Photograph by Paul Myers

Los Gatos Boy Scout Dan Weissman planned and built this retaining wall at Belgatos Park for his Eagle Scout project. In his hand he holds his Eagle medal. Weissman is a senior at Los Gatos High.

Weissman 'prepared' wall at Belgatos

Project earns Los Gatos student his Eagle award

By Shari Kaplan

The Boy Scouts of America may have developed the slogan "Do a good turn daily" and the motto "Be prepared" back in 1910, but they are still being carried out nearly 100 years later.

One of the places where these words have been turned into action is on the eastern outskirts of Los Gatos, where Los Gatan Dan Weissman completed his Eagle Scout project in Belgatos Park.

In recognition of his earning the highest honor in the Scouting movement, Weissman was honored at a March 16 Eagle Scout ceremony at the Los Gatos Neighborhood Center. Joining him were his parents, David and Diana Weissman, his scoutmaster, Knowlton Shore, and his fellow Scouts. Weissman belongs to Los Gatos Troop #539.

In the summer of 2001, while gearing up for his senior year at Los Gatos High School--where he is an honors student and former water polo and swim team member--Weissman began planning his Eagle project. He says he spoke to Los Gatos Park Service Ranger Dave Gray to see what improvements the town needed that were large enough for an Eagle project but not so large as to overwhelm a troop of teenage Scouts.

That's how Weissman learned that part of Belgatos Park needed a new retaining wall.

"It sounded like something fun to do," says Weissman, who planned his course of action, designed the wall, obtained donations and recruited other members of his troop to help with the construction. Weissman estimates they put in a total of 180 hours of work on the 120 feet of wall, which comprises wooden posts, concrete and brick.

In order for him to reach the level at which he could initiate his Eagle community service project, Weissman, a former Cub Scout, first had to earn a minimum of 21 merit badges in an array of Boy Scout activities, skills and disciplines. Only approximately 4 percent of all Boy Scouts in the United States go far enough in Scouting to attempt the rank of Eagle.

"I might have dropped out of Scouts before this if it hadn't been for my parents encouraging me," Weissman admits, chuckling. "I've enjoyed being in the Boy Scouts. It gives you a chance to do things you wouldn't normally do. It was also a good way to meet new people who I wouldn't have met in high school."

After he graduates from Los Gatos High School this June, Weissman says he will spend a month in Ecuador as part of a global community service project. No stranger to volunteerism, he has also been active at the Second Harvest Food Bank, Las Plumas Family Shelter and Loaves and Fishes soup kitchen. He says he's not sure where he'll be attending college, but he plans to major in either science or criminal psychology.

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