Midwestern Beekeepers Association
May Meeting Minutes
Date: May 21, 2015, at Graceway Fellowship Hall in Kansas City, Mo.
Attendance: 90
Open: President Cathy Misko called the meeting to order 7:08 welcoming all, directing newcomers to Men/Women’s facilities and discussing benefits of club membership. She reminded everyone to be sure to purchase their tickets for the Queen Raffle/$1 a ticket and bid high if they wanted something in the Silent Auction. 100% goes to the Youth Scholarship Program. Cathy M. asked everyone to introduce themselves to each other and share how long they have had bees and what they liked best about honey bees.
Introduction of Officers: All officers were asked to stand and raise their hand as their names were called. Absent Officers: Tanya Fisher, Cheryl Westra, Janice Britz, Terry O’Bryan, Ezekiel Amador III, and Rick Messenger. Cathy M. told attendees these officers are here to help them with questions they may have. She then asked if there were any corrections needed to the April online minutes? No corrections/filed as posted.
Reports:
Librarian: Tom O’Neill reported a new book for our library titled “Beekeeper’s Problem Solver” by Dr. James E. Tew, published 2015. It covers 100 common problems explored/explained including equipment, Queen production, pest control and honey production.
Honey Plants: Tom Britz discussed honey flow briefly.
Membership: In the absence of Tanya Fisher, membership renewals and/or forms need to be turned in to Wes Johnston or Cindy Connell at the back table.
Announcements:
Cathy M. reminded all to check out the lists at the back table: Volunteer Swarm Retrieval, Name tag orders, Mentor, Stained Glass orders or pick up, Educational Outreach events and EZ Nuc orders from Stuart Dietz/Dean Sanders until gone. She thanked everyone who assisted with the Educational Outreach events the month of April. Wes and Wanda Johnston, Pete and Laura Fish, Dean Sanders and the Mo State Honey Queen, Erin Mullins were thanked for the Queen Rearing Class.
The Nuc Shadowing with John Speckman and the Apis Students in the field has been delayed secondary to flooded Apiaries. Watch our website and Facebook for updates.
June 6, 2015: NEBKA Funday. More information in the “Beeline” or NEBKA’s website bstbees @embarqmail.com.
June 20, 2015- Pollinator Week @ Powell Gardens. Contact Cathy M. if you would like to help.
June 22-23, 2015- Cultivate KC Urban Garden Tour. Brief discussion.
Cathy M. reported the Honey Bill (SB500/HB1093) passed and will now go to the Governor to be signed.
An individual is looking for hives to be placed on 20 acres of organic land, east of Watkins Mill State Park between Kearney and Excelsior Springs, Mo. Contact Cathy M. if interested.
Program: Laura Fish had a few announcements to share. Upcoming extra educational programs at Bass Pro: Thursday, June 4, 2015, 7pm, Graftless Queenrearing with Robert Whenham. Thursday, July2, 2015, 7pm, Personal Experiences w/Top Bar, Russian, Warre and Langstroth Hives with Matthew Fleming.
2015,7pm, State Fair-Why you should attend and the products you should enter, with speakers Dean Sanders, Wanda Johnston, Jim & Tanya Fisher. Thursday, July 16, 2015, 7pm, Extraction with Roger Nichols. Sunday, August 9, 2015, 2pm, MBA Annual Picnic. Thursday, Sept. 17, 2015, 7pm, Urban Beekeeper with Ezekial Amador.
Laura F. then introduced our first speaker of the night Kyle Day, Scholarship Student, who gave a slide show presentation about his “First Year in Beekeeping”. He has shared his beekeeping experiences with several groups including his Boy Scout Troop and although beekeeping wasn’t as much fun as he anticipated, it was still worthwhile. Questions were answered during and after his presentation.
Our second speaker Riley Taranto, Scholarship Student, opened up with several bee jokes that led into her presentation. She shared her colorful and humorous experiences with attendees and thanked her Mentors Andy & Wendy Nowacheck for assisting her in her first year as a Beekeeper. Questions were answered during and after her presentation.
Attendees were reminded to check their Silent Auctions bids while the next speaker was setting up.
Anastasia Becker, with the Integrated Pest Management (IPM) Program, was the next speaker covering the Missouri Drift Watch Program. She explained what Drift Watch is and why it is important to beekeepers. She also covered the Missouri Pollinator Conservancy Program. Anastasia B. stated that we do not have to register our bees in the state of Mo, however she stressed communication between beekeepers and farmers is a key component and registration is one important way to communicate.
Our final speaker of the night was Wes Johnston, who shared his woodenware enhancements of hive equipment to help prevent honey robbing or improve ventilation among other things. Information/Power Point will be posted on the websitewww.midwesternbeekeepers.org.
The Queen raffle was next followed by the Silent Auction, both to benefit the Youth Scholarship Program. Cathy M. encouraged those winning Queens to send a note of thanks to the supplier and update them on how the Queen performs. A big thank you was extended to all who donated items for the Silent Auction as well as those purchasing the items. A reminder about REAPS and a thank you to all who helped set up and put the room back in order.
Meeting closed.
Secretary______________________________________________Date__________________
NEXT GENERAL MEETING WILL BE HELD THURSDAY, JUNE 18, 2015 AT 7pm. AT GRACEWAY FELLOWSHIP HALL. TOPIC “STATE FAIR-WHY YOU SHOULD ATTEND AND THE PRODUCTS YOU SHOULD ENTER”.
