Eagle Tip - Charge

The highlight of every Eagle court of honor is probably that moment when the Eagle badge is pinned on the new Eagle Scout. In a sense, that moment is all about the past, because everything that has happened before (both in the ceremony and in the previous several years) builds to it.

The future, meanwhile, is the focus of the Eagle charge, an admonition, challenge, word of advice—call it what you will—delivered by an adult or older Scout (ideally an Eagle Scout himself). This mini-speech, clocking in at maybe 400-450 words, encapsulates what it means to be an Eagle Scout and offers the honoree advice on how to live as an Eagle Scout.

The Eagle Court of Honor Book includes several sample charges, and you can find many more examples online. However, the best ones are those that are personalized, that come from the heart, and that speak to the shared experience of the speaker and the honoree. Those charges will echo in the mind of the honoree long after the applause dies away.

Republished with permission of Mark Ray at http://www.eaglebook.com/