Troop 129 - Oak Ridge, Tennessee
EAGLE ADVANCEMENT CHECKLIST
Great Smoky Mountain Council

Scout: ____________________

As you work toward your Eagle rank, there are certain things which must happen to make sure that the award is granted. This checklist has been developed to help you keep track of every step and the order in which they should occur. You should maintain two copies of this form; one for yourself, and one in your permanent record folder. Failure to follow these steps could put approval of your Eagle rank in jeopardy.

____Obtain a copy of the Life-to-Eagle packet. Get one from Advancements Coordinator or call the Scout Office at 588-6514.

____During the time between the awarding of your Life rank and the completion of the rest of the requirements, finish all merit badge work. Make sure you have all required merit badges earned. Completion of this step is an ongoing process.

____Determine your Eagle Project. (A project with some kind of permanent structure is preferable.)

____Prepare a written proposal of your Eagle Project; include a description of the project, who it benefits, detailed plans (including design drawings if appropriate), and a proposed work schedule / timetable.

____Discuss your proposal with a representative of the organization which will benefit from your Eagle Project; have this person sign your Life-to-Eagle Packet.

____Submit your written proposal to the Troop Committee. Obtain the Scoutmaster's signature in your Life-to-Eagle packet.

____Obtain the Troop Committee Chair's signature in your Life-to-Eagle packet.

____Obtain the District Advancement Committee Chair's signature in your Life-to-Eagle packet (Jim McCauley).

____Take pictures of the "before" scenes of your project.

____Complete your Eagle Project. Make sure you take pictures of the work that is going on. Keep an extremely accurate record of who works with you, including the dates and times they work. Keep an extremely accurate record of the time you spend working on your own project, including the dates and times.

____Take pictures of the "after" scenes of your project.

____Make a Xerox copy of the Eagle application. Use this copy as your first draft. At any point when you are ready to add information to the application, work from the Xerox copy. This way you can avoid mistakes.

____Submit a final typewritten report to the Troop Committee. (The troop has examples.) Include the following in your report:
____ A suitable cover page
____ Table of contents
____ A brief project description and preplanning details (note: this should basically be the same things
        you wrote on pp. 2-3 of your Life-to-Eagle packet)
____ Written narrative on the carrying out of the project
____ A copy of your work log
____ Any changes which were made to your original plan
____ Lists of materials and costs
____ Schematic diagrams and drawings
____ A Project analysis
____ A conclusion (focus on what you learned)
____ Acknowledgments
____ Your pictures (with captions)

When you present this report to the Troop Committee, bring with you the following:

____Your Life-to-Eagle packet

____Your completed final project report with one complete Xerox copy (even the pictures, if you can get them to copy). The original is yours; the Xerox copy is for the troop's archives.

____Your Eagle application (even if you haven't filled it out)

____Obtain the Scoutmaster's signature on p. 7 of your Life-to-Eagle packet.

____Type a 1 page condensed summary of your project to include with your Eagle application. Focus on who it benefitted and what you learned.

____Type a _ page of your life goals to include with your Eagle application.

____Schedule a Scoutmaster's conference. Take your permanent record folder with you to this conference. Make sure the records of your troop leadership are in the folder. You and the Scoutmaster must agree on the leadership position and dates requirement. Fill out this information on your working copy of your application.

____Obtain Merit Badge and advancement dates from the Records Assistant Scoutmaster.

____Make a sheet showing which Merit Badges were applied to which rank. The Records Assistant Scoutmaster may need to assist you with this step also.

____Obtain permission from the people you would like to include on your application as references.

____Complete the Eagle application from the information you collected on the copy.

____Obtain the required signatures on the Eagle application (you, Troop Committee Chair, and Scoutmaster).

____Make a Xerox copy of the completed Eagle application for the troop's archives.

____Turn in to the Scoutmaster for final review and approval:
____ Your completed Life-to-Eagle packet (Council)
____ The sheet matching your Merit Badges to your advancement ranks (Council)
____ Your completed Eagle application (Council / National)
____ The one page description of your Eagle project (National)
____ The one-half page of life ambitions and goals (National)

Scoutmaster forwards packet to the Council; they will check all Merit Badge and advancement dates. Any errors or discrepancies will cause the application to be returned. The Council will return the application to the District Advancement Chair (Jim McCauley) who sets up a Board of Review. After successful completion of the Board of Review, your application will be returned to the Council, then forwarded to the National Office for final approval. A card will be returned to us when your application has been approved.

____ Make arrangements with the Scoutmaster for your Eagle Court of Honor.

Congratulations!!!