Wilson County Beekeepers

Meeting Minutes – Monday, 7 June 2021

Carey Mitchell, President of the Wilson County Beekeepers Association called the meeting to order on Monday, June 7, 2021 at the Ward Ag Center.   There were 35 members and guests in attendance.  Minutes from the May meeting were approved as posted in the past newsletter.  The reported checkbook balance is $xxxx with a total of 176 current paid members.

Old Business Discussed:

• Field Day—May 15^th—Field Day at Sterling’s. Twenty-eight folks were in attendance.

  WCBA would like to thank Sterling for taking on this project again this year and would like to        award him with a $25.00 gift certificate to Cracker Barrel.   Thank you to Leonard Walker, Peggy     Scholes, and Russ Davis for their help.  Russ Davis had a brief report on Field Day.  The gift    certificate was mailed to Sterling.

• Plans are moving ahead for the Fair this year. Petra had the schedule at her table.  If you are willing    to sit a session or two, please sign up.  She also has bears for honey donations.  Remember, those that have won past New Beekeeper scholarships, you have a two-gallon honey commitment (that’s 8 quarts).  She is also collecting items for the raffle basket and photos of bees on flowers for one of      the displays.  Any help is greatly appreciated.
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New Business Discussed:                                                             

• We were needing to find someone to maintain the club’s Facebook page and Jenny Lamb stepped up. Thanks!
• TBA Conference is moving forward. You can check the list of speakers at their page.  Question…do we want to do Conference Scholarships again this year, and how many?  They have changed the format and are not offering a one-day admission.  Everyone is paying $40.00 to attend both days (if you are a TBA member) and $60.00 for non-members.  After discussion, it was decided that scholarships would be awarded to first-time attendees that attend both days.  A cap of $300.00 was approved, so the amount of scholarship will depend how many attend.  WCBA will not cover the TBA dues or meals…no more than $40.00 per attendee.  Scholarships will be paid post attendance.
• This year’s winner of the W.T. Nolen New Beekeeper Scholarship winner was awarded to Cecil & Sheril Ray along with a $250.00 check.
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A couple of reminders:

• If you have supers on, you should not be feeding
• If you are moving bees to a new location (away from your current location) you need to have them inspected BEFORE you move them
• If you have a problem, call a mentor before it gets to a point that it cannot be rectified (see the mentor map or check your membership book for list)
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Leonard’s Monthly To-Do

• Swarming is still going on
• Consider combining swarms with existing colonies. You will need to remove a queen, if you do
• Remember when you combine a weak swarm with a weak colony, you still have a weak colony.
• The flow will be over by the end of June
• Continue to treat for mites, hive beetles will start to get stronger going into summer
• If you plan to move bees for fall honey, you need to get ready and have your bees in place by the end of June
• Should be able to start taking honey off. Uncapped honey can be removed two weeks after the end of the nectar flow
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What’s blooming (at our house) that the bees are working:

Blackberries (domestic), Bottlebrush buckeye, Buckthorn,
Catalpa, Clover, Euonymus, False Indigo, Hydrangia,
Magnolia, Narrow Leaf Plantain, Privet, Tulip Poplar (still have some blooms left)
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Program:  Christy Luna from the NRCS Office had a presentation on grants available to land owners that would help beekeepers
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Announcements:

• July 5—Honey Extracting—Carey Mitchell
• Petra has purged some of her craft books…for sale at back window
• Starting next month, we will go back to serving refreshments
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Door Prizes:

8 frame queen excluder (donated by Bill Rourke)—Jenny Lamb
Smoker—Jeff Crutchfield
Hive Brush—Chris Felt
Hive Tool—Laurie Karr
Honey Candy—Preston Poteete
Vitex—Leonard Walker
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Tinker Vinson donated a veiled bee suit to the club to be given to the last person that joined the club that doesn’t already have one…and the winner was Rodney Arnold.

The meeting adjourned at 8:00 pm.

The Club’s current checkbook balance is $_______________

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Respectfully submitted:  Petra Mitchell, Secretary/Treasurer
Wilson County Beekeepers Association
June 8, 2021

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