Thank you for the welcome Joe. Yes, I've found an association in our county that I plan to join after the new year. I'm also planning on taking a class at some point. In the meantime I'm reading all I can and learning a lot. The more I read the more fascinated I am.
We aren't planning a big operation, just a couple of hives for our own honey production and to possibly give to friends and family. However I can certainly see how that plan can explode into many hives. We have a couple of swarms that come through every year and land in the same tree and we are optimistic that we will be able to trap them and place them in our first hives next spring.