By Mark Peters
Monrovia, Thursday, May 28; I would like to take a minute to introduce the community to the City of Monrovia’s only Cub Scout Pack 66, at The First Presbyterian Church of Monrovia. We want to get ourselves known to the Monrovia community and want the community to know we are here and ready to help where needed. 24 boys all participated in the Cub Scout Graduation ceremony on May 28. They crossed over from one rank to the next. They have worked hard for what they have achieved.
Certificates of Commendation were issued to each Cub Scout by Jim Hunt, Monrovia Police Chief and Certificates of Recognition were awarded by the City of Monrovia for Pack 66 Cub Scouts advancing to the next rank. Twenty-four scouts stepped over a physical and metaphorical bridge in the “Crossing Over Ceremony”. The graduation ceremony was led by Cub Master Mark Peters and Assistant Cub Master Erick Bonilla. In time-honored scouting tradition, the cub scouts were called over the bridge, one by one, and had their neckerchiefs removed and replaced with the next rank neckerchief. Our graduating class of 2015 are as follows:
Tiger Den advanced to Wolves
Dylan, Mason, Corbin, Quinn and Jacob
Wolf Den advanced to Bears
Josef, Ezekiel, Lucas, Devin, Dylan, Evan, Peter, Justin
Bear Den advanced to 1st year Webelos
Joshua, Gavin, Degas and Christopher
1st year Webelos Den advanced to 2nd year Webelos
Will, Beau, Riley, Elias, Jacob, Adrian, and Roman
Pack 66, which is chartered by The Parents of Pack 66, hosted its annual crossover ceremony, when Cub Scouts rise up to their next ranks for the coming school year at Eisenhower Park in Arcadia, where we were able to utilize a real bridge to symbolize “Crossing Over” to the next rank. In a crossover ceremony, older Cubs pass down neckerchiefs to younger boys. Webelos induct rising Bears, Bears induct rising Wolves and Wolves induct new Tigers.
The cub master for Pack 66, Mark Peters, said the pack includes two dozen boys in first- through fifth-grade. Tigers are the youngest, in first-grade, Wolves are second-graders, Bears are in their third-grade year and Webelos are fourth- and fifth-graders. Webelos graduate into the Boy Scouts their sixth-grade year. “As a boy moves up the Scouting trail, his badges of rank and changes in uniform show his progress. One of the changes in uniform is his neckerchief,” Peters said.
Tigers wear orange neckerchiefs, Wolves wear yellow, Bears blue and Webelos plaid. Scouting instills in its participants a number of values and skills; it builds teamwork and it builds leadership skills. As the Cubs from Pack 66 progress through the ranks, they are responsible for more and more, and as they actually get into Scouts, they are responsible for the lessons.
Pack 66 is led by parents and without our dedicated parental involvement our Pack would not thrive as it is today. Our parents help their boys find and become role models. Our older Webelos become role models for the younger ones and our Tigers look up to all of them because they are first-graders. Other than a sport, this is probably the first time they have had any kind of organized boy-only activity.
Scouting also pulls young boys away from TV and mobile device screens and sets aside time for experiencing the outdoors. There are no screens involved in Pack 66, we are family-centered. When we do camping trips and day outings, it is not just the leaders and the boys that go. The whole family goes. Brothers and sisters and moms, aunts and uncles.
Anyone interested in joining scouts can contact Cub Master Mark Peters and Assistant Cub Master Erick Bonilla at: monroviacubscoutpack66.31@sfly.com Meetings are held every second and fourth Thursdays at The First Presbyterian Church of Monrovia during the school year and for summer months it is as planned, so please contact us for details. You can also follow us on Facebook www.facebook.com/cubpack66
