When you finally appear before your Eagle Scout Board of Review, a substantial portion of the time will be spent reviewing and questioning your Eagle Service Project.  If your workbook is well prepared with lots of exhibits, this time will be short and fairly easy.  If your work is incomplete and lacking in substance, it could be much longer!  What can we do to make this an easier process for you?  In addition to the actual workbook (filled out completely, of course), the following exhibits will add a lot of substance and credibility to your report.

1.  A project log or diary that documents the hours spent by you and your volunteers.  The final report calls for an accounting of man-hours by type of volunteer, and if do not have a log or diary, how are you calculating these hours?

2.  Sign-in sheets, or an “assisted-by” spreadsheet that documents your volunteer hours at group events.  Once again, this is evidence of how your final hours were calculated.

3.  Pages of photos are not necessary, but a single page with 4-6 photos showing the various stages of the project can really create a vivid image of your work.  Photos, arranged in chronological order, documenting “before” conditions, fundraising, construction, installation, and completion become a story itself.

4.  Thank-you letters.  A Scout is Courteous!  How many volunteers helped you?  They all need to be thanked, and your volunteer Scouts should receive some sort of documentation from you totaling their individual service hours.  You should NOT include all your thank-you letters in your project report.  However, several representative letters, one to a Scout, one to an adult, and one to a company or person who donated money or materials, are a real good indication of a considerate Scout.

5.  A copy of your receipts.  This is necessary documentation of your expenses.  Your Eagle Scout Board of Review needs to see where your funds were spent.

An Eagle Scout candidate who documents his project in this fashion will usually sail through this portion of his Eagle Scout Board of Review.  Let’s make sure that you are one of them!