At 13 years old, Emmett Haggenmiller has already opened a bank account, managed a professional budget, coordinated meals and logistics for camping trips, and led community service projects restoring monarch butterfly habitats.
He's not a business prodigy. He's a patrol leader with Troop 223.
The Pacific Palisades-based scouting troop, one of the most storied in the nation with more than 1,000 Eagle Scouts to its name, has spent the months since the Palisades fire regrouping, relocating and refocusing on its core mission: developing young people into capable leaders.
Emmett, a third-year Scout, earned the role of Patrol Leader for the Vikings patrol earlier this year. During his six-month term, he has managed finances, planned meals and shopped for monthly campouts, organized recreational outings and coordinated volunteer service projects — all while balancing school and the typical demands of adolescence.
"Scouting is a great way to learn how to be a leader and to gain responsibility and maturity," Emmett said. "It is a big investment of time and effort but if you see it through and become an Eagle, it will really pay off."
The troop operates under a youth-led model, where Scouts like Emmett take ownership of planning and execution while adult volunteers provide guidance and mentorship. By the time a Scout reaches the rank of Eagle, they have typically mastered real-world skills in communication, budgeting and project management.
Guiding that development is Scoutmaster Mike Lanning, who at 93 years old has been with Troop 223 since 1953 — a remarkable 72-year tenure during which he has led more than 1,000 young people to scouting's highest rank.
The troop faced significant upheaval following the Palisades fire in January. Dedicated volunteers quickly banded together to find a new meeting location, temporarily relocating to Calvary Christian School in Pacific Palisades until space at St. Matthew's School and Church becomes available. They assembled a revised calendar that gave families time to regroup while maintaining the community bonds that define the program.
Volunteers also coordinated donations of gear and uniforms for scouts who lost everything in the fire. Some families have temporarily relocated as far as Thousand Oaks and the Conejo Valley but continue commuting to the Westside for weekly meetings and scout-led activities.
Those activities reflect the program's emphasis on experiential learning. Emmett recently led his patrol on a "Good Turn" volunteer trip, pulling invasive plants with the Resource Conservation District of the Santa Monica Mountains to help restore a monarch overwintering habitat in lower Topanga State Park — part of the Palisades fire burn zone.
For a "Career Trip," Emmett coordinated a visit with recently retired rocket scientist Adrienne Russo, who shared her aerospace engineering expertise with the Vikings patrol outside Santa Monica's Museum of Flying on Feb. 28. The meeting provided real-world context as the Scouts work toward their Space Exploration merit badge.
And for pure fun, Emmett organized an outing to Maze Room Escape Games in West Los Angeles, preceded by a stop at Beard Papa's on Sawtelle for cream puffs. The patrol escaped successfully.
When asked about his favorite scouting experience, Emmett pointed to last summer's High Adventure trip in Montana.
"We went rafting and camping along a river for a week," he said. "The second week, we backpacked along the Hobnail Tom trail in the Scapegoat Wilderness, the highlight being summit Mt. Bugle with my crew. It was an amazing experience that helped me to better realize the importance of protecting nature."
This summer, Troop 223 will travel to Denmark for the Nordic Jamboree, where 30,000 participants from around the world will gather.
Spring marks the start of the scouting calendar year, and Troop 223 is welcoming new members. Boys and girls ages 10 to 12 in fifth and sixth grade are invited to attend weekly meetings — girls meet Monday nights and boys meet Tuesday nights. The troop, which officially operates under the newly rebranded Scouting America (formerly Boy Scouts of America), draws members from across Los Angeles, including Westwood, Santa Monica, Venice, the South Bay and Orange County.
Families interested in learning more can visit scouts223.org or contact Greg Frost at frostfamily@frostinvestigations.com.