The Minnesota Society of the Sons of the American Revolution (SAR) sponsors its annual competition for youth who have earned the BSA Eagle Scout badge. Eagle Scouts from other states are eligible through their own SAR state society. The Minnesota deadline for this year’s competition is January 15, 2022.

One statewide winner receives a $400 cash award and the state Eagle trophy. Statewide winners are entered in the national Arthur M. & Berdena King Eagle Scout Contest. The top national prize is $10,000, with smaller prizes given to second through fifteenth place winners.

Minnesota Eagle Scouts have done well in the national competition, having won one of the top three awards eight times in the past twenty years. Those awards ranged from $4,000 to $10,000. The Minnesota Society also awards medals to two chapter winners.

• The application form, published by the National Society, SAR
• Further contest information, published on the national site
• How to contact Dr. Richard Smith, the state Eagle Scout Chair
• Further information on the state contest and related activities

Eagle Scouts may compete every year until the year they reach their nineteenth birthday. A few Scouts have won the state trophy more than once. To enter the contest, the Eagle Scout must do the following:

• Complete an application outlining activities, leadership roles, and recognitions different aspects of your life, including Scouting, the community, school, and religious activities.
• Write a 500-word patriotic themed essay. The winning essay is published in the State Society newsletter and web site.
• Construct a 4-generation ancestry chart. If the relationships include adoptees, the Scout may use the adopted family’s ancestry.  
• Complete any or all of the American Heritage, Law, and Genealogy merit badges. The state Eagle Scout Chair can help locate counselors for those badges.
• Deliver the application and all supporting materials to the state Eagle Scout Chair by the January 15 deadline. Applications may be submitted by email or by postal mail.

Applications are evaluated on a points scale, but are unlikely to earn an award unless the essay and ancestry chart are submitted. Success at the national level generally requires completing all three merit badges.

For further information or to submit contest applications, contact Dr. Richard Smith, the Eagle Scout Chair.