At 48 years old, Mike Hemminger is still a Boy Scout at heart. A path he started down in the first grade as a member of Troop 5 in St. Cloud has led him through the ranks as a youth and as an adult volunteer to the summit of his career as Scoutmaster of Annandale Troop 354. This fall his scouting career will begin its descent now that he’s handed over the torch to Jerry Carter, the troop’s new scoutmaster. Epitome "This is the end of an era," Carter said. "To be a scoutmaster is an enormous commitment of time, dedication and perseverance. Mike is the epitome of the Boy Scout way." "It was time," said Hemminger, who has led the Annandale troop since October of 2003, when he took over from Lloyd Walburn. "I’ve come to a different stage in my life. My three sons are in three different colleges. "I need to focus more on where they are, my wife and our aging parents." Hemminger started scouting in Annandale in 1992 when his oldest son Mike Jr., now 23, became a Tiger Cub. Shortly after, Mike Jr.’s den leader had to resign from his post for personal reasons. "There was a need so I took over," Hemminger said. From there his willingness to help out and his love of scouting led him to become leader of the Webelos and eventually assistant cubmaster of Pack 354. "Then one year there was a big influx of scouts. Forty kids joined at once so the pack was broken into two," he said. The cubmaster of the original troop, Steve Leinonen, took over the new group, Pack 754, and Hemminger stayed with Pack 354 until he became cubmaster in 1998. To become scoutmaster of Troop 354 five years later, he needed the approval of the parents committee, the Boy Scouts charter organization, which is the Annandale Lions, and most important, the scouts. "You have to earn the scouts’ respect and their trust, especially their trust," Hemminger said. Meanwhile, his two younger boys Nicholas, now 20, and Blake, now18, were making their way through the ranks. Even his wife, Mary, was getting involved as a den leader and as a member of the parents committee. At one point, they were known as the "scouting family of Annandale" and the St. Cloud Times did a feature story on them. "When Blake made Eagle we had a family picture taken with everybody in uniform. That was very gratifying," he said. Hemminger had the good fortune to see all of his sons achieve the Eagle Scout rank, which is the highest rank in scouting. As scoutmaster, he presented the Eagle medal, patch and rank to his two youngest children and 13 other scouts throughout his reign as leader of Troop 354. "Delivering the Eagle ceremony is one of the highlights of being scoutmaster, getting to see how the kids advance and grow up," he said. As scoutmaster, Hemminger was not only in charge of the organization of the troop, he had the responsibility of making sure his scouts advanced through the ranks in a timely manner. Scouts start as Cubs in the first grade. After Cub Scouts they become Webelos for two years. From there they cross the bridge to Boy Scouts. "It was my responsibility to get them to the first class scout rank by the end of a year," Hemminger said. That meant going through the ranks of first class, tenderfoot and second class all within a 12-month period. "Other activities disrupt," he said. "They have to show dedication." "To be a part of Boys Scouts with everything else going on is a big accomplishment." But year after year he has seen kids overcome the hurdle and become better people for it. Scouts learn leadership, dedication and how to make life-long friendships, he said. "They have more positive attitudes. These scouts will stop and do things for other people where some kids won’t." Helping others and giving back to the community was one of Hemminger’s priorities as scoutmaster. He encouraged the troops’ continuing participation in the Memorial Day parade and pancake breakfast, the Lion’s Breakfast with Santa and the Holiday Train. They also adopted a section of Highway 24, which they regularly clean of litter. Hemminger always put an emphasis on Memorial Day and was the one who started the flag retirement tradition. The process involves burning a worn flag in a respectful manner. It requires separating the block of stars that represents the Union, then cutting away each stripe of the 13 colonies. Cutting it up ensures that the pieces burn completely, Hemminger said. Then the ashes are buried. "It’s one of the most respectful ways to retire a flag," he said. Hemminger counts that activity as one of his accomplishments as scoutmaster. His biggest achievement, he said, was simply seeing the tradition of scouting in Annandale continue. The Heart of the Lakes has always had a strong scouting tradition, which is evident in the number of scouts that reach the eagle rank. To date, the Annandale area has produced 40 eagle scouts, and at least six more are very close to achieving that status. On Monday, Sept. 8, Hemminger handed over a symbolic torch in the form of the 12 candles that represent the scouting law and the three candles that represent the scout oath. He then reminded Carter that it was now his responsibility to teach both the law and the oath to the students. "I told him that I was entrusting him with the futures of these kids," Hemminger said. As a Boy Scout at heart, Hemminger won’t be giving up scouting all at once. He still plans to accompany the troop on high-adventure outings. "I would just like to say thanks to everyone involved," Hemminger said. "Lloyd and Ronnie Walburn, Bruce and Sue Yotter, Paul Fort, Steve Leinonen, who got me involved with scouting, Doug and Denise Kantor, Bonnie Hammer, Karl Nordberg, all the past and present members of Troop 354 and my wife, Mary."
