By Khalida Sarwari
More than 100 people gathered at the Saratoga Presbyterian Church recently to celebrate the retirement of Mike Lorenzen, a scoutmaster for the Saratoga Boy Scout Troop 566.
The April 7 Court of Honor ceremony, attended by former Eagle scouts, current scouts and their families, celebrated Lorenzen’s 12 years with the troop.
Among the things he’ll miss most about the Boy Scouts are the adventures and social outings, the 56-year-old Lorenzen said.
“I like to see people enjoy themselves in the outdoors and do and see things they didn’t even know were there and be pleased by them,” he said.
His favorite scoutmaster job duties were motivating his scouts and teaching them important skills such as saving lives.
“I like teaching skills to people who thirst for the knowledge,” Lorenzen said.
He is known for telling his scouts stories of his own glory days in scouting. He was a Cub Scout and then Boy Scout from age 8 to 18 and said the troop gave him a social circle that he wouldn’t have otherwise because he has always struggled with his weight.
“I’ve always been a fat kid that grew into a fat adult,” Lorenzen said. “In elementary school in the ’60s, kids were cruel. I was an outcast in society. Being in Cub Scouts gave an outcast a social group.”
Among his scouts, his weight and height has garnered him the nickname “Windy Mountain.”
Lorenzen joined the troop in April 1999, but didn’t become scoutmaster until 2011. He described the position as being similar to a ringleader and said the role mostly required him to supervise and chaperone.
During his tenure, Lorenzen, who has a background in computer science, taught his scouts a wide range of subjects, from robotics and pioneering to cooking.
Beyond those skills, Lorenzen said the Boy Scouts give children an advantage, as it teaches them about leadership, morals, community service and citizenship. Scouts are regularly exposed to new hobbies and careers.
“It makes them so much more self-sufficient and wise in the way of the world, years before most children without scouting,” he said.
The entire Lorenzen family has been involved in Troop 566 in one way or another. His wife, Teresa, is “big time” into scouting and volunteer work, Lorenzen said. Among her many roles in the scouts, she has served as cubmaster.
“She’s the power behind the throne,” Lorenzen said of his wife.
All three of their sons were scouts. His youngest, Jeremy, a 17-year-old junior at Lynbrook High School, will go on to graduate from the troop in May, but was recently offered an assistant scoutmaster position.
“Having three boys in our family, scouting was a perfect fit to us,” Lorenzen said. “It allowed us to have a relationship with our kids and it allowed the kids to get all the benefits of being in the scouts.”
Half of the reason he decided to retire, Lorenzen said, is because he’d told himself he’d hang up his scoutmaster hat whenever his youngest son graduated from the troop. His health was another reason, as it no longer allows him to go on long hiking excursions.
With his newfound free time, Lorenzen said he’d dedicate himself to expanding the phone business that he runs with his wife from their home in Saratoga.
Lorenzen will be replaced as scoutmaster by David Okamura.
