As I write this I am shivering with my bees!!! Supposed to be 6 degrees tonight. Hope the girls will be able to stay warm.
We had another great planning meeting. I think we have set up a great set of meetings for this year. Thanks to all who participated.
We will be in need of a new Secretary for the club. Please let me know if anyone is interested. The main duties of the secretary are, maintaining the membership list, taking minutes at the meetings, name tags, and keeping the welcome letter up to date.
One of the issues discussed at the meeting was the payment of dues. In the past we offered free dues to the officers and directors. We then started to offer this to others and things got confusing as to whom should get free membership and who should not. We decided that all members should pay dues. Some members do a significant amount of work for the club and we did not want to discriminate.
Membership is still only $15 dollars for the family. Dues can be mailed to our treasurer David Mullins at 107 McCoy Dr., Churubusco, IN 46723. Dues of course can be paid at any meeting as well.
We have a new editor of the newsletter. Patrice Reidenbach will be taking over for Dave McKinley with assistance from Dustin Parmley. Thanks for taking on this responsibility. Thank you Dave for doing such a wonderful job. If you have a story or any bee related information that you would like to see in the newsletter, please contact them. MeanQueenHoneyFarm@gmail.com, silentvoice71@yahoo.com. We again will have a digital only version of the newsletter. We will print off some copies that will be available at the meeting if you would like a paper copy. T
his month we will have a panel discussion with tips on how to sell honey and be successful at a Farmer’s Market. Mike Miller will also discuss spring and late winter preparations.
March will again be Beginners Night at the meeting. If you have friends and/or family that have been interested in beekeeping this would be the meeting to invite them. We will also be having the Beginning Bee School March 18. The cost has gone up to $160 due to the rise of supplies. The maximum number of participants will be 40 and will be first come first serve. This will include the building of a hive. The previous week on March 11 will be the Advanced Bee School. The cost of this is $50. To participate you will need at least one year of beekeeping. Lunch will be included for both schools.
Come see us at the Home and Garden show March 2-5. Teri Fuller-Obrien has done a wonderful job setting this up for us again. If you are working the Home and Garden Show the club will reimburse you for your parking which is now up to $8. Also, you will get admission to the show. Just bring your receipt to the next meeting.
Field day will be in May again and is tentatively scheduled on the 20th at Buskirk Engineering. More details to follow.
I know it is early, but Melanie Crapster 260-449-0726 has the club extractor. If you need to borrow to extract honey from hives that failed to make it through the winter, please give her a call. If you borrow the extractor please return it clean so it is ready for the next person.
The swarm list will again be handled by Rick Stevens. Please give him a call at (260) 610-1040 if you are interested in getting on the list. Please be ready if he calls you to get a swarm as the bees are not patient and will not usually wait for us.
We will again be having a Trunk Sale 30 minutes prior to the meeting. I look forward to seeing you all and having a great year taking care of God’s creatures.
— Chris