Boy Scout improves neighborhood park

Looking at Fruitville Road Park, at the northeast corner of Fruitville and Beneva roads, it’s hard to tell the 3.5-acre, tree-dotted tract is, well, a park.

This is a sore subject for residents in the area, who persuaded the city not to sell the land in 2015 and have advocated for improvements to the park since. It’s a large piece of green space, but there isn’t much that makes the park inviting.

In 2016, a group of five residents from the Glen Oaks Estates, Glen Oaks Manor, Glen Oaks Ridge and Fairway Oaks neighborhoods made a park improvements wish list. A name change, new signs and improved landscaping were among the items identified. The goal was to create a distinct identity for the park.

Around that same time, Devin Beede was searching for an Eagle Scout service project — the community improvement project that would allow him to attain the highest rank in the Boy Scouts of America. He reached out to city staff to see if they had any leads.

Beede, now headed into his senior year at Sarasota High School, also runs cross-country and track. Based on that experience, he suggested improving a park. City staff got him in touch with the residents near Fruitville Road Park — the “Fruitville five” — and that group shared its to-do list with him.

He seized on a project he thought he could get done: adding benches to the park.

Norm Dumaine, a Glen Oaks Estates resident and one of the Fruitville five, was impressed by Beede’s approach.

“Not all kids his age are good listeners,” Dumaine said. “He listens well, and he understands what the nature of a project is — what the pluses and minuses are. He’s very receptive to learning.”

Beede and the Fruitville five worked together to model the right seating configuration for the park. Beede talked to residents about the design of the benches, reached out to a lumber company to provide supplies and oversaw the construction of the benches alongside his fellow Boy Scouts.

The benches — 11 in total — were officially installed in the park in May.

“You talk about dedication, imagination and intelligence — I could not sing his praises high enough,” Dumaine said.

What drives a teenager to spend his free time building benches for a neighborhood park? Beede said the prestige of attaining the Eagle Scout rank has motivated him.

“There’s a certain name and manner that’s tied to it that people really admire,” Beede said.

After joining the Scouts in fourth grade, he acknowledges some moments when his commitment wavered. He said the passing of his grandfather gave him motivation to keep going.

“He was in Boy Scouts, and he was a big advocate,” Beede said. “I thought, ‘That’d be a really nice thing to honor him with.’ ”

For Beede, the Fruitville Road Park project was affirmation that his dedication paid off. The Fruitville five have no shortage of accolades for his work. The same goes for city staff. The knowledge that he’s making a difference is a real reward, Beede said.

“I really enjoy the fact that it’s something tangible, and it’s something that’s going to create a lasting impact,” he said.

Dumaine said Beede’s work will help in more than one way. Adding the benches will create momentum for more changes, Dumaine hopes.

“He’s actually brought more attention to the park because of this project,” Dumaine said. “The city has become more involved in improving the park.”

Beede said he appreciates the positive attention, but he downplays the idea his work is uniquely deserving of attention.

“I’m very honored, but I’m not doing anything different than any other Eagle Scout’s done,” he said.

By this fall, he hopes to have formally obtained the rank of Eagle Scout. And residents hope long after that his work will be on display in a vibrant community park at Fruitville and Beneva.