We are very pleased to announce the Troop 9 Merit Badge Seminar at The High School of Saint Thomas More, Champaign, IL on November 15, 2025. Registration will open on Wednesday, September 17 at 7:30 PM CST and closes on October 12. The registration link and instructions will be posted here by September 10.

The High School of St. Thomas More (STM) has allowed us to use its facility again this year.  We have provided a good selection of Eagle and non-Eagle merit badges at this site to facilitate needs.  

Registration will go live Wednesday, September 17th, at 7:30PM CST.  The registration link can be found here, Holy Cross Troop 9 MBS Registration @ STM.  It is suggested that you create an account prior to signing up.  This can be done here, Signup Genius Register Account.  We will have a couple of people checking our MBS registration email when everything goes live.  If there are issues or questions, please contact us.

*Doors at STM will open at 7:00am to start checking people in.  Classes will begin at 8:00am*

We are planning to have a few offsite classes at Parkland College and IBEW Local 601.  The bus for the morning classes will leave at 7:45am sharp.

*We are happy to share that registration will be $30.  The Astronomy class will have an additional $10 fee.  Information on making payments will be emailed following registration.*

We are very pleased to announce the Troop 9 Merit Badge Seminar at Holy Cross School, Champaign, IL on March 1, 2025. Registration will open on Wednesday, January 15 at 7:30 PM CST and closes on February 8. The registration link and instructions will be posted here by January 7.

We are extremely excited to expand this year!  The High School of St. Thomas More (STM) has allowed us to use its facility this year.  We will have a second, exclusive site here.  We have provided a good selection of Eagle and non-Eagle merit badges at this site to facilitate needs.  There will NOT be any offsite classes or travel back to HCS.  Scouts at the STM site will remain there all day.  Troops can split between the two sites, but they MUST have two leaders at each site for them to split.

*Troops will be allowed to camp outside at STM.  Porta-Potties will be provided.

Registration will go live Wednesday, January 15th, at 7:30PM CST.  The registration link for the Holy Cross site can be found here, Holy Cross Troop 9 MBS Registration @ Holy Cross.  The registration link for the STM site can be found here, Holy Cross Troop 9 MBS Registration @ STM.  It is suggested that you create an account prior to signing up.  This can be done here, Signup Genius Register Account.  We will have a couple of people checking our MBS registration email when everything goes live.  If there are issues or questions, please contact us.

*CPR certification will be $25 for certification

*Doors to Holy Cross will open at 6:45am to start checking people in.  Classes will begin at 8:00am*

*Doors at STM will open at 7:15am to start checking people in.  Classes will begin at 8:00am*

*We are happy to share that registration has remained the same $35.  Information on making payments will be emailed following registration.*

• The class schedule is now available. We are happy to share that registration remains $35, despite transportation increases, supply cost increases, and increase cost to register counselor. Information on making payments will be emailed following registration.
• We will use SignUpGenius for registration. On registration day, simply sign up for the desired quantity of each class section - no need to tell us which seats are for which scouts at this point. This should greatly speed up the registration day process. We will follow up in the days after registration to collect the rest of the information and payment. 
• Initial Max Seat Limit: To provide the greatest opportunities for scouts from all troops to attend popular classes, troops may sign up for no more than 5 seats in any one class on the first day of registration. After the first day, this limit will be removed and all remaining seats will be available.
• New this year: Dentistry, Railroading, Chess, Indian Lore, Programming, Personal Fitness, Bugling, Plumbing, and possibly Art or Pottery
• Additional sections: Citizenship in the Nation, Citizenship in the World, Communication
• Not offered: Disability Awareness, Weather, Architecture, Bird Study/Mammal Study, Fish and Wildlife Management, Chemistry 
• Note: We are still finalizing counselors for a few classes, so the class schedule is subject to change.
• Homework: We are still finalizing the list of requirements to be completed during the classes. A preliminary list including homework is available, but is subject to change. We will post the final list here by February 20.
• Onsite Adults: Each troop should have at least two adults who can attend a class to help supervise.  We will need adults in Citizenship in Society to help facilitate the discussions.
• Cheese pizza will be provided.  We are in the process of finalizing the logistics of lunch and where troops will be able to eat.
• No Friday overnight accommodations

• Release form
• Packing list (scroll towards bottom of page) for caving includes clothes that can get VERY Dirty. Recommended clothes:
• Inner layer: T-shirt or long sleeve shirt
• Inner layer: thermal pants or equivalent
• Outer layer: long sleeve shirt or sweatshirt
• Outer layer: jeans or long pants (no sweatpants or jogging pants)
• heavy socks -2 pair (wool or cold weather gear best)
• boots or high-top tennis shoes
• kneepads
• gloves
• trash bag for wet clothing and shoes
• shower supplies
• Sleeping bag and a pillow
• Flashlight
• Money for dinner on Friday

• Saturday Dinner: Wendy’s in Brownburg
• Sunday Breakfast: Quick foods (oatmeal, poptarts, fruit)
• Sunday Lunch: Sandwiches, chips, cookies
• Sunday Dinner: Pizza
• Monday Breakfast: Hot breakfast provided by Marengo staff

• No eating, drinking, or smoking inside the cabin. All cooking and eating must be done outside.
• Minors must be accompanied by an adult when visiting the giftshop
• Observe the quiet hours 11:00pm to 7:00am.