After a call for nominations, a lengthy review of the nominees by the Distinguished Service Award Committee, and approval from the board of directors of the GCSANE the call came into Mike Hermanson’s phone on December 17, 2011. Hermanson was told he was the winner of our association’s most prestigious award, the Distinguished Service Award for 2012.

A surprised and modest Hermanson responded with an appreciative “That’s Fantastic, I’m so honored.” How did Hermanson’s road to such a high honor begin? His love for golf started before he was ten years old when he would team up with best friend from 2 doors down in his Gardner neighborhood, Dave Comee, for a frequent round of golf. They would play Gardner Municipal Golf Course on a regular basis and his love for the game of golf had started.

Before ever landing a head superintendent position Hermanson worked for 2 summers at Gardner Municipal Golf Course while in high school in 1968. After high school Mike enrolled in the Stockbridge School of Agriculture and was able to start and complete an internship at Oak Hill Country Club in Fitchburg, Massachusetts. Upon graduation from Stockbridge in 1970 Mike was facing a draft position of #21 for the U.S. military. Rather than wait for the inevitable Mike decided to beat Uncle Sam to the punch and enlisted as a U.S. National Guardsman for 6 months of active duty followed by 6 years of part-time service. In 1972 Gardner Municipal Golf Course was advertising through the Civil Service Program that they were looking for a head superintendent. The previous superintendent, Dan Donavan, had been the superintendent for 36 years. Whoever landed this job had some huge shoes to fill and Mike realized this. Hermanson landed an interview and was going to have the opportunity to sit in front of the 3-person commission that was going to decide who the next head superintendent was going to be for Gardner. One interview led to a second and the day following his second interview he got the call. Mike Hermanson was asked to be the next superintendent of Gardner Municipal Golf Course. But wait, it wasn’t that easy. Mike was told he had to complete a successful “6-month probationary period” before it was official. A member of the green’s committee back in 1972 was Bernie LaFortune, a friend of Mike’s to this day  who still plays a regular round of golf at Gardner. As it turns out, childhood golf partner Dave Comee was also carving out a nice niche as a superintendent himself eventually landing at The Winchendon School Golf Club.

The next year Mike joined the Golf Course Superintendents Association of New England. After settling in as a fixture at Gardner Mike was approached by fellow superintendent Jim Fitzroy in 1992 and was asked if he would like to serve on the board of directors for the GCSANE as the golf committee chairman under President Steve Chiavaroli. Mike had no idea that this would be the beginning of a 16 year stint on the board of directors. Hermanson spent 9 years as golf chairman before eventually working his way all the way to president of the GCSANE in 2004-2005.

Hermanson says the most influential people during his time on the board were Jim Fitzroy and Bob Ruszala. “These are the guys that made me excited to represent this association, especially at events such as MGA conferences etc.” When asked what his two most memorable moments were while at Gardner he said “Winning the 1981 Gardner club championship is at the top of the list. My handicap was about a 3-4 back then and being considered a full member of the club was a privilege. Also, my second most memorable moment while at Gardner was being able to host a United States Public Links National Qualifier for the USGA in 2005. There were some huge names in that field including Anthony Kim who finished 2nd and Jimmy Renner who finished 3rd. I am also very proud of the fact that I hosted 3 GCSANE events.” Who would have imagined Mike Hermanson would have had a longer tenure as the head superintendent at Gardner than his old boss who was there 36 years. Mike totaled 37 years at Gardner Municipal.

Mike is still involved with many committees including 15 years on the S&B committee with Bob Healy and Dave Commee, 4 GCSAA committees including the Election Committee, the Tournament Committee, the Nominating Committee and the Strategic Communications Committee. Mike is also involved with the University of Massachusetts Alumni Turf Group. Since the untimely loss of best friend and fellow superintendent Dave Comee, the past superintendent at The Winchendon School Golf Club, Mike has dedicated his time to mentoring Winchendon’s next superintendent Corey Murphy as he adjusts to his new role.

As it turns out, Dave Comee wrote not one but two letters of nomination for Mike Hermanson for the DSA award in 2011 and verbally asked permission for his nomination letters to be valid for the nomination process in 2012 after Dean Robertson was named the eventual winner. Permission was granted and other nomination letters rolled in to validate Dave’s wishes. “I had no idea that Dave nominated me.” Mike said.

“I want to thank the board, the Distinguished Service Award Committee and all the people that supported me. If I had one message for younger members it’s to get involved. Join a committee, host a meeting and attend meetings regularly. I also want to thank Sharon Brownell for all her hard work during my years serving on the board. She made my job much easier.”

Congratulations to Mike Hermanson, Distinguished Service Award Winner-2012. Well deserved!

“I want to thank the board, the Distinguished Service Award Committee and all the people that supported me. If I had one message for younger members it’s to get involved. Join a committee, host a meeting and attend meetings regularly.” Mike Hermanson