Troop 28 Glencoe

Advancement

Advancement is the path from new Scout to Eagle: ranks and merit badges. In Troop 28 it is encouraged, never required. Plenty of Scouts just come to camp. Most who show up regularly find they have done much of it anyway.

Looking for a class? See the Merit Badge listing.

The ranks

RankWhat it takesTypical timing
ScoutScout Oath and Law, knots, and the Youth Protection pamphlet with a parentFirst month
Tenderfoot → Second Class → First ClassCamping, cooking, first aid, navigation, swimming, fitness, and citizenship, learned at meetings, campouts, and summer camp. Work on them together; earn them in order.First Class in 12–18 months for most Scouts
Star → LifeMerit badges (some Eagle-required), a leadership job in the Troop, and service hoursAbout a year each
Eagle21 merit badges (14 Eagle-required), 6 months as Life, a leadership job, and a service project you lead. Deadline: 18th birthday.Most Troop 28 Eagles finish junior or senior year

Every rank after Scout ends with a Scoutmaster conference and a Board of Review. Requirements are in the Scout Handbook and at scouting.org.

Worksheets and tips for specific requirements
  • Scout requirement 6: the parent–Scout exercises in How to Protect Your Children from Child Abuse (2024 booklet; exercises begin on p. 22; about 30 minutes), plus the Personal Safety Awareness videos for that rank.
  • Tenderfoot 6b: 30-day fitness log. Second Class and First Class fitness: tracking log.
  • Swimming (Second Class 5, First Class 6) is easiest at summer camp. The Troop also sets up pool time. Tell the Scoutmaster if your Scout is not a confident swimmer — there are alternatives.
  • Camping nights, cooking, and service hours add up from Troop activities. Check Scoutbook to see what is already recorded.

Merit badges

There are about 140 merit badges. A Scout picks one, gets a blue card signed by the Scoutmaster, works with a counselor, and turns the card in. Most badges are earned at summer camp, a council event, or online. What is available around Chicago is on the Merit Badge listing. Parents can be counselors too.

Scoutbook

Scoutbook is the online record of ranks, requirements, and merit badges. The Troop enters the advancement. Families sign in with their my.scouting account (the one from registration or Youth Protection Training) to check progress and service hours. Can’t get in, or can’t see your Scout? Email the Scoutmaster.

To give a Scout their own login: My Family → Scout → Edit Profile → Invite Scout to Connect. The Scout needs a separate email.

Boards of Review

A Board of Review is a 10–20 minute conversation after a Scout finishes a rank. Three adults sit with the Scout. They are not the Scoutmaster and not the Scout’s parents. It is not a test. They ask what the Scout has been doing, hear how the Troop is going, and confirm the requirements are done.

Path to Eagle

From Life to Eagle, in order:

  1. Finish the merit badges — 14 Eagle-required and 7 electives. Start the planner early. Personal Fitness, Personal Management, and Family Life each take 12 weeks. Camping takes 20 nights.
  2. Hold a leadership position for 6 months as a Life Scout.
  3. Propose a project in the Eagle Project Workbook: a service project you plan and lead for a school, church, nonprofit, or the village. The beneficiary, Scoutmaster, Troop committee, and district must approve it before you start.
  4. Lead the project, keep the hours, and write it up.
  5. Apply. In Scoutbook, open My Family → Scout → Reports → Eagle Application. Check the dates against the handbook. Write a statement of ambitions and life purpose. Ask 4–6 people for recommendation letters: a parent, a religious leader, a teacher, an employer if you have one, and up to two others.
  6. Scoutmaster conference, then the Eagle Board of Review, scheduled through NEIC. All of this must be finished before the 18th birthday.

Ask the Scoutmaster for a Troop Eagle coach, and start with Journey from Life to Eagle. The rules are in the Guide to Advancement.

Eagle resources and reading
After the Eagle Board of Review

You are an Eagle Scout on the date of the board. Then:

  • Give the Scoutmaster a paper copy of the project binder, and email a PDF, for the Troop archive.
  • Council updates Scoutbook in about a week. A letter follows in a few weeks. The certificate reaches the NEIC office in 6–8 weeks, and the Troop picks it up.
  • The Troop buys the Eagle award kit (patch, medal, parent and mentor pins), an engraved plate for the Troop room plaque, and the Eagle neckerchief, slide, and cords. It also requests a carved Eagle walking stick from the Potawatomi District. Say if you want the standard 6-foot length.
  • Court of Honor: usually part of the next Troop Court of Honor (adds 30–40 minutes), or a separate ceremony if the family prefers. The family chooses the place, invitations, program, and who presents. The Troop provides the script and the Eagle charge. If two Eagles share a ceremony, plan it so both are honored equally.
  • NESA (National Eagle Scout Association) membership and scholarships are worth a look. At 18, a Scout can stay on as a Junior Assistant Scoutmaster.

Troop 28 Eagle Scouts

Recent projects have helped Little House of Glencoe, the Glencoe Community Garden, School District 35, the Park District, North Shore United Methodist Church, the Glencoe Historical Society, and Imagine Englewood If.

  • 2026 Rowan Bell
  • 2025 Ari Rosen, Charlie Hoffman
  • 2024 Jonathan Miller, Niki Pantelic
  • 2023 Dylan Hostert, Tommy Hoffman
  • 2022 Clayton Lantz, James Hayek, Nathan Heftman
  • 2021 Ultan Black, Ryan Hostert, Luka Pantelic, Jake Moskow
  • 2020 William Slavinsky, Aidan Levin, John Hayek, Ben Bakal
  • 2019 Alec Coleman

More than 400 Glencoe Scouts have earned Eagle since 1927 — the full list (through 2019).