When it came time to choose his Eagle Scout project, Greenbrier High School student Beau Allen wanted to select one that suited his interests.
And that's what led the 16-year-old to focus his efforts on sprucing up the concession stand and bathroom area at Kelley Park, where players from Martinez-Evans Little League play baseball.
"I'm an athlete," said Beau, a rising junior at Greenbrier High, where he is a wrestler and plays football. "I enjoy sports and anything that helps a local sports team or local sport complex."
On Saturday, Beau and other helpers spent several hours at the park on Old Petersburg Road in Martinez.
He enlisted help from about 16 volunteers, including fellow members of Boy Scout Troop 643, to clean, paint, refurbish and touch-up areas that needed it
"It's had some real bad damage over the years with vandals," said Beau, who anticipates receiving his Eagle Scout badge in November. "My project is really going to help the park by making it more enjoyable for people."
Since he started working on the project, Beau said he has made numerous trips to Kelley Park.
Gary Pringle, one of Beau's sponsors, said he makes lists of various Martinez-Evans Little League projects that can be done by Eagle Scouts and sends them to a Scout representative to be distributed. Pringle oversees Kelley Park and Crawford Creek, also in Martinez, both of which are Little League complexes.
"It was one we were going to have to pay for or do without a while until we could get a work team up to do it," Pringle said of Beau's project.
Pringle said two other Eagle Scout projects at Kelley Park have been completed this year. Those projects involved repairing bleachers, removing brush and mending fences.
The supplies needed for Beau's project, including paint, brushes, paint thinners and epoxy flooring, cost about $450. Those materials were donated by the Sherwin Williams store in Martinez and the Martinez-Evans Little League.
"Because I'm volunteering to do this project, it will save the Little League lots of money," he said. "Now, they can use that money and take it somewhere else to buy uniforms or new facilities or make improvements to the field."
Pringle, who called Beau a "great kid," said the project should save Little League personnel about $2,000.
"It's really a super project," Pringle said. "We'll go ahead and start upgrading our equipment and throwing the old stuff away."
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