he was a little let down by the Court of Honor at his son’s new troop.

I have to say, and this is not a dig at the troop, but I remember the Court of Honor being a bigger deal.  It all just seemed a little flat, with very little ceremony.  Case in point: two of the boys received their Life badges last night.  The badges were just handed to the boys, with no more than an announcement of what they had earned.

As a response let me say that some of our Court of Honor’s are more impressive than others.  We try to make a big deal out of each one but sometimes that just doesn’t seem to happen.  The boys lead the Court of Honor.  The Senior Patrol Leader and his Assistants present all of the Merit Badges earned with extra explanation of some of the requirements for the Eagle Required badges.  After the Merit Badge portion, they turn the ceremony over to the Scoutmaster.  He, along with at least one Assistant, present the Rank awards.  We explain each rank presented with details on some of the steps taken to earn the rank.  For Star and Life, we have additional details regarding the approach of the Eagle Rank.  Each Star and Life scout is charged with giving back to the troop as they continue on towards Eagle.

We have a separate Court of Honor for each Eagle award.  We feel each boy that earns the rank of Eagle Scout deserves special recognition.

It is important to recognize and applaud each step in the advancement of each boy.  The positive feedback provides motivation for continued advancement.  Court of Honor’s are our way of providing that feedback!!

Entry Filed under: Boy Scouts