National Eagle Scout Association?

[fritz1255]

My son earned his Eagle badge in 2011. We just got a postcard over the weekend from an organization that calls itself the National Eagle Scout Association, asking us to call and "verify the accuracy of the data currently listed on file". This looks suspiciously like the postcards I get regarding the colleges I went to years ago, where the company is trying to sell an alumni directory. I "bit" on this once when I was looking for another job, and ended up paying about $50 in 1990 for a small paperback book with contact information for some of my fellow alums. I did find another job, but not through my "Alumni Directory". Anybody else get this solicitation?

[Quailman]

They did the same thing last year with the OA. I received two cards (for my son and me) about every six weeks beginning in February or so. They finally called me and I confirmed my information. Then they tried to sell the directory, to which I politely said no. There was no hard sell. The next week my son received his first NESA postcard.

It's not a scam, as far as I can tell. It's just a racket, like Who's Who used to be. I confirmed the information they already had, and gave the caller no personal info except for my new job. This book will be outdated as soon as it's printed, even more so than when my father was "selected" for who's Who back in the 1960's.

[BartHumphries]

Besides, everyone knows that Wikipedia is the true "Who's Who" with its requirement that a person meet specific "notability" requirements to have their biography listed. :p

[Houdini]

This is a legitimate project. NESA has three staffers and 2.3 million Eagle records that need to be updated, so they've contracted with a company called PCI (Publishing Concepts Inc.) to help track down all living Eagle Scouts. NESA/PCI currently have two projects underway (both send postcards):

2014 Eagle Scout Yearbook
All Eagle Scouts who passed their board of review in 2013 will be contacted and invited to appear in the 2014 Eagle Scout yearbook. This is similar to a high school yearbook with photos and lists of interests/activities. Postcards are sent "To the parents of" because some of the Eagles are minors. This is the third year that a yearbook has been published (2012 - 2014).

2015 Eagle Scout Directory
This is a general directory of all Eagle Scouts who respond to the invitation. Most organizations with an alumni association do these about every five years. Due to the size of the project, PCI is contacting Eagle Scouts based on the region where they earned Eagle (Northeast, Central, Southern, Western). Each region will have its own directory. They will not print your contact information without your permission.

There is no obligation to buy the book. PCI is hoping to sell a book to recoup their costs for the search. NESA just wants the information so they can share the results with your local council. If you aren't active in Scouting then your local council doesn't know how to find you. NESA's mission since 1972 has been to "provide manpower" to local councils. The local council NESA committee will use the information to invite you to networking events, community service projects, and other gatherings and hopefully create an opportunity that fits your interests and schedule.