Portola Valley troop: Three earn Eagle Scout rank

The three newest Eagle Scouts in Portola Valley Boy Scout Troop 64 are Alex Duff, Kevin Kelly and Weston Bourgeois.

Alex is a senior honors student at Saint Francis High School. He earned 22 merit badges and, most recently, was leader of his patrol. His favorite merit badges were small boat sailing and auto maintenance.

For his Eagle project, Alex worked with the congregation of Christ Church in Portola Valley to restore five redwood benches on the church’s property. He raised money for new lumber and supplies, then lead a scout crew through the multi-week project. Benches were dismantled, removed and refurbished, then rebuilt and refinished back on site.

Kevin Kelly, a junior at Summit High School, noticed the school’s campus did not have enough places to sit, talk and eat. For his Eagle project, he built picnic tables and benches for the school. Kevin raised more than $1,700 for materials, and organized 13 people who worked 152 hours to complete the project.

Kevin also earned 22 merit badges, and has held various leadership positions including patrol leader. His favorite merit badge was first aid, which helped him realize he is interested in a career in the medical field .

Weston Bourgeois, a freshman at Woodside High School, played on both the junior varsity football and freshman basketball teams. He has earned 22 merit badges and held various leadership positions in his patrol, recently serving as assistant senior patrol leader. His favorite merit badge was rifles.

For his Eagle project, Weston converted a quarter circle sandbox into three garden beds for Footsteps Childcare, a preschool for low-income residents. After designing the garden beds for 3- to 5-year-old children, he purchased the materials and led a group of scouts in the construction of the raised play tables and garden boxes. Later the ground was prepared with rock and the elevated garden beds were installed. Weston led a dozen people who put in a total of 112 hours on the project.

Troop 64 is sponsored by the Kiwanis Club of Menlo Park.