How to Do a Super Simple Eagle Court of Honor

My son Ben earned his Eagle in scouting last month. He worked really hard to earn all his merit badges and to clean up graffiti for his project. We're proud of him. Since we had his court of honor, several moms have asked me how to do an Eagle court of honor. (Our troop expects the parents to plan a personalized court of honor for each boy who earns an Eagle award.) Since my boys just want to get through the ceremony and eat, we keep ours short and sweet. If you want something super fancy, my plan may not suit you, but if you want to keep it short and sweet, this might work.

Here's my to-do list summarized:

• First, decide where you want to hold your Court of Honor. Make a reservation if necessary.
• Have your son print out invitations and take them to his former leaders, friends, family, etc..
• Have your son call any special guests he wants to have for speakers or to receive a mentor pin.
• Make a facebook event invitation (or other e-invite.)
• Plan out any refreshments you want to serve.
• Buy supplies at the party store. I got some disposable tablecloths, plus some plates, cups, napkins, and utensils.
• If you want to do a display, gather items like award certificates, picture albums, scout projects, trophies, extra scout badges, art projects, and anything else that showcases your son's abilities. Before the ceremony, you can lay these things out on a table. It gives people something to look at when they arrive.

Agenda for the Ceremony:

Prayer: (we asked one of the scouts to say it)

Flag Ceremony: (we had my cub scout lead it. Click here to get instructions for an easy one.)

Eagle's Nest (make sure you have some chairs set off to the side for all the boys and men who are Eagles to sit in. Then the person conducting invites all the Eagle Scouts to come forward and sit in the chairs.)

Talk by Scout leader (my older son didn't want this part, so we skipped it the first time.)

Presentation of Award (This includes a mother's pin, a father's pin, and the boy's Eagle. We asked his old scoutmaster to present the award.)

Presentation of Mentor Pin (The boy presents the mentor pin to one of his leaders who has helped him a lot in scouting. At this point the boy can say a few words, thanking his leaders and those present for the support they've given him.)

Prayer

Refreshments (Our first court of honor was at night, so we served rootbeer floats. The second time was in the middle of the day, so we served a light lunch with pulled pork, chips, etc. I used this recipe for pulled pork.)

 I'd love to hear from readers about what worked for them in planning their Eagle Court of Honor.