At age 14, Ryan Minshall is already well on his way to becoming an influential member of the Medford community. The Eagle Scout candidate, who is the senior patrol leader for Troop 26, chose to dedicate five hours of his time to making renovations to Medford Park off Mill Street on Saturday, June 11.
Fulfilling his Eagle Scout candidate project requirement, Minshall enlisted the help of approximately 25 members of his troop, parents and friends and began conducting the workday promptly at 8 a.m. With this assistance, he was able to refurbish many elements of the park, but his concentration remained on securing the mulch area so it would cease to wash away during rainstorms, cutting down the park’s annual expenses. He additionally painted park benches and extended the playground area, making it safer for the community.
“First, I went to the township and asked them what I could do to help,” Minshall said. “I am a member of Medford Methodist Church, and because they were already working on this project across the street from my middle school, Medford Memorial, the township thought it would be a great idea for me to help out there.”
To enclose the mulch within the confinements of the park, Minshall and his team laid out 2×10 and 2×12 pieces of cedar around the park to form a retaining wall system sitting eight inches above the ground. He was extremely grateful for the township’s decision to cover all related costs for this project, as well as Medford Cedar giving them a great price on wood and for Murphy’s Grocery having donated lunch.
“I thought it was cool to be in contact with all these different people and to learn what it is like to run a project and be in charge of other people,” Minshall said. “I got to see what it’s like to actually put something like this together and to make sure it ran smoothly.”
Although this was the first experience the Eagle Scout candidate had organizing a project of his own, Minshall has gained experience from assisting with six other projects organized by his troop peers. He has helped put a new patio onto the property of the Compassionate Friends Therapeutic Horseback Riding Center and has aided in the installation of a canoe rack at the Park View Cemetery at Historic Medford Village.
“We have a number of Eagle Scouts and candidates throughout the town who have done great work. It says a lot about the volunteerism we try to foster and sets a great example for other members of the community,” Medford Mayor Jeff Beenstock said.
Aside from dedicating his time to assisting with community projects, Minshall has also traveled up and down the East Coast on various trips with his troop. He has recently gone on a four-day camping trip to Washington, D.C., explored Rhode Island and plans to head West to ranch in New Mexico with his troop later this summer.
Above all, what Minshall loves about being involved in Scouts is being able to obtain the knowledge necessary to help in a variety of different situations, and also to be able to help people in any way possible.
Over the next few months, the candidate will continue working toward obtaining the title of an Eagle Scout. To do so, he will need to fill out much paperwork and obtain two merit badges — the communications and personal fitness badges. He plans to fulfill these merits and earn his badges by September.
