Manchester High Senior Gives Back on Path to Becoming Eagle Scout

When Dan Martinez, a senior at Manchester High School and a member of Boy Scout Troop 10 in Lakehurst, had to choose an Eagle Scout Leadership Service Project, he knew that he had to pick something that would benefit his community.

He decided on building picnic tables and benches, planting flowers by the memorial and cleaning the area around the Lake Horicon to make it a nicer place for the community. Early last month on a Sunday morning at the new fire house in Lakehurst, Martinez and other scouts were planning and constructing the tables and benches. 

Brian Dugan, the president of Lakehurst Boro Fire Department, is an Eagle Scout from the same troop and has been Martinez’s mentor since the beginning.

“I helped him with his first big scout project and now his last big project,” said Dugan. “When Danny said he needed a place to do his Eagle Scout project, I immediately offered the firehouse.”

In order to complete the project, Martinez had to submit his plans for approval to the Eagle Board, get donations of wood from the community, perform the actual labor and then arrange for the borough to come pick up and deliver the tables and benches to the lake.

Jay Laird, Scout Master of Troop 10, praised Martinez’s overall leadership style. 

“Dan has been my senior patrol leader and has led all my younger boys through scouts," he said. "Since I only came to Lakehurst three years ago, he made my transition as a new Scout Master much easier.”

“The younger guys that are here today, they are all life scouts and want to become Eagles. Dan has played an instrumental role in them advancing in the way that they have and teaching them," Laird said. "Dan is an overall great leader."

Dugan said he believes that Martinez will be a great Eagle Scout. 

“Danny sticks with it and his character is perfect to be an Eagle Scout. He is a motivator when it comes to scout stuff,” he said.

Dugan said he is happy and proud of Martinez for becoming an Eagle Scout.

“The saying is — once an Eagle Scout, always an Eagle Scout. It’s camaraderie between all of the other Eagle Scouts and it’s a sense of accomplishment that he can take with him for the rest of his life," he said. "A lot of my friends are Eagle Scouts from Troop 10 and it is things we can look back on and talk about for years to come."

Despite all of the praise, Martinez was very humble and said that he started as a Cub Scout and just “stuck with it” all the way to become an Eagle Scout. 

He has earned more than 70 merit badges, with his favorite being for the skill of fishing.