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Boy Scout Troop 77
(Westfield, New Jersey)
 
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Advancement
 Advancement Page

Leadership Positions Available
  • Troop Guide-- You are essentially the go-to guy for younger scouts when they have problems with a requirement.  You will also be responsible for teaching requirements to scouts for the first time.
  • Assistant Senior Patrol Leader-- You are second in command of the troop.  You make sure that the Senior Patrol Leader is not overwhelmed and you take care of what problems you can take care of before they reach that level.  You will also be asked to lead meetings and trips that the Senior Patrol Leader does not attend.
  • Webmaster--  You will be responsible for editing and maintaining this website.  Talk to John Lizzo for more details.
 General Advancement Advice 

  • Review the Requirement before you get tested on it.  You may have forgotten something over the previous week, go over it with a friend before you try to get it signed off on.
  • Ask the adult leaders beforehand if they will be available, it can never hurt to e-mail them in advance, this way they will expect you to ask them for their time and will be better prepared for it.
  • Youth Leaders (Senior Patrol Leader, Assistant Senior Patrol Leader, and Junior Assistant Scoutmasters) will be able to sign off on some requirements if the Adult Leaders are busy.  They will be more than happy to sign off on your requirement if the Adults are busy, however they are not certified to sign off on some requirements such as CPR.
  • If at first you don't succeed, try again.  This is especially true for knots and lashings as some can be very challenging.  Just because you don't get it signed off on the first time you try does not mean you will never get it, just go back and try again at home.
  • Don't be afraid to ask for help, older scouts will be more than happy to help you out in anyway they can.  
  • Read the Requirement, You don't want to be surprised with something you didn't know you needed to know.





Eagle Project Advice 


Finding a Project
  • Go to your local park, look around to see if there is anything about that park that you think you can improve upon, talk to your mentor about whether or not the endeavor would be feasible.
  • Talk to local organizations such as Friends of Mindowaskan and the Westfield Historical Society. These organizations are usually more than willing to give you project ideas for you to look into
  • Get in contact with town officials, they might have some good ideas for a project and like the local organizations are usually very helpful towards Eagle Scouts
  • Before you say yes to any project that is offered, consider the scale of the project. While the project should not be a cake walk, you do not want to get caught doing a highly expensive and labor intensive project.

The Write up

  • Never procrastinate, once you have an idea that is feasible start the write up the next day.
  • You can never have enough details especially in the process. If you fall ill the day of the project, someone who has never seen it before should be able to read that and know what you want done and how.
  • Work in chunks-- you don't have to do the entire packet in one night, do one section at a time.
  • Get it proof read-- When ever you finish a section have some one read it for you and make corrections. Adults are usually better at this as it is adults who will have the final say in whether your project will be approved or not.
  • Just because you can't start work until you get approval doesn't mean you can't prepare. If your project is going to involve fundraising write a letter to drop in people's mailboxes so you can begin work as soon as you have the approval
  • Never procrastinate

The Project

  • As in the write-up you should never procrastinate. Once you find out your project is approved start work as soon as possible.
  • Beware: If you are doing a project in a park you will almost definately need to get approval from the town council and the parks dept. talk to your local town councilmen to arrange a proposal at a town council meeting. They are usually very nice to eagle scouts and there won't be much to worry about as long as you know what your talking about.
  • If you are going to raise funds by dropping letters in mailboxes, always cover more ground than you think you'll need. It is always better to have extra money left over at the end than to run short halfway through.
  • A scout is thrifty, not cheap. Don't just buy the first product you see, look for a deal or a sale so you can save some money you may need later. But that doesn't mean you should by inferior material that is going to need replacement in 6 months. Find a balance between quality and price.
  • Set a date to do the work early on. Not only will this force you to avoid procrastination, it will also make things easier when you look for volunteers
  • Getting volunteers--This is the easiest part of the entire process. Usually a flash e-mail to the troop and a sign up sheet at a few meetings will get you more than enough. Your friends are allowed to volunteer as well, even if they are not Boy Scouts.



For a list of all the requirements for the different ranks click here

 

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