Rolling Ledfords: Eagle Scout Court of Honor for Our Grandson Jackson

Saturday, November 7, 2015
What proud grandparents we are - our oldest grandson received his Eagle Scout pin tonight and we were able to be there to enjoy every moment of the Eagle Scout Court of Honor and the dinner reception that followed.

This morning Sue and I spent a good deal of time loading their car with all the food, centerpieces, paper goods, and other stuff needed to decorate and provide a dinner at their church

where Jackson has been participating in the Boy Scout troop 49. Here he has served as a Patrol Leader, Senior Patrol Leader and Den Chief. Under the direction of the leaders in this troop he took on a huge construction project of a picnic shelter with two picnic tables under it for the elementary school he attended and his mother still teaches at - Reedy Creek Elementary. It will make it possible for teachers to use it with their students for some outdoor instruction or serve as a gathering spot for a variety of other activities.

He had to work under strict guidelines required by the Mechlenburg school system from using an architect to pulling permits, to dealing with step by step approvals by city inspectors. It was a very involved process but he did it!!! And tonight he would receive all the special accolades that come during the Scout Court of Honor.

We set up the tables and chairs, got table cloths on each, put together the centerpieces,

set up the cake table,(note the flag theme)

put up the pictures,

(even my dad who earned his eagle in the early years of boy scouting showed up among the pictures in this frame filled with some of his boy scout pins)

made the salad, prepared the lemonade, and got everything else in place so that three of Sue's friends

could step in and complete the meal while we were participating in the program.

Sue created this program available for everyone when they came in to the sanctuary where the ceremony was held.

The program started with Jackson's brother calling for the procession of Troop 49 scouts and then leading the pledge of allegiance

The candle lighting ceremony was quite impressive with a listing of all the character traits of scout (as seen on the front of the program and noted on each of the centerpieces)

The history of scouting was presented via a slide show and proved to be very interesting to me as I discovered it started in the U.S. in 1910 just a couple of years before my dad was born so he was really involved in the early years of the program.

Then one of Sue's teacher friends presented the story behind Jackson's project and its uses by the school. That too was accompanied by a slide show showing many of the steps involved.

Jackson was then "roasted" by some of the scout leaders who had worked with him telling some funny stories about things that had happened over his years as a scout. He was presented with several funny awards in the process including a "tool kit" pointing out some of the difficulties that had to be overcome in the process of completing the project.

and the presentation of a "last minute" clock a symbol of how close he was to being 18 when he completed the project that had to be done before that date.

All of this was followed by the formal ceremony of presenting all of the awards and pins that come with this achievement

including having his mom pin his eagle pin on his uniform and receive a hug from Jackson

and recognition of the part his parents played in the his becoming an eagle scout with pins presented to each of his folks.

Then Jackson was able to present special pins to two people who were very special mentors in his life. It was especially moving to see him choose his father as one of them and also the leader who guided him through the whole building process.

He was then able to move his name board to the Eagle scout Troop 49 Eagle scout board - an impressive listing of those in his troop who have preceeded him.

and finally to this board.

It ended with remarks from Jackson as a new Eagle scout including all of the thanks he wished to express. Then the candles were snuffed with a charge of continuing a life of practicing all the characteristics of a scout.