Posted at: 09/25/2012 9:42 PM
Updated at: 09/25/2012 10:21 PM
By: Dietrich Nissen

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Top National Guard Recruiter Gets Rare Opportunities

(ABC 6 News) -- The top recruiter for Minnesota's Army National Guard is in Southeast Minnesota. The armory in Owatonna has been Sergeant Michael Beelow's recruiting station for less than two years.

"I look for people that are in sports, people that do activities in the community, top of their class," says Beelow. In that short time, he signed 31 people to the Guard in just six months. Something hard, even for veteran recruiters.    

"You know you want to be the best at what you do and it turned out that this way this year, so it felt really good," says Beelow.

His hard work earned him rare honors including these swords, but also rare opportunities.

"That's actually, uh, when they're getting ready when we first got there," says Beelow.

At a Vikings game on September 9th, thousands of people cheered as the Janesville native stood on the field and was named Solider of the Game.

"It's a lot different than, ya know, sitting in the stands,” says Beelow. “It's a lot louder than it is up there. It's probably ten times...ten times that volume when you're on the field."

But it's not just pro-football, he'll also throw out the first pitch at the Twins versus Yankees game Wednesday afternoon.

"It should be pretty neat. Not many people get to do that," says Beelow. To prepare for his throw, Beelow hopped on YouTube, to get some tips on how not to throw.

"I should be able to do better than that," says Beelow as he watched others throw their balls into the ground. If his hard work continues, he may get another chance.

Beelow plans on recruiting in Owatonna for a while, and says hard work always has its rewards, including setting a state record.

His superiors say he's the first person to earn the Guard's Rookie Of The Year and top recruiting award at the same time.