Wilson County Beekeepers

Meeting Minutes – Monday, 06 March 2017

On March 6, 2017 Wilson County Beekeepers Association’s President, Carey Mitchell welcomed a large crowd of 84 members, guests, and visitors to the monthly meeting.  The minutes of the February meeting were approved.

Old Business Discussed:

• DUES are DUE!! New membership books are available for those that have already paid.
• There was a good turnout at the February 25 Refresher Workshop with 24 in attendance. The day was cold, but there was an opportunity to get out and light smokers.
• The TBA Board Meeting followed and a special thanks to Sharon Nuss and Jennifer Ferguson for providing cookies for refreshment.
• Candice Thompson was to recap the board meeting, but wasn’t in attendance. Maybe next month.
• The Swarm List was available should members want to add their name. You do have to be a current WCBA member in order to be on the list.
• Field Day will be in May (date will be announced at the April meeting) with Sterling Earhart (Mt. Juliet) and Jim Murff and Mike Belcher (Lebanon) opening their yards.
• Those that ordered Wilbanks bees, Susan Carter said that the first shipment (April 8) has been pushed up one week and they will be delivering them to the fairgrounds on Sunday, April 2 at 9:30 am. Get your equipment ready.

New Business Discussed:

• Charles Grogan has forwarded his resignation as director due to unforeseen family obligations. Jessica Dodds stepped up to take on the position, and Kim Walters took over Jessica’s alternate director position
• Jessica Dodds has been moving forward with the State Bee License Plate project, which will be proposed to the legislative body by Mark Pody in April and if approved, there will need to be a minimum 1,000 pre-ordered tags in order to move forward. She will keep us informed.
• Jessica also reported that Farm Day will be May 10 and 11 and was asking for volunteers.
• John Skinner has planned four beginner beekeeping classes scheduled for 2017 in Memphis, Maryville, Mountain City, and Carthage. Check the UT website for full details.
• WCBA has presented Wilson County Promotions a check in the amount of $550.00 for full sponsorship of the Honey Show. The total is down this year, as we have reworked the catalog with category changes and deletions.
• Fiddlers Grove is hosting a Spring Fest, and Jessica Dodds will be representing WCBA on April 29 from 10-4.
• We have received grants from TBA…$300.00 for the Short Course Grant and $200.00 for the Education Grant to cover some of the cost of books and posters purchased last year.

Margaret had her To Do List:

• Prepare equipment for packages and nucs
• Inspect hives—queen-right/brood
• Replace frames if needed
• Check honey reserves and feed as needed—hives often survive winter but not spring
• Read!
• Check out the WCBA library

Charlie Parton from Blount County Beekeepers had a wonderful PowerPoint program on Making and Using Nucs.

Announcements:

• April 10—Clarence Collison—Swarm Prevention

Carey and Margaret handed out the evening’s door prizes to:  Philip Chapman, Joan Giltner, Homer Dudley, Debbie Bobbitt, and Becky Owen

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Respectfully submitted:  Petra Mitchell, Secretary/Treasure
Wilson County Beekeepers Association
March 7, 2017

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