I am a US Army Veteran, and a few years ago, I made a decidedly non-masculine sound for an otherwise masculine guy whenever a bee or wasp or even butterfly flew at me. Despite that, I was intrigued when the VA sent out a notice about the Heroes to Hives program. I love honey, I mean, if nobody is looking, I'll take a hit straight out of the bear. I love homebrewing beer and making wines and mead, so it resonated with me. I had to get over the mewling noises, though.
It was a year-long course, with over a hundred hours of videos and even more self-study. I was fortunate to have an open teaching Apiary in Warrensburg, MO running in partnership with the H2H course. Without that hands-on training, I would never have been ready. 2022 was my first year with my own bees and no training wheels, and I am even bringing my Father-In-Law along for the ride. Despite all the work setting up a new apiary, I even took and passed my Journeyman exam for the Great Plains Master Beekeeper certification.
Quite possibly the coolest thing, though: "They" say you either make bees or you make honey. It references the fact that when you start out new, you and the bees have a lot of work to do to establish new hives. I purchased two packages and another two nucs from a mentor. I grew those and did a couple of splits, adding two brand-new hives from a couple of Russian queens. Even after "making bees" this year, the bees surprised me with about 160# of gorgeous honey.
So, here I am. There is some interest in local honey, and I want to be able to share it with people who appreciate it. Head over to the contact page and give me a yell if you'd like a bit of local golden honey.