Golden Gate Area Council

The Golden Gate Area Council (GGAC) is a council of the Boy Scouts of America, formed by a merger of the San Francisco Bay Area Council, Alameda Council and the Mount Diablo Silverado Council in June 2020. Located in the San Francisco Bay Area, serving the cities of Alameda, Alamo, Albany, American Canyon, Angwin, Antioch, Bay Farm Island, Bay Point, Benicia, Berkeley, Bethel Island, Brentwood, Byron, Calistoga, Castro Valley, Clayton, Clearlake, Clearlake Oaks, Concord, Crockett, Daly City (northern), Danville, Diablo, Dublin, El Cerrito, El Sobrante, Emeryville, Fairfield, Fremont, Hayward, Hercules, Kelseyville, Kensington, Knightsen, Lafayette, Lakeport, Livermore, Lower Lake, Lucerne, Martinez, Middletown, Moraga, Napa, Newark, Nice, North Richmond, Oakland, Oakley, Orinda, Pacheco, Pinole, Pittsburg, Pleasant Hill, Pleasanton, Richmond, Rodeo, San Francisco, San Leandro, San Lorenzo. , San Pablo. , San Ramon. , St.Helena, Suisun City, Sunol, Travis Air Force Base, Union City, Upper Lake, Vallejo, Walnut Creek, Yountville

This article is about the Boy Scouts of America council. For the business organization, see Bay Area Council.
Golden Gate Area Council #023
OwnerBoy Scouts of America
HeadquartersPleasant Hill, California
CountryUnited States
Website
ggacbsa.org

Headquartered in Pleasant Hills with additional offices in San Leandro and Alameda, the council surrounds the Piedmont Council. SFBAC is one of the four councils that serves the San Francisco Bay area.

History

At 6:30 PM on Monday, April 27, 2020 the stakeholders for the Alameda Council, the Mt. Diablo Silverado Council and the San Francisco Bay Area Council overwhelmingly approved to merge the three Scout councils into a single new entity called the Golden Gate Area Council.  The official merger date of the new council was Monday, June 1, 2020 and the first leaders of the council were Scout Executive John Fenoglio and Council President Dan Walters.

Originally the vote of the stakeholders was scheduled for March 30, however due to the Coronavirus pandemic, the in-person meetings were canceled and ballots ultimately mailed to each of the voting members with the new date.

The discussions to merge the councils actually started back in 2012 when the leaders of the Mt Diablo Silverado council approached the San Francisco Bay Area council about a possible merge.  Those initial discussions ultimately ended on August 29, 2012 with a no merge vote.  However eight years later, those discussions again were the topic of the day due to the vacancies left by the Scout Exec positions in the SFBAC and Alameda Councils.  National guidelines require that Councils review possible merging when Scout Executive positions are vacated as a way to possibly save money.  This time, the merge made sense.

The merging of these three great councils into one, united over 19,000 youth members in Cub Scouts, ScoutsBSA, Venturers and Sea Scouts from six Bay Area counties into one strong council with over 7000 dedicated adult volunteers along with five Scout Camps.  The camps of the Golden Gate Area Council are Camp Royaneh (est. 1925), Camp Wolfeboro (est. 1928), Camp Herms (est. 1930), Rancho Los Mochos (est. 1944) and Wente Scout Reservation (est. 1959).

The three service centers of the council continued to be operated with one in Alameda (1714 Everett St), one in San Leandro (1001 Davis St) and one in Pleasant Hill (800 Ellinwood Way).  The Pleasant Hill office became the new headquarters of the combined council.

Although our new council is called the Golden Gate Area Council, our history with the Boy Scouts of America actually started some 104 years earlier in 1916 when our original legacy councils were formed.  The original eight scout councils of the Golden Gate Area were the following:  Berkeley Council (formed 1916), Oakland Area Council (formed 1916), San Francisco Council (formed 1917), Alameda Council (formed 1917), Napa Council (formed 1917), Contra Costa Council (formed 1922), Solano Council (formed 1922) and the Luther Burbank Council (formed 1923).

The first council shoulder patch (CSP) for the GGAC was designed by Venturer Melody Fewx which was selected from more than 70 entries by the various youth of the council.  

The diagram below gives a basic pictorial overview as to the merger history, name changes and council identifiers for each of the original legacy councils along with the Order of the Arrow Lodges associated with the councils.  

Over the years these various councils merged to form larger councils in order to broaden the reach of Scouting and provide more program for the youth in both the cities and suburbs.  [1]

Organization
  • The council is composed of the following districts:[2]
Alameda

Covers the communities of Alameda and Bay Farm Island.

Briones =====

Covers the communities of Lafayette, Moraga, Orinda, Pleasant Hill, and Walnut Creek.

Chief Solano

Covers the communities of Fairfield, Suisun City, and Travis Air Force Base.

Diablo Sunrise

Covers the communities of Antioch, Bay Point, Bethel Island, Brentwood, Byron, Knightsen, Oakley, and Pittsburg.

Golden Gate

Covers the communities of San Francisco and the Northern half of Daly City.

Herms

Covers the communities of Albany, Berkeley, and West Contra Costa County including Crockett, North Richmond, El Cerrito, El Sobrante, Hercules, Kensington, Pinole, Richmond, Rodeo and San Pablo.

Lake

Covers the communities of Clearlake, Clearlake Oaks, Kelseyville, Lakeport, Lower Lake, Lucerne, Middletown, Nice, and Upper Lake.

Meridian

Covers the communities of Alamo, Danville, Diablo, and San Ramon.

Mission Peak

Covers the communities of Fremont, Newark, and Union City.

Muir

Covers the communities of Clayton, Concord, Martinez, and Pacheco.

Peralta

Covers the communities of Oakland and Emeryville.

Silverado

Covers the communities of American Canyon, Angwin, Benicia, Calistoga, Napa, St.Helena, Vallejo and Yountville.

Tres Ranchos

Covers the communities of Castro Valley, Hayward, San Leandro, and San Lorenzo.

Twin Valley

Covers the communities of Dublin, Livermore, Pleasanton, and Sunol.

Camps

The council camps are as follows:[3]

  • Camp Herms - CH (Established 1930)
Camp Herms is located on the ridge of the East bay hills at the edge of El Cerrito. The camp is open year-round for council, district, and unit activities including training courses, Cub Scout camps, and unit camping. It can be used as the hub for visits to local historical sites, San Francisco and the surrounding area. The facilities include a large meeting lodge with kitchen, campsites, sleeping shelters, and shooting ranges (archery & BB guns). Camp Herms is also the start of the Fages historic trail.
  • Rancho Los Mochos - RLM (Established 1944)
Rancho Los Mochos is located in the scenic oak-studded hills of southeastern Alameda County, in the hills above Livermore. It has several large rustic campsite areas, making it ideal for unit camping or District Camporees. Campgrounds feature fire rings, picnic tables and numerous areas to explore. The central camp area has a small dining hall with kitchen, a modern bathroom shower building, a program building, an outdoor pool, and a large flat field for programs or games. There also are shooting ranges (archery, rifle, and shotgun).
  • Camp Royaneh - CR (Established 1925) ===
Camp Royaneh is a Nationally Accredited Scout camp in the coastal redwoods near Cazadero, in Sonoma County. As the oldest continuously operated Scout camp in all of California, Camp Royaneh comprises over 345 acres of private scout property. Camp Royaneh offers the Scout a chance to hike, ride horses, rock climb, rappel, swim, shoot (archery, rifle, shotgun, and black powder), try a COPE course (Challenging Outdoor Personal Experience), and participate in a rodeo all in one week. The camp has a large dining hall and campsites that offer both open cabin and tent camping.
  • Wente Scout Reservation - WSR (Established 1959) ===
Wente Scout Reservation is a Nationally Accredited Scout camp in the foothills near Willits in Mendocino County. With 2200 acres, Wente is one of the largest Scout Camps on the West Coast and offers a wide Wente offers a variety of programs including a world class mountain biking program, horsemanship, and shooting ranges (archery, rifle, shotgun, and black powder). The 80-acre lake offers outstanding swimming, boating, and fishing. Wente has a modern dining hall and campsites with platform tents.
  • Camp Wolfeboro - CW (Established 1928) ===
Camp Wolfeboro is a Nationally Accredited Scout Camp in the high Sierra Nevada Mountains on the North Fork of the Stanislaus River off Highway 4 about 20 miles east of Arnold in Calaveras and Tuolumne counties. Wolfeboro is one of the longest continuously running scout camps in the Western United States, founded in 1928. The waterfront is positioned along a section of the Stanislaus River offering swimming, boating, and fishing. Camp Wolfeboro offers shooting sports (archery, rifle, and shotgun), an expansive rock-climbing program, an introductory backpacking trip for first year Scouts, a 3-Day Wilderness Trek plus other high adventure programs for older scouts, & STEM. Units must provide their own tents pitched on the ground. Meals are served in a dining hall serving-line style.

Order of the Arrow
  • Achewon Nimat Lodge #282[4][5] was formed on December 13, 1964 by the merger of Machek N'Gult Lodge 375 of the Oakland Area Council and Royaneh Lodge 282 of the San Francisco Area Council. Although the Oakland Council and the San Francisco Council merged in February 1964, it was not until the end of the year that the Order of the Arrow lodges merged. The official date of the Lodge Charter is January 1, 1965.
  • Kaweah Lodge 379, Order of the Arrow, was chartered to the Alameda Council in February 1948, and has served local Scouting continuously over the past 68 years.  Our lodge consists of over 80 youth and adult Arrowmen cheerfully serving Scouting and the Alameda community.[6]
  • In 1994, Oo Yum Buli Lodge #468 merged with Swegedaigea Lodge #263 to form the New Lodge Ut-In Sélica Lodge #58. The new Lodge’s name means “Twin Spirits” in the Costanoan language, and the new Lodge flap echoes that by including images of the former Lodge totems, the Golden Eagle and the Golden Hawk. The new Lodge chose the California Grizzly Bear as its new totem, and it also appears on the Lodge flap.[7]

In June 2020 when the GGAC was formed they released the following statement:

A process to merge the lodges of the former Alameda, Mt, Diablo Silverado, and San Francisco Bay Area Councils has begun. This is a process that may take up to a year to complete.[8]

Kaweah Lodge - Ut-in-Selica - Achewon Nimat

Wolfeboro Pioneers

The Wolfeboro Pioneers is one of the last surviving local BSA honor societies in the United States that has not been absorbed by the Order of the Arrow,[citation needed] the others being Tribe of Mic-O-Say, Firecrafter, and Tribe of Tahquitz The Wolfeboro Pioneers is a Boy Scout camping honor society based out of Camp Wolfeboro near Arnold, California. The society was founded in the summer of 1929 by returning Scouts and Scouters who were devoted to creating and preserving the camp's unique tradition. An insight into the society in 1996 is given by a Scouter on the Scouts-L list.

Beginning in the 1930s, the Order of the Arrow absorbed many of the small Boy Scout honor societies that had thrived during Scouting's first two decades. This happened in 1944 in Silverado Council. The Order of the Arrow established itself in Mt. Diablo Council in the early 1950s.

Every summer, it inducts several adult leaders and roughly 100 Scouts, a good annual induction rate for a minor organization[citation needed]. These Scouts come not only from California, but from around the nation and world.

Election procedures

Since then, individuals have been inducted into the society through election. Eligible Scouts are nominated by the Scoutmaster and elected by their troop. The number of Scouts eligible per troop depends on the number of Scouts in the troop rounded up to the closest tenth then divided by ten (i.e. if the troop size is 30, then three Scouts are eligible, if 21 then still three Scouts are eligible). Elections are conducted in pairs by Pioneer members (usually uniformed) who disperse throughout the various campsites. The Pioneers are responsible for reading and explaining the election procedures to the assembled Scouts. The Scoutmaster has the ability to veto the troop's decision. Votes are then taken back to Pioneer Rock where they are counted by Pioneer officials.

Originally only the initial returning Scouts were "pioneers" and for a number of years no one was added to their number. The society realized that if they were to survive it would be necessary to induct new members who possessed the same spirit of the original pioneers. The original procedure was that if a Scout met the requirements described above and had worked on at least one pioneer sponsored work party, then he was eligible for nomination. Prior to the final campfire of the week the pioneers would gather on pioneer rock and nominate candidates and plead their case. Upon end of discussion, a vote would be taken.

To be eligible for candidacy, Scouts must have spent two weeks at Camp Wolfeboro, one of which must have been in a previous year. They must have held (or be holding) a position in their troop that is on the approved list for Eagle within the Boy Scout Handbook 11th edition, p. 446. They must also be First Class rank or above and have Scoutmaster approval before eligibility can take effect.

Some troops, due to unusual size or other quality, amend these eligibility rules. For example, some troops choose to nominate only Scouts that are Star or higher.

Scouters/parents must be nominated by a member of the troop they are camping with[citation needed]. The nomination must be seconded, and thirded by individuals present at the Thursday night Pioneer meeting. The only requirement for adults is that they have spent two weeks at Camp Wolfeboro, one of which must have been in a previous year. Unlike in the election of Scouts (excluding Venturers), females are eligible for election[citation needed].

Ceremony

Shortly after the final dinner on Friday night, Scouts assemble at Bravo How campfire circle at the foot of Pioneer Rock. The ceremony begins with the Pioneer historian giving a short history of the camp and the organization. After that, the Pioneers, assembled on the rock, lead the Scouts seated on the logs below in singing the traditional song, "Patsy Ory Ory Ay." When this is completed, the Pioneers slip away and form a ladder on either side of the trail leading to the main campfire circle. In a matter of minutes, the Scouts, Scouters, and parents who have come to watch the event form a column behind a number of Pioneer torchbearers who lead the way to the main campfire circle. The Pioneers lining the parade route hold their fingers in the Scout Sign and stand at rigid attention to signal the somber nature of the event and to call for observance of its importance through absolute silence. The Scouts are seated and the Pioneers disperse and retreat to the second Pioneer Rock, situated so that it overlooks the main campfire circle. The Pioneer Sergeant-at-Arms, breaking the silence, decrees in a booming voice: "Let The Fires Of Friendship Burn!" The campfires are then lit and, for the next hour, Scout troops perform songs and skits for the assembled crowd. After the skits have finished, the Calling-Out Ceremony begins. The Pioneers form a human "ladder" that runs from the stage to the top of Pioneer Rock. Each Scout is called out and is helped up the ladder to the top of Pioneer Rock. Along the way, they are congratulated by current members. After the ceremony ends, they embark on an initiation process that takes until the early hours of the morning[citation needed].

Duties

The Wolfeboro Pioneers' official mission is to preserve and improve Camp Wolfeboro and its traditions. To this end, the Wolfeboro Pioneers assist in the opening and closing of camp each summer, as well as assisting in multiple service projects throughout most summers (in addition to the Camp Wolfeboro Workparty each Tuesday evening). Examples of the work the Pioneers have done include the maintenance of the road into camp, as well as the refurbishments of the dining hall in recent years. The Pioneers are also responsible for at least 90% of the trails within camp.

A second duty of the Wolfeboro Pioneers involves the preservation of the history of Camp Wolfeboro through the creation and maintenance of the Pioneer scrapbooks, as well as the writing and printing of "Wolfeboro Sings", the official songbook. The scrapbooks are currently updated through the summer of 1998 and contain photos, clippings, and patches from the camp's history. Currently (as of June 2007) the Pioneers are actively working on updating the Camp Wolfeboro history since 2000 in the scrapbooks, as well as pursuing a new edition of "Wolfeboro Sings[citation needed]."

There are three Pioneer rocks. One in the center of camp, one at the main campfire circle and a third secret one. No one is permitted to walk on the rock unless they are a Pioneer.

Apparel

The official color of the Wolfeboro Pioneers is "Pioneer Blue," which currently most closely resembles azure. The actual color of the Pioneers has varied considerably over the 75+ year history, ranging from teal to darker royal blue. Many pieces of Pioneer apparel have been created over the years since 1929, including t-shirts, polos, neckerchieves, and fleece jackets. As well, a large variety of patches, designed primarily for the temporary insignia location on the right breast pocket of the Boy Scout uniform, have been issued, most of which can be viewed at camp in the Pioneer scrapbooks.

gollark: ... probably.
gollark: Well, unless you can go past the yellow rock things somehow, it seems like wall is you is basically the ønly solution.
gollark: That is 1000 grammar.
gollark: You should just make wall is you.
gollark: Can you make it so that *wall* is you instead?

See also

References
  1. "History – GGAC". Retrieved 2020-07-27.
  2. "Districts – GGAC". Retrieved 2020-07-27.
  3. "Scouts BSA Camp Facilities – GGAC". Retrieved 2020-07-27.
  4. "Achewon Nimat Lodge". achewonnimat.org.
  5. "Achewon Nimat Lodge". www.sfbac.org.
  6. "Kaweah Lodge". Alameda Council. Retrieved 2020-07-27.
  7. "History – OA". Retrieved 2020-07-27.
  8. "Order of the Arrow – GGAC". Retrieved 2020-07-27.
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