The holiday seasons are here folks! Our mornings have been a bit chilly and the afternoons have been mostly blue skies. The Christmas decorations are going up and it is officially, “tis the season” to be jolly!
We have been through a lot the past 2 years now as a community.. Covid-19 has challenged us. It changed our way of living but that hasn’t stopped us from supporting our community. I know there are a lot of hardships that have arisen for so many people but let us look to the good. Let’s look at the blessings we have, no matter how great or small they are. Be it our health, our family, friends, or our faith. In fact, staying active in Scouting has probably impacted a youth and their families more than you might realize. So, thank you leaders, thank you for continuing to be that positive support for our youth.
Merit Badge & Cub Scout Adventure Day! I’d like to give a big thanks to Bob Mosqueda for putting together the Merit Badge Day & Cub Scout Adventure Day! Also, a big thanks to Pack 688, Pack 18 and Pack 219 for helping with the Cub Scout activities, and, to Dan Fijan, for the use of the Pinewood Derby Track! Also, to all the leaders, who came out and volunteered their time and service to help run all the activities and merit badge classes. It was a perfect day to hold this event, the first of its kind; with hopefully many more to come in the future. The event had Merit Badges from First Aid to Personal Management. Our Cub Scouts had a Pinewood Derby Track, a Raingutter Regatta, STEM and Leave No Trace Activities. And to top it off, there was a Scouting for Food Drive set up too. There were a total of 125 Scouts, 22 Scouters and 35 Cub Scouts that attended the event. This would not be possible without the dedication of our leaders who strive to bring a great program together for our youth. Thank you Pio Pico Scout Leaders for all that you do!
Roundtable! If you haven’t heard the news yet, Roundtable is now “hybrid’. That’s right folks, we have opened the doors once again to hold our meetings at the First Methodist Church, in Whittier. Now, if you can't make it in, you can tune in from the comfort of your home or wherever you may be at the time. Roundtable is always the 3rd Wednesday of the month at 7pm and, please remember that Roundtable is welcomed for ALL, not just leaders. We’ll be sharing information on upcoming activities and valuable ideas for your Pack, Troop or Crew. We hope to see you there or see you tuned in via Zoom!
High Adventure Team- HAT! Here are some upcoming HAT training. Also you can visit their website at: GLAAC-HAT.org for more HAT information!
Look for upcoming sign ups in Tentaroo through the training link on the GLAAC web page.
https://www.glaacbsa.org/training
SAVE THE DATES!
Pio Pico has a few upcoming events to be on the lookout for!
Pio Pico District Dinner -January 22nd, 2022. The Tentaroo link will be out soon! We hope you can come out and enjoy the evening with our fellow Scouters and congratulate our District Award of Merit. (save the date flier attached)
https://www.glaacbsa.org/content/97019/Pio-Pico-District-Dinner-2022
Pio Pico Pinewood Derby- Saturday February 12th, 2022- Leaders Guide and Registration link will be posted soon (save the date flyer attached) Volunteers needed, please reach out to Eloy Antunez: renegadedj@gmail.com
https://www.glaacbsa.org/content/97021/Pio-Pico-District--Pinewood-Derby-
Pio Pico Pushcart Derby- March 12th, 2022 - Leaders Guide and Registration link will be posted soon (save the date flyer attached) Volunteers needed, please reach out to Sophia Antunez: sophia.antunez72@gmail.com
https://www.glaacbsa.org/content/97705/Pio-Pico-Push-Cart-Derby-2022
Upcoming In-Person Training:
Wood Badge Course - April 29th - May 1st, 2022 (Week 1)
Wood Badge Course - May 14th -May 15th, 2022 (Week2)
History Corner
By Lou Smith, Pio Pico District Vice Chair
We are the Pio Pico District. But how did we get to where we are? Well, back in 1922 the BSA chartered the San Antonio District Council which included the eastern half of Los Angeles County north of Long Beach. The area from Whittier to what is now Cerritos, including Downey, South Gate, Huntington Park and Bell was called the Rio Hondo District. In 1934 San Antonio District Council merged with Los Angeles District Council to form the Los Angeles Metropolitan Council. The Rio Hondo District was reduced in size with the more populous areas of South Gate, Huntington Park and Bell becoming The San Antonio District. The post-World War II years saw eastern LA County change from farms to homes; and those homes experienced the Baby Boom. By 1955 the Rio Hondo District was bulging with scouts - Cubs, Boy Scouts and Explorers - so it was divided into two new districts - Pioneer and Frontier. 1974 saw some district changes and Pioneer District grew toward Montebello and East Los Angeles and was named Rio Hondo – again. Additions to Rio Hondo were made in 1995 when San Antonio District was split up. A couple of years ago the decline in scouts caused Frontier and Rio Hondo to merge, a homecoming if you will back to earlier times. Wanting the new district name to be unique and reflect the history of our area the combined leadership opened discussions with the Pio Pico family. Pio Pico was the last Mexican Governor of Alto California. The family has graciously allowed us to name the District Pio Pico and use the family brand as our logo.
And now you know….
