Larry and Jane Dicus accept the 2013 Rio Hondo Good Scouts Award on Nov. 14, 2013 at the Radisson Hotel Whittier. courtesy of Bruce Martin

By Tim Traeger
Editor
411whittier.com
WHITTIER/SANTA FE SPRINGS – Hallowed indeed should be the Good Scouts.
Images of the kind lad who helps a feeble woman across a busy street have faded into real-world first-responders, firefighters and policemen who thrust themselves in harm’s way for society’s greater good. And that service all starts somewhere. More often than not, it begins with the Boy Scouts of America.
So when the community came out for the 29th year on Thursday, Nov. 14 to honor the best of those qualities, the embodiment of service that adds substance to our society, it again bolstered an organization worthy of support and admiration.
This year’s 2013 Rio Hondo Good Scouts compare well with those before them. The Wickers. The Bales. The Muphys. The Shannons. The Watjes. The Grays. The Balls. The Perrys. We could easily add the Woehrmanns, the Owenses, the Jenkinses, the Boles, the Putnams and the Schnabels. Toss in a few Henkes, Coreys and Bells, and one merely has a glimpse of the great people who have lifted and enriched this community through Scouting.
So to that hallowed list now add the Dicuses and the Gardeas.
About 165 people came to the Whittier Radisson Hotel to add Jane and Larry Dicus and Christopher Gardea to the exclusive roster. More importantly, the annual event raised a fistful of cash for Boy Scouts.
“I think this was the best event that we’ve had,” said Good Scouts Dinner Committee

left, Cicily, Jeanette, Good Scout Chris, Miranda and Wyatt enjoy the 2013 Rio Hondo Good Scouts Awards at the Radisson Hotel Whittier on Nov. 14, 2013. Photo courtesy of Bruce Martin

member Bruce Martin. “Ruth Shannon (co-Good Scout in 1994) was our leader again. The event was very well received, we had a tremendous crowd and I believe the Scouts made a little money. For example we usually have about 10 baskets to raffle off. This year we had 40 baskets. Many people bought raffle tickets. We all try to do our part and all the money goes to the Scouts, and that’s what counts,” Martin said.

Larry and Jane Dicus met in a communications class in Detroit in 1969, although both came from Scouting backgrounds, Larry attaining a God and Country award from his service to Troop 841 while Jane spent six years in Brownies and Girl Scouts. Sons Eric and Scott both earned their Eagle Scout award. Larry is a second-generation native Californian, born in Pasadena and raised in Alhambra. Jane was born in Michigan and raised in Pittsburgh.

Larry attended Cal Poly Pomona, where he received his bachelor of science degree in Information Technology in 1968. He served many years as a systems representative for Burroughs Corp. Jane attended Wittenberg University in Springfield, Ohio, earning her bachelor of science degree in Business Administration. She also later worked at Burroughs as a systems representative, where the two first met.
Larry later went to work for Cisco Systems and moved to Whittier with Jane in 1978. He is a longtime member of the Whittier Host Lions Club and was recently elected to the International Board of Directors at the Lions International Convention in Hamburg, Germany.
Jane served as president of AAUW, Whittier High PTSA and Soroptimist Club of Whittier. In 1995 she returned to fulltime work as a financial advisor at Dean Witter in Whittier. She currently works as a financial advisor at Morgan Stanley in Brea.
“Larry and Jane are most deserving of the Good Scout award not only for their service to Scouting but also their community and beyond,” said Drew Sones, a fellow longtime Host Lions member who gave the benediction at the ceremony. “Larry is a newly elected director for Lions Club International and is working with a Scout leader in Afghanistan to establish a special interest in Lions Club to support the Scouting effort in that country,” Sones said.

“Whittier has been a wonderful community to live in and raise our sons,” Larry Dicus said. “The Boy Scouts, schools and churches have provided important platforms to help us raise our sons with values to carry throughout their lives. Most of all, we cherish the special friendships we have formed during these years. Time marches on, but we will have those relationships for our lifetime, and we are grateful.”

Christopher Gardea got involved in Scouting in 1972. The Eagle Scout and his three Eagle Scout brothers, Greg, Roman and Andrew, grew up camping in the Sierra, on Catalina Island and at Lake Arrowhead. Scouting awards and honors too many to mention, Gardea has served as a paramedic for the Santa Fe Springs Department of Fire Rescue for 18 years and the award-winning woodcarver competes at the national level.
His son, Wyatt, will become the fifth Eagle Scout in the family this year.
The firefighter/paramedic lives in La Mirada but grew up in Whittier. He’s been with SFS fire for 23 years.
“It’s all fun. It was very humbling” Gardea said of the honor. “I’ve been involved in Scouting for 40 years. I’m in a Scouting family. Scouting is about opportunity. That’s why my parents signed us up 40 years ago.”
Gardea has three children with his wife, Jeanette, who he’s been married to for 23 years. Their oldest daughter, Cicily, 20, is a Gold Award recipient in Girl Scouts while son, Wyatt, 17 is the fifth Eagle Scout Award winner in the family. Miranda Gardea, 15, attends La Mirada High School and plays club and high school soccer.
“They couldn’t have picked a better guy,” said Annette Arnesen, an administrative clerk who has worked with Gardea at the SFS Department of Fire-Rescue for about three and a half years. “He’s down to earth and has a heart of gold. He has a helping hand for everyone.”
“I’m just having fun,” Chris Gardea said. “I’m getting to help young people realize their dreams.”

Tim Traeger is former editor of the Whittier Daily News. Call him at 626-646-7352 or e-mail him at ttraeger@411whittier.com