--- title: "Planning the Year" url: https://eagleboards.page/docs/planning/ site: Eagle Boards (https://eagleboards.page/) last_revised: 2026-09-30 html_version: https://eagleboards.page/docs/planning/ description: "The once-a-year setup for a monthly event: the venue, the sign-up schedule, where Scouts find it, and how the boards get staffed." --- # Planning the Year > The once-a-year setup for a monthly event: the venue, the sign-up schedule, where Scouts find it, and how the boards get staffed. ## Reserve the venue The event needs a check-in area and enough rooms to run several boards at once, with some set aside for project proposal reviews and some for final Eagle Scout boards of review. Churches, schools, and chartered organizations with classroom wings work well. Pick one regular day of the month so units can plan around it, and reserve the whole year's dates at once. Find out when the venue builds its calendar. Many don't book by calendar year, so the request for next year may be due months before January. ## Build the sign-up Scouts need a way to reserve a slot, and you need a roster to plan from. One sign-up per year with one date per month keeps it simple. Give each date a slot type for each kind of appointment: * Eagle Scout board of review * Service project proposal review * Adult volunteer Make it clear on the sign-up that a slot is a reservation only. The Scout is seated if their paperwork is complete at the event. ## Tell people where to find it Get the sign-up link onto the council's website, next to the council's own Eagle Scout information, and into unit leader channels such as roundtable. Scouts and parents look there first. ## Decide how boards get staffed Every board needs adults. A final board of review, in the *Guide to Advancement*'s words: "There must be no fewer than three and no more than six members, all at least 21 years old. They need not be on an advancement committee nor be registered with Scouting America, but they must have an understanding of the rank and the purpose and importance of the review." Count on more adults than boards, because an adult can't sit on a board for a Scout from their own unit. ## Set up the equipment If you run check-in on a computer, you need an admin laptop for the event chair and one or more sign-in stations (tablets or laptops) at the door, all on the same network. See [Scheduler](../scheduler/) for what the software needs. Venue Wi-Fi is often weak, so plan to install software updates at home, not at the event.