“To serve God and my country” is something that every girl pledges to do when she makes the Girl Scout Promise. Service to country can take as many forms as there are Girl Scout troops. The pledge “to serve ... my country” sends a select group of patriotic teens to Mackinac Island each summer, to serve on the Governor’s Honor Guard, as Mackinac Island Honor Scouts.

Kirstyn Hein, of Pinckney, is one of those girls who returns to honor guard service each year. This summer, she will be conducting flag ceremonies, guiding tourists around Fort Mackinac and doing service projects with 57 others from the Ann Arbor Region of Girl Scouts Heart of Michigan. Kirstyn, in her fifth summer with MIHS, has earned the job of patrol leader for Patrol 7901. MIHS Patrol 7901 has been serving as the Governor’s Honor Guard since 1974, when local Girl Scouts (from what was then Huron Valley Girl Scout Council) petitioned the wife of then Gov. William Milliken to allow girls to serve on the island, just as Boy Scouts had been doing since 1929. (President Gerald Ford was one of the early Eagle Scouts who served as a Mackinac Island Honor Scout.)

As a patrol leader, Kirstyn helps to train the younger girls who are serving for the first time. “I tell them that it’s a lot of work,” she said, “that they shouldn’t expect to just sit around and be tourists. It’s very cool to watch the girls grow and mature as they serve.”

The girls practice flag etiquette and marching. They learn about the history of the island and Fort Mackinac. The honor guard is responsible for raising and lowering the 20’ by 36’ U.S. flag in formal ceremonies each morning and evening, complete with cannon and trumpet salutes. They also stand guard duty at various posts around the island and answer tourists' questions. They perform community service projects, such as cleaning and painting benches, clearing trails, and cleaning cemetery headstones.

Thirteen Girl Scout and Boy Scout groups (Including Troop 609 from the Saginaw Region of Girl Scouts Heart of Michigan) serve throughout the summer. Patrol 7901 will be on the island the last week of August through Labor Day, when they usually see Gov. Jennifer Granholm and her family. The young people who serve their country as Mackinac Island Honor Scouts have become a tourist attraction themselves, and their service performing flag ceremonies provides a “photo opportunity” for visitors.

Char Luttrell is a Communications Specialist for Girl Scouts Heart of Michigan. You can reach her at cluttrell@gshom.org.