by Emily Martin

“Tejas Caddo” is the name of the new District in Circle Ten of Boy Scouts of America. The new district combines two long-standing districts, White Buffalo and White Rock. The two districts have already begun the merger, which will be official January 1, 2012.

According to George Tarpley, district chairman for the White Rock District, “Both these districts, although very strong and active, were smaller in number than the average Boy Scout district. Putting them together gives all of us greater strength in numbers of youth, adults, and other resources.” Tarpley was part of the Circle Ten Realignment Committee that reviewed the profiles of the 19 districts and recommended the changes. Under the realignment, there will be 23districts. Circle Ten encompasses approximately 12 counties in North Central Texas.

John Thompson, district chairman for White Buffalo District, will continue as chairman of the Tejas Caddo District. “Merging these two distinctive and vigorous districts could have been a challenge,” says Thompson. “But everyone has pulled together with imagination and good will. Our naming contest was just the firstfruits of our collaboration.”

To come up with a new name, leaders from the two districts devised a District Renaming Contest. Each unit— Cub Scout Pack, Boy Scout Troop, or Venture Crew—was invited to submit appropriate names, including a reason or rationale for the suggestion. Prizes were offered for the top winner, as well as first and second runner-up for Cubs, Scouts, and Crews for both old districts.

Hilary Jirasek, co-chairman of the District Renaming Contest and the new Tejas Caddo District Commissioner, says, “We had a wonderful response from all our units. We received 97 entries of excellent, thoughtful names.” Contest co-chairman Emily Martin adds, “Because of the challenge of choosing from such a wealth of entries, our committee enlisted a panel of distinguished community leaders as judges.” The judges included: Ed Ducayet, community liaison officer for the Northeast Division of the Dallas Police Department; Gary Griffith, former Dallas City Councilman; Sheffie Kadane, City Councilman; Roger Perry, chairman of the East Dallas Chamber of Commerce; and Gary Spence, board member of For the Love of the Lake.

The winning entry, “Tejas Caddo,” was submitted by John Davidson, a Life Scout in Troop 42, chartered by St. Andrews Presbyterian Church. “I wanted to honor the Native American heritage in the East Dallas area,” says Davidson. “My research showed that the Caddo Tribe lived near White Rock Lake. The word ‘Tejas,’ which means ‘friendly,’ comes from the Caddo language and was an original name for our state.” Davidson, 14, is a freshman at Bishop Lynch High School. He began his Scouting career as a Tiger Cub in Pack 43 chartered by St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church. He is a brotherhood member of the Order of the Arrow service honorary, and the immediate past senior patrol leader in his Troop. His twin brother, Jacob, is also a Life Scout, and his older brother, Joseph, is an Eagle Scout. Both parents, Grace and David Davidson, have been honored for their outstanding service as active volunteers in Troop 42 and at the District, Council and National levels of Boy Scouts of America.

The other runner-up names included: Limestone [Drake Allred, Sean Blonien, Coleman Bonner, Robert Escobedo, Malex Fuget, Jarred Martinez, Nick Medrano, Jack Pederson, Trevor Thacker and Chandler Thomas; Dragon Patrol, Troop 42.]

Bobwhite: Ethan Schubert, Pack 543 (chartered by Shiloh Terrace Baptist Church)

Trinity East: Pack 535 (chartered by St. Bernard Catholic Church)

Crossbows: Joseph Contreras, Pack 42 (chartered by Lipscomb Elementary School)

Dallas Green: Francisco Pallo, Pack 709 (chartered by Ridgewood Park United Methodist Church)

Great Lake: Ricky Watson, Jr. Troop 746 (chartered by St. Pius X Catholic church)

Blackland Prairie: Brandon Bush, Troop 636 (chartered by White Rock United Methodist Church)

Lakeview: Thomas Farner, Troop 42 (Special recognition for extensive research) (chartered by St. Andrews Presbyterian church)

White Eagle: Alex Rayo, Troop 325 (chartered by Greenland Hills United Methodist Church)

United Shores: Venture Crew 6796 (chartered by VFW Post 6796

The prizes were equally exciting. The Cub Scout level prize was passes to the Dallas Museum of Nature and Science , presented by Marsha Chinal. Boy Scouts won a Kayak Adventure on White Rock Lake, presented by Mike Swope. The Venture Crew earned an Overnight Climbing Lock-In at the North Texas Outdoor Pursuit Center, presented by Dusty Pilgrim. Grand Prize winner John Davidson won a choice of a scholarship for National Youth Leader Training camp or a week at a Circle Ten summer camp, awarded by Circle Ten Council. Thomas Farner, who won special recognition, also won the Kayak Adventure.

John Thompson; Grace Davidson, John Davidson, Officer Ed Ducayet, Gary Spence and George Tarpley.		Gary Griffith, Roger Perry, Ed Ducayet, Sheffie Kadane, Gary Spence.