Hurry! Hurry! Step Right Up!

I’m a strong believer in making the Eagle court of honor a separate event from the regular troop court of honor. When you do that, however, you often run the risk of having a poor showing of Scouts. Other Scouts, especially younger ones who don’t know the honoree, may see little reason to show up.

So, what can you do to get Scouts to turn out? Here are a few ideas:

• Send invitations to their homes; don’t just make an announcement at a troop meeting.
• Have the honoree follow up the printed invitations by specifically asking other Scouts to attend.
• Promote the event in your troop newsletter and/or send a special email to troop members.
• Hold the court of honor on your regular meeting night.
• Involve Scouts in the event (e.g., as ushers, in a flag ceremony, or in a Scout Law candle ceremony).
• Don’t limit the invitations to your own troop. If the honoree has served on camp staff, gone through National Youth Leader Training, or attended a national jamboree, he’s probably made friends in troops all over the council. Invite them.
• Invite the dens from your sister Cub Scout pack to attend. (If they meet in the same location, they could slip in the back for the presentation phase of the ceremony without missing a week of den activities.)
• Serve food!

What other ideas do you have? Send your court of honor tips to eagletips-owner@yahoogroups.com and you could win a FREE Eagle Mountain or Eagle Mentor Certificate!