Wilson County Beekeepers

Meeting Minutes – Monday, 3 May 2021

Wilson County Beekeepers President, Carey Mitchell, called Monday, May 3, 2021 at the Ward Ag Center to order with 70 members and guests in attendance.  Minutes from the April meeting were approved as posted in the past newsletter.  The reported checkbook balance is $xxx.xx with a total of 166 current paid members.
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Old Business Discussed:

• TBA Board Meeting via Zoom was on April 8…highlights:
  * Conference scheduled for October 8 & 9 in Murfreesboro.  Registration will begin in May
  * State has hired additional personnel; Mike Studer is training them as inspectors.  The local area
  inspector program will continue.
  * The Master Beekeeper Program will be on-line this year; there are 200 slots with 12 weekly
  meetings—one must attend 10 classes to apply for TAEP Grant and/or receive certification.
  Information is on the UT website
  * TBA elections are this fall.  Anyone interested in taking on a position, contact Howard Kerr
  * Several other volunteer positions are available…Conference, Facebook page assistance, web
  page assistance, newsletter committee, fund raising committee

• Several attended Kent Williams Bee School last month with great reviews
• Field Day—Jim Murff will be out of town on May 15^th, so we have to cancel the Lebanon location.  However, Sterling is still hosting in Mt. Juliet
• Plans are moving ahead for the Fair this year. Petra will have the schedule at the next meeting, so if you are willing to sit a session or two, please sign up.  Things will be a bit different this year…we will not be doing any live demonstrations and we will not be sampling honey (less people contact)  However, we will still have honey for sale and doing the raffle basket.  If you have any items to donate to the basket, please bring to the next few meetings.  And we will have the sign-up for the Short Course.
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New Business Discussed:                                                             

• Speaking of the Short Course, most of you know that we do not pay for the use of the building monthly, but if a paying party comes along, we may get bumped and that hasn’t happened often. Until this year…The Short Course has been postponed until November 2-4, but we will have it.  (This is the night after our regular November meeting).
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Leonard’s Monthly To-Do

• Bees are making honey.  Be sure to have supers for honey collection
• Check to make sure bees are not backfilling brood nest.  Very hard to turn around
• Put a honey super under the brood next.  Field bees will use that instead of backfilling brood next.
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What’s blooming (at our house after the freeze) that the bees are working:

Blackberries, Cherry, Clover, Creeping Charlie, Holly (if they didn’t freeze),
Honeysuckle bush, Locust, Palonia, Tulip Poplar (if they didn’t freeze), and
Pond/Creek Willow
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Program:  Kent Williams had the most informative program on the Importance of a good Queen and anything else folks wanted to talk about.
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Announcements:

• Extractor for Sale…silent bid. Top bid takes it home in June
• Bill Rourke—has homemade old timey aprons and face masks for sale with bee themed fabric
• May 8—Farm Customer Appreciation Day—Ferguson Farms from 7:00 am to 6:00 pm—fun and games for kids of all ages—1535 Pinhook Road, Lebanon
• Christy Luna (ASCS Office)—Grants available to
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Door Prizes:

• Honey Candy — Becky Brazier
• Hive Tool — Roger Flatt
• Bee Brush — Andy Harper
• 1 gallon pro feeder–in hive — Les Burton
• 6 mo. ABJ subscription — Sheril Ray
• 8 frame queen excluder (donated by Bill Rourke) — Robin Majors
• Pollen Patties (donated by Lucy Freeman) — Edward Conrad
• WCBA Hat — Allen Ferguson

The meeting adjourned at 9:05 pm.

The Club’s current checkbook balance is $_______________

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Respectfully submitted:  Petra Mitchell, Secretary/Treasurer
Wilson County Beekeepers Association
May 4, 2021

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