Wilson County Beekeepers

Meeting Minutes – 4 November 2013

Ninety-six members and guests were welcomed by President Carey Mitchell for the November 4^th meeting of the Wilson County Beekeepers.  A request was made for the approval of the October minutes as posted in the newsletter.

Old Business discussed:

• The October Short Course had 24 newbees attend.  A big thanks was given to all mentor that helped with the program.
• There are still WCBA shirts available for $10 each along with Beetle Blasters ($1.00) and Beetle Jails ($1.50)
• New designs are in the works, and Peter will report at the January meeting.
• Still have some library material out that needs to be returned.  As the membership has grown, (278), there will only be 2 items per family for monthly checkout.
• Fair Appreciation Dinner is November 14..if you worked the Honey Booth, please let Petra know so we can put your name on the guest list.  The dinner will be in the East/West building starting at 6:30 pm.
• Fred Dawson reviewed the New Beekeeper Scholarship Program:  a total of 5 scholarships at $250 each will be awarded…if more than 5 newbees are eligible, there will be a blind drawing.

Requirements:
**Attend ALL three days of short course
**Attend 70% of the monthly meetings (June picnic & December dinner not included)
**Hold a WCBA membership  **Hold a TBA membership  **Monthly contact with primary mentor or recognized club mentor
**Attend field day or mentor equivalent (for those that work Saturday)
**Donate 2 gallons of honey back to club  **Only one scholarship per family

The Scholarship proposal will be revisited annually

New Business:

• Next year’s membership books will be printed soon.  Please check to be sure you contact information is correct.  Speakers for next year include:  Clarence Collison, Kent Williams, Arlis Swafford, Trevor Qualls, Mike Haney, Charlie Parton, Melissa Ross, Jim Garrison, Paulette Scott, Barry Richards, and David & Deanna Hughes.  Full schedule with topics can be found on the website.
• The Christmas Dinner was discussed:  December 2 at 7:00 pm.  The club will be furnishing the turkey, ham, coffee and soft drinks.  Each family is asked to bring a covered dish and a dessert.  Volunteers were asked to bring rolls and butter, and regular and sweet tea.  Invitations will go out November 22…really need to know how many will be attending for seating purposes.
• Ballots were passed to select the Charity for December…It turned out that Wounded Warriors had the most votes, so we will be doing monetary donations in December, and New Leash on Life will be the charity for June.
• Election time for WCBA…only one seat changed…Herb Lester replaced Jil LaBelle as alternate:

Slate voted on was:

President:  Carey Mitchell
Vice President:  Fred Dawson
Secretary/Treasurer:  Petra Mitchell
Directors:  Fred Dawson, Carey Mitchell, Candice Thompson

Alternates:  Sue Dickhaus, Herb Lester, David Thompson

Membership voted to keep slate as stated.

• Dean & Sharon Nuss and Wayne Thornton gave back 3 quarts each for their Hive Grant payback
• Carey thanked Caryn Crowston, who has written the newsletter for the past several years.  Greg Tomerlin will be taking her place as editor and if you want to add anything to the newsletter please contact Greg
• Kelcie Meador has agreed to handle the library for the next year, and the club thanked her for hard work and efforts.

Fred’s Monthly To-Do:

• Put a weight on outer cover
• Make sure you have ventilation
• Make plans now for what method you will use for emergency feeding:  fondant, candy canes, marshmallows
• Begin making plans for next year
• READ~~READ~~READ

Carey introduced Harris Overholt who is a member of Allen County (KY) Beekeepers who had a wonderful program on pollen…trapping, cleaning, selling.

Walter T. Kelly has free shipping the week of Thanksgiving (November 24-30) with a minimum $200 order.  If you want to do a group order, send your order information to Petra and she will put the order together.  She will also use her tax exempt card for these orders.

Our next meeting is the Christmas Dinner on December 2.

Prizes for the evening:

• Magnet from Walter T. Kelly—Jeremy Blackwell
• Honey Candy from GloryBee—Helen Vose
• Sticker from the National Honey Board—Caryn Dawson
• Smoker Plug—Norbert Braunwalder
• Bee Brush—Kelcie Meador
• Soap from Paula Rogers—Dean Proctor
• Fleece blanket from Corky Sharpe—Sally Syes

Meeting adjourned at 8:30 for refreshments and fellowship.

Respectfully submitted:  Petra Mitchell, Secretary/Treasurer—Wilson County Beekeepers Association, November 7, 2013