What makes this story so important is that it is about much more than radios. It is about giving students access to skills that are increasingly missing from many school programs. As teacher Tom Perkins, W1FMF, explained in the segment, Milford High School does not currently have a dedicated electronics class or electronics program, making amateur radio a practical way to introduce students to modern technology, communications, and problem-solving.

On Thursday evening, February 2, the Granite State ARA participated in an inaugural event at Milford High School called Milford Applied Technology CTE. Samantha Belcourt-Director, Jennifer DiMaria-Career Development Specialist, and Frank Xydias-engineering and STEM educator hosted the event. U.S. Congress representative Ann Kuster participated in the opening remarks.

Since cellular service is essentially non-existent at the mountain, a commercial repeater used some years ago to link the coordination personnel on one side of the mountain to various encampments on the opposite side of the mountain was reactivated. The primary purpose is to deal with any emergencies, as well as situational awareness and general communications between the leaders and chaperones