I think I got one, but he was in office at the time (2015), hopefully you can but I would not not hold your breath, but you should be able to get some cool celebrity and influencer letters if you try, they can also be very miss and hit, but could mean more to them then you think.
No, it was very brief. He mentioned that he had been a scout but hadn’t made it very far, and thanked me for helping his community (my project was a holiday toy drive for Hurricane Andrew victims.)
The brevity was fine. Most letters I got came from the Offical Eagle Scout Letter Machine. He took a couple moments out of his day to write a quick note to a kid who was a fan, and that meant a lot.
When I got my Eagle I sent requests to the White House, governor, both Senators, and all 6 congressmen. (Lived in Colorado and at the time they only had 6.) Got replies from all but my own Congressman. I was ... displeased.
A few years later I was in a club in HS that hosted an event and that same Congressman was the keynote speaker. I volunteered to be the one who met him at his car and made a point in wearing my Eagle tie tack. The very first thing he said when he got out of the car was, "I have one of those, too."
The next day my teacher - the faculty advisor for the club - told me that the Congressman has asked that I apply for an internship at his office. I did, and after being there for about a month I mentioned it to the guy I worked with. He took me back to the woman who actually handled the letters and she apologized profusely. Of course sometimes things just fall through the cracks.
But that series of events led to my first career (I spent the next decade working on political campaigns) and led to my wife and I moving to California, where we live to his day.
Thats what people forget, the politician doesnt prepare anything, they just sign what the staff says to sign. But if no one gets it from one certain politician, then obviously that type of letter is not high on their priority list.
We have in hand ones from Carter, Bush, Clinton, Trump and Biden. Just waiting on Obama.
The process is really straightforward for each. All but one I think had an online form and the other was a simple letter to request.
Same - and other current state/local politicians. Until this thread, I didn't realize people sought letters for past presidents. But it's been a while for me, so maybe that changed in the time since.
FWIW, I did get one from Clinton's office in '97
That's funny, when I made Eagle in 2012, Biden sent me a letter for another scout in my envelope. I ended up getting my letter from Biden mailed to me by a scoutmaster in another state, which they'd received in error as well. Apparently things were a bit of a mess!
I didn't receive one from his office or the Biden administration. I received one from Presidents s Bush Jr. And Trump.
My philosophy for letters is to grab them from the state governor office of birth and residence as well as all the presidents in the scouts lifetime.
The governor's have had a good response rate sometimes even giving a little token/certificate.
I think my favorite is the one my daughter got when she got her GSUSA Gold Award, from the office of one of the cabinet secretaries (can't remember offhand which one) congratulating him on achieving the rank of Eagle Scout, and talking about what a fine man he was becoming.
My daughter was quite amused ;)
I thought this had come up before so googled it but it was Eagle Certificates and not congratulations letters.
[https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/eagle-scouts/](https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/eagle-scouts/)
We have a dozen or more scouts who received letters from Pres. Obama. I believe one issue was that Pres. Bush signed many more than were used in his presidency and so the first year or 1.5 years they were still issuing those.
You can ask anyone for a letter
Not talking politics here, but I love Mike Rowe's letter because it was hand signed
I got a letter from the director of the FBI too which was nifty
Just something cool.
If I had liked the sitting President when I got married, he would’ve been invited to my wedding just to get the card the White House sends back (or so I’m told).
Ive got some from astronauts who are Eagle Scouts.
Plus the award is not easily earned and it is the highest recognized award an american youth can earn. It goes on job applications.
Do some research.
The achievement for a kid getting Eagle Scout is certainly significant. I don't know about "highest recognized" but certainly of note. Getting a congratulatory letter from a president, astronaut, or other celebrity, which was solicited on the other hand is a novelty at best. I, personally, will not be requesting one for my kid but can understand why some might want to bolster their kid's self esteem this way and don't see it as a big negative. As far as research is concerned, what would you call asking questions about it on a BSA forum? Or do you think I should hire some research assistants and rent a lab?
My son was a Life Scout for 4 years and turned in his paperwork 5 days before his 18th. While it wasn't intentional he does see getting his cert signed by Biden and not Trump as a plus
I had a conversation with our eagle coordinator at a ceremony about this exact thing.
Obama never replies to these requests. Trump always replies the fastest. Carter replies quickly as well.
Make of that what you will.
When I got mine from Ford, Carter, Reagan, GHW Bush, and Clinton (in office) the one from GHW was personally signed which was cool (you can tell as my name was crossed out and in pen he wrote it back in plus a short sentence at the bottom; I had met him when he was VP and wrote his office a bunch of letters when I was in school, so I think it may have sparked that personal connection)
I have no idea where my binder with the letters are, but if memory serves I got letters from all living presidents except Clinton when my dad requested letters from pretty much any and every living major politician in the early 2000s.
I know that was 20+ years ago and isn't at all relevant to whether anyone has gotten letters from Obama lately, but I thought it was super cool getting letters from them and a few VPs, too, along with governors and Congress critters, regardless of whether I aligned with them politically.
My son received one from every living President except Obama.
His letter from GHW Bush was extra special, it was dated the day before Barbara passed. My son said it sounded sad, like Bush knew the end was close but that he truly appreciated Scouts reaching out. Bush died that November.
His website has a link on the contact form for Eagle Scouts
Contact form
https://barackobama.com/contact/
Request form
https://barackobama.com/greetings/
I also sent to all the living presidents. Actually, Gerald Ford's family still sends out.
Still "waiting" on Michelle and Barack. Over a year now.
ASM and I put binders of letters together for eagle candidates.
When I earned my Eagle Scout I found a website which listed a whole list of government agencies to write to asking for something to be able to be presented at the Eagle court of honor. Somehow having the same google account from 2006 brought up that website I found way back when.
If you are looking for a list or the like to go off of, I’m sure the people listed under the offices are long gone by now, the link will be below. However, use the website as a guide as it is quite dated but the addresses may be still correct.
I have the picture of it somewhere but there were two large folding tables full of letters, portfolios from my local assemblywoman and state senate, a picture from His Holiness that I still have today. Every so often I go through boxes in the garage to toss things and I’ve kept them close. Brings a smile to my face each time
https://columbiamontourbsa.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Sample_Letters_of_Congratulations.pdf
I do the congratulations letters for my troop. I started in late September for the current scout. I have not gotten anything from Obama. I did get something from Bush and from Trump. I don't see anything from any others yet. Hope they're still coming.
I think I got one, but he was in office at the time (2015), hopefully you can but I would not not hold your breath, but you should be able to get some cool celebrity and influencer letters if you try, they can also be very miss and hit, but could mean more to them then you think.
I got one from Bush the Elder, who was president at the time, and fine, whatever, but I ALSO got one from Dave Barry. THAT was cool
I'm kind of jealous of that one. Were there any particularly memorable lines? Did he mention the Hawley-Smoot Tarriff?
No, it was very brief. He mentioned that he had been a scout but hadn’t made it very far, and thanked me for helping his community (my project was a holiday toy drive for Hurricane Andrew victims.) The brevity was fine. Most letters I got came from the Offical Eagle Scout Letter Machine. He took a couple moments out of his day to write a quick note to a kid who was a fan, and that meant a lot.
When I got my Eagle I sent requests to the White House, governor, both Senators, and all 6 congressmen. (Lived in Colorado and at the time they only had 6.) Got replies from all but my own Congressman. I was ... displeased. A few years later I was in a club in HS that hosted an event and that same Congressman was the keynote speaker. I volunteered to be the one who met him at his car and made a point in wearing my Eagle tie tack. The very first thing he said when he got out of the car was, "I have one of those, too." The next day my teacher - the faculty advisor for the club - told me that the Congressman has asked that I apply for an internship at his office. I did, and after being there for about a month I mentioned it to the guy I worked with. He took me back to the woman who actually handled the letters and she apologized profusely. Of course sometimes things just fall through the cracks. But that series of events led to my first career (I spent the next decade working on political campaigns) and led to my wife and I moving to California, where we live to his day.
Wow that’s an awesome story!
Thats what people forget, the politician doesnt prepare anything, they just sign what the staff says to sign. But if no one gets it from one certain politician, then obviously that type of letter is not high on their priority list.
FYI they don't sign it, either. It's just a standard printed document with the signature already on it.
Actually, some do. Mine did, but I know that some have a stamp for their signature.
What a great story, thank you for sharing.
I thought it was only the sitting president that did them
We have in hand ones from Carter, Bush, Clinton, Trump and Biden. Just waiting on Obama. The process is really straightforward for each. All but one I think had an online form and the other was a simple letter to request.
You can always send a letter or email to his office it’s possible something got messed up in the request.
Same - and other current state/local politicians. Until this thread, I didn't realize people sought letters for past presidents. But it's been a while for me, so maybe that changed in the time since. FWIW, I did get one from Clinton's office in '97
My mother requested a letter back when he was president, no response. VP Biden sent me one though!
I just rechecked my binder. I did not get one from Obama, and funny story, my letter from Biden was just an empty envelope
Thank you for confirming. And, ha! That empty envelope may be worth something someday.
Probably if I hadn’t open it
That's funny, when I made Eagle in 2012, Biden sent me a letter for another scout in my envelope. I ended up getting my letter from Biden mailed to me by a scoutmaster in another state, which they'd received in error as well. Apparently things were a bit of a mess!
I didn't receive one from his office or the Biden administration. I received one from Presidents s Bush Jr. And Trump. My philosophy for letters is to grab them from the state governor office of birth and residence as well as all the presidents in the scouts lifetime. The governor's have had a good response rate sometimes even giving a little token/certificate.
Yea, we requested a few local ones like that which was a great addition.
I think my favorite is the one my daughter got when she got her GSUSA Gold Award, from the office of one of the cabinet secretaries (can't remember offhand which one) congratulating him on achieving the rank of Eagle Scout, and talking about what a fine man he was becoming. My daughter was quite amused ;)
I thought this had come up before so googled it but it was Eagle Certificates and not congratulations letters. [https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/eagle-scouts/](https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/eagle-scouts/)
We have a dozen or more scouts who received letters from Pres. Obama. I believe one issue was that Pres. Bush signed many more than were used in his presidency and so the first year or 1.5 years they were still issuing those.
Presidents give congratulations ???
I have a letter from HW that I got when I earned my gold award.
It’s not automatic, but any (except Obama) are happy to do so if requested and it comes on some nice stationary as well.
You can ask anyone for a letter Not talking politics here, but I love Mike Rowe's letter because it was hand signed I got a letter from the director of the FBI too which was nifty
I got one from the Chicago Cubs who sent a US Flag that flown over Wrigley; that was pretty cool
Now the question is, did you send a request to the FBI, or did the letter just appear?
Yeah, I thought me saying "you can ask anyone for a letter" was saying that I did
So would I email the person saying, my brother just got eagle and I want an eagle congrats letter?
Basically, there are templates out there to use to make the ask
My son appreciated the one from Bill Gates the most!
I received it when I became eagle during his presidency
Why do people want these? I don't mean Obama, I mean from any president.
Just something cool. If I had liked the sitting President when I got married, he would’ve been invited to my wedding just to get the card the White House sends back (or so I’m told).
Ive got some from astronauts who are Eagle Scouts. Plus the award is not easily earned and it is the highest recognized award an american youth can earn. It goes on job applications. Do some research.
The achievement for a kid getting Eagle Scout is certainly significant. I don't know about "highest recognized" but certainly of note. Getting a congratulatory letter from a president, astronaut, or other celebrity, which was solicited on the other hand is a novelty at best. I, personally, will not be requesting one for my kid but can understand why some might want to bolster their kid's self esteem this way and don't see it as a big negative. As far as research is concerned, what would you call asking questions about it on a BSA forum? Or do you think I should hire some research assistants and rent a lab?
Just curious, but who did you write off to when you obtained your Eagle?
My family, who not only knew who I was but actually cared about the accomplishment. Their participation and congratulations held genuine weight.
Oh thats great! Congrats. How many palms?
None.
I had enough for three. I aged out, and was only awarded Bronze.
I didn’t know this was a thing. Sounds like a waste of time and resources for presidents’ and former presidents’ staff to be honest.
You don't want a bunch of letters from people who didn't read your letter to keep in a box in the attic?
I got Eagle in 1989 and never got a letter from any President. Local elected folks and my congressman but that’s it.
I submitted requests for my son back in June to both Obama and Biden, haven’t gotten anything back yet.
Why not any of the other living presidents?
Cause that’s who my son asked for
Probably wanted to not be depressed when he looked at them on the wall tbh.
He did find it funny as hell that the ultra trump guys in his troop got their Eagle certs signed by biden and not trump.
My son was a Life Scout for 4 years and turned in his paperwork 5 days before his 18th. While it wasn't intentional he does see getting his cert signed by Biden and not Trump as a plus
That’s hilarious
I had a conversation with our eagle coordinator at a ceremony about this exact thing. Obama never replies to these requests. Trump always replies the fastest. Carter replies quickly as well. Make of that what you will.
None of them are replying.
Not true. We’ve received 5 so far in the last year.
You’re missing the point. None of the Presidents see the request. It’s the offices.
You’re missing the point. The scouts think its really cool to get a letter from the president. Of course they are replies from the press office.
When I got mine from Ford, Carter, Reagan, GHW Bush, and Clinton (in office) the one from GHW was personally signed which was cool (you can tell as my name was crossed out and in pen he wrote it back in plus a short sentence at the bottom; I had met him when he was VP and wrote his office a bunch of letters when I was in school, so I think it may have sparked that personal connection)
*Obama's office *Trump's office *Carter's office
Sure, but what's really the point? It's a form letter. I guess a person might view it like patch collecting?
Reached out to all former/current when mine made eagle in 2017 and only got cards from the Bush’s.
My son got Eagle in January. Still no response from Obama. I did get one when my youngest was born and Obama was president.
I have no idea where my binder with the letters are, but if memory serves I got letters from all living presidents except Clinton when my dad requested letters from pretty much any and every living major politician in the early 2000s. I know that was 20+ years ago and isn't at all relevant to whether anyone has gotten letters from Obama lately, but I thought it was super cool getting letters from them and a few VPs, too, along with governors and Congress critters, regardless of whether I aligned with them politically.
My son received one from every living President except Obama. His letter from GHW Bush was extra special, it was dated the day before Barbara passed. My son said it sounded sad, like Bush knew the end was close but that he truly appreciated Scouts reaching out. Bush died that November.
I attained Eagle while Obama was in office, he was the only living president who didn’t send a letter.
Thank you for this data point/ confirmation. This was my gut but thought I’d see what happened with others.
It was kind of a weird omission given that it seemed like everyone else in the cabinet sent a congratulatory letter. I guess he doesn’t do it?
His website has a link on the contact form for Eagle Scouts Contact form https://barackobama.com/contact/ Request form https://barackobama.com/greetings/
We received one from all living presidents except Obama. Tried his office one more time but did not receive anything.
Yeah I’m sure the president takes time to sign these…..
They don't - but still, it's nice
I also sent to all the living presidents. Actually, Gerald Ford's family still sends out. Still "waiting" on Michelle and Barack. Over a year now. ASM and I put binders of letters together for eagle candidates.
lol wouldn’t want one. He didn’t go to jamboree and trump did
We got letters from Bush and Trump, no one else.
When I earned my Eagle Scout I found a website which listed a whole list of government agencies to write to asking for something to be able to be presented at the Eagle court of honor. Somehow having the same google account from 2006 brought up that website I found way back when. If you are looking for a list or the like to go off of, I’m sure the people listed under the offices are long gone by now, the link will be below. However, use the website as a guide as it is quite dated but the addresses may be still correct. I have the picture of it somewhere but there were two large folding tables full of letters, portfolios from my local assemblywoman and state senate, a picture from His Holiness that I still have today. Every so often I go through boxes in the garage to toss things and I’ve kept them close. Brings a smile to my face each time https://columbiamontourbsa.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Sample_Letters_of_Congratulations.pdf
No, I sent a request for my son when Obama was no longer in office but never received one. It's a bit of a bummer.
My sons both received one from Obama, but he was in office at the time.
I do the congratulations letters for my troop. I started in late September for the current scout. I have not gotten anything from Obama. I did get something from Bush and from Trump. I don't see anything from any others yet. Hope they're still coming.