The Voice of the Eagle

NOTE:  Items in RED are to be changed to match the Eagle Scout’s badges and eagle project.

This is the Eagle who has watched for years as you've struggled to ascend to our aerie.

Think back for a moment to the day when you first joined Boy Scouts. How small you felt in your crisp new uniform struggling to recite the Scout Oath and Scout Law with the other Scouts. I watched as you stole a glance upward, looking toward the clouds and wondering if you could ever achieve the summit of Scouting.

Soon, you began to advance, mastering the Oath and the Law and beginning to learn the ways of the Scout. You camped overnight and then for a weekend.  You spent an entire week away from home at summer camp. I watched you grow that week in skills and in spirit, and I saw the pride on your face as the Scoutmaster handed you your Tenderfoot badge.

It wasn't long before a year had passed. Your Tenderfoot badge was long gone, replaced by the Second Class badge, and then by the badge of the First Class Scout. You had begun in earnest the climb toward Eagle, and as I watched, I could sense your determination.

But I also knew that many Scouts start off determined, only to become discouraged. For the climb from First Class to Eagle becomes harder with each step, and only a handful of Scouts reach the top. In fact, as you climbed, you could see that there were far fewer Scouts ahead of you clearing the path, than there were behind you, following in your footsteps.

Then finally you broke through the clouds and became a Life Scout. Now I could see clearly into your face and your heart, and I knew that someday you would join our Eagle brotherhood.

Over these past months, I've watched you as you've earned the last of your merit badges so that now 28 badges parade around your sash. I've watched you serve our troop as Scribe, Quartermaster, Assistant Patrol Leader, and Patrol Leader, reaching down constantly to help your fellow Scouts in their climb toward the summit. And I've watched you give back to your community through your Eagle Scout Leadership Service Project. You helped the Red Cross collect toys and videos for hurricane shelters so the kids will have something to do during a hurricane.

Now, I stand ready, with all the Eagles who have gone before you, to welcome you to our aerie as you join the brotherhood of Eagle Scouts. For the rest of your life, you travel as a marked man, an Eagle Scout. Welcome!