2012’s Eagle Scout class was biggest yet

2012's Eagles are the only ones who can wear this 100th Anniversary patch.
2012’s Eagles are the only ones who can wear this 100th Anniversary patch.

For Eagle Scouts and their fans, 2012 was the gift that keeps on giving.

We spent all year celebrating the 100th Anniversary of Arthur Rose Eldred becoming the first Eagle Scout. We got scientific evidence of what I’m calling “the Eagle Scout effect.”

And now, just this morning, comes news that more boys earned Eagle in 2012 than in any year in the award’s history.

A whopping 58,659 new Eagle Scouts joined the ranks last year, surpassing the previous high mark of 56,176 in 2010.

To me, a record-setting Eagle class is proof that Scouting remains alive and well as we settle into the movement’s second century. And it represents the nationwide impact of more than 58,000 young men who know what honor, loyalty, and hard work really mean. Not to mention more than 58,000 Eagle service projects that improved countless communities. The way I see it, the world could use a few more Eagle Scouts.

So here’s to 2012’s Eagle Scouts — and to 2013’s, 2014’s, and so on. Let’s keep that number growing.


About Bryan Wendell 3282 Articles
Bryan Wendell, an Eagle Scout, is the founder of Bryan on Scouting and a contributing writer.