Wilson County Beekeepers

Meeting Minutes  – Monday, 7 May 2018

Carey Mitchell, Wilson County Beekeepers President called the Monday, May 7 meeting to order  at the Ward Ag Center.  There was a total of 73 members and guest in attendance.  The minutes from the April meeting were approved.

Old Business Discussed:

• A big thank you! again to Sterling for a stellar program on queen rearing last month. Fabulous Job!!!
• Thanks to Dale McCleskey for stepping up and filling the alternate director position left by Kim Walters.
• The T-Shirt order form was available. Color choices:  Heather red with black lettering, Moss green with white lettering, Antique Jae with white lettering, and Tan with black lettering…cost is $10.00 per shirt…no matter the size.  Need 12 shirts per color in order to place the order.  Order deadline is May 31.
• Thanks to all who brought in items for Animal Rescue Corp. Thanks to Candice Thompson for delivering these items.
• Several members attended Ken Williams’ school…nothing but rave reviews
• A few members went to the HoneyBee Convention in Tazewell and thoroughly enjoyed themselves.
• A reminder to newbees…have you reached out to a mentor. YOU need to make contact…it’s not a mentor’s responsibility to check if you need help.

New Business Discussed: 

• Field Day…May 19 (with May 26 as a rain day). Start time will be 10:00 am.  Thanks to Sterling and Jim for opening up their yards and giving us their time.  Locations are in your membership book and a few copies of directions are at the back table.  Remember, don’t bring your hive tools or gloves, and make sure your jacket/suit is clean.
• Petra has a copy of the fair schedule for anyone wanting to make an early commitment. Please keep in mind that we are looking for items for the raffle basket.  These can be brought to any of the meetings before the fair.
• June 4 will be our annual picnic. Each family is asked to bring a covered dish AND a dessert.  The club will provide the barbeque, chips and all drinks.  We will be collecting monetary donations for Wounded Warrior Project.  Reminders will be sent out a week before the picnic and RSVP’s will need to be made by June 2 so we know how much meat to order and how many eats to set up.

Jessica’s monthly To Do’s

• Your hives should be at their full operation. You should see lots of nectar and pollen being brought to the hive
• You should not be feeding your hive at this time, unless you have a nuc or package.
• Brood chambers should be full of eggs and larvae.
• Make sure your brood boxes are not looking congested, as this will encourage swarming.
• Look for swarm cells. Know the difference between supercedure and swarm cells.
• Your bees should be busy filling honey supers. You can create a small entrance at your supers by drilling a 1” hole in a super or by adding a small entrance spacer
• License plate numbers are in the 600’s. We need to get 1,000 by the end of the month.  Please spread the word.

Farm Day is May 9 and 10…Jessica needs all the volunteers that are willing to help.

Jay Williams from Franklin, TN had a wonderful PowerPoint presentation on Bee Removal and was around after the meeting to answer any questions.

Announcements:

• May 19—Field Day (May 25^th, Rain Day)
• June 2—RSVP deadline
• June 4—WCBA Picnic

Aimee and Andrew Dorman have purchased Breeden’s Orchard and are looking for honey and other homemade items to sell in the General Store. Please contact Aimee at 954-854-4325 or Aimee@BreeedensOrchard.com if you have any questions.

Carey and Jessica handed out door prizes at the end of the meeting to Donel King, Michael Siemens, Michael Bell, Walt Syes, Allen Ferguson, and Abigail Siemens.

The meeting adjourned at 8:17 for refreshments and fellowship.

Respectfully submitted:  Petra Mitchell, Secretary/Treasurer
Wilson County Beekeepers Association
May 8, 2018

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