[philmont] Eagle Scout

This is completely off-topic but I have come to respect the combined
wisdom of this list more than any other resource that I know, so here
it is:

I have been asked by a parent of an Eagle Scout candidate to attend a
meeting with her, her son's scoutmaster and a few committee members to
discuss why the scoutmaster refuses to sign-off on the Scout's
completed Eagle project. The Scout has now turned 18, so the
scoutmaster's approval is critical to his obtaining the Eagle rank. As
I understand it, the scoutmaster has two objections to the Eagle
project:
1. He changed the scope of the project while it was being executed.
2. He embellished the work in his final write-up.

The project was to make improvements at a local City park. A small
part of the project was to paint a basketball goal. However, the
weather was cold over the weekend of the project, so the Parks
Department did not want the basketball goal painted. In lieu of
painting the goal post, the Scout adjusted his project to include
mulching about 70 trees. The following weekend, his family painted the
basketball goal.

In his final write-up, the Scout said that the basketball goal had been
scraped, primed and painted, which was not accurate. They simply
painted it with a final coat of paint.

The scoutmaster is upset that the project scope varied from the
approved project and has accused the scout of "lying" about the work
that was accomplished. I don't know the scout well - his brother is a
member of our Troop, but I do know that he is a good kid. He was very
active in his Troop and was twice elected Senior Patrol Leader. He
completed all of his Eagle requirements except his project by age 15.
There has been some conflict between the Troop leadership and Scout due
to his lack of participation over the last year. They rejected his
project write-up repeatedly without giving him good explanations why.
I read one of his write-up's that was rejected and it was the most
complete, thorough description of an Eagle project that I have
reviewed.

Although I know the scoutmaster, I am an outsider to the Troop
committee and am not sure what help I can provide for the Scout's
parent. This is not your typical Boy Scout Troop. It is the largest
Troop in the area and is run like a corporation, with a very active
committee and a six-figure endowment fund. The Scout's parents don't
think they will have any luck appealing at the District or Council
level because of the Troop's strength and connections. Any advice?
Any similar experiences?

Dan Preston
Scoutmaster, Troop 319
Louisville, KY
Philmont '70, '72, '02, '06

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Received on Tue May 1 13:27:23 2007