Quote from Sean Wilson on November 30, 2022, 9:13 am

A while back, when my son was going through the Cub Scout and Boy Scout programs, I was pretty heavily involved in both.  First, I served as a Den Leader for four years with Pack 523, and later as Troop Secretary for three years in Troop 523.  During that later time, I also served as a Merit Badge Counselor for several badges:

• American Heritage
• Entrepreneurship
• Orienteering
• Robotics
• Programming
• Digital Technologies

Once my son reached Eagle Scout, and other endeavors started to encroach on my time, I removed myself from the Merit Badge Counseling program.

With my new interest in Ham Radio, though, and more free time (at least, than I've had before now), I've been thinking about renewing this service.  There's a merit badge, Radio, that would lend itself to my interests.  Not only might it be helpful to build interest in our hobby/service, it will also help teach me (or, at least reinforce) knowledge about the hobby.

So, finally deciding, I spent a portion of Sunday resurrecting my status as a Counselor.  This meant renewing my "Youth Protection Training", and sending a "Merit Badge Counselor Information" form to the NorthStar Council (our local Boy Scout council).  Because I had previously served in this capacity, I was able to skip the "this is a new application" option, and skip sending in an "Adult Volunteer Application" form.  That's the good news.  The "bad" news is: they added in all my previous merit badges instead of just listing Radio.  After mulling it over, I've decided to keep them all active.  Now to re-purchase some MB pamphlets, and purchase a new Radio one.

Interestingly, the requirements for the Radio MB seem almost as complicated as getting licensed as a Technician class Amateur!