Invitation Ideas for an Eagle Scout Court of Honor

An Eagle Scout Award is the highest honor that a Boy Scout can receive. It takes a lot of hard work to achieve the rank of Eagle Scout, and so the Boy Scouts of America honor the young men who complete the necessary requirements with an Eagle Scout Court of Honor ceremony. It is tradition to invite friends, family and community leaders to the ceremony in celebration of the Boy Scout's accomplishments.

Traditional Family Invitations

Traditional friends and family invitations to an Eagle Scout Court of Honor have a formal tone. For example, a formal friends and family invitation might start out with the parents' names and the scout's Troop number or just his Troop number. The wording after the family name is usually "cordially invite you to attend the Eagle Court of Honor for [boy's name]." Insert the ceremony date, location and time, along with reception information, an RSVP date and phone number in a smaller font.

Formal Letters

To invite community leaders to a Court of Honor ceremony, the boy's family or the troop sends a formal letter addressed to the specific community leader. Print the invitations on Boy Scouts of America letterhead. The body of the letter should be short and to the point. Start with "I would be deeply honored if you could attend my Eagle Scout Court of Honor on [date], [location]." Continue the letter with a statement thanking the addressee for his time and consideration. Sign the letter "Yours in Scouting."

Legacy Information

If an Eagle Scout would like to add additional information to his formal invitation letters, such as a family history of achieving the Eagle Scout Award, he may do so in a second paragraph. Keep the formal invitation letters short. Add no more than two or three additional sentences to the letter. Reserve other information, such as individual accommodations and personal successes, for commendation letter requests.

Special Guests

If a scout has confirmed that a special guest of honor will be attending his ceremony, then he may wish to include that information in both his family and community leader invitations. This is especially helpful information if the scout wishes his friends and family to dress appropriately for his guest of honor. The friends and family invitation might include a small note reading: "In honor of our guest [guest's name and title], our event will be black tie only."