June 13, 2017
7:00 PM President Dennis Conrad called the meeting to order. After a few opening remarks, Dennis introduced Vice President Mark Clements to discuss the club’s participation in the Louisa Agriculture Day Fair July 28th and 29th, 2017. This is a great opportunity to spread the word of our club’s existence, draw new members and educate the public on the importance of pollinators in agriculture. A minimum of six volunteers per day are need to staff the booth. Volunteers will be provided passes for entrance to the fair grounds.
John Beers provided the treasurers report. The club has a checking account balance of $1051.85 and cash of $50 for a total of $1101.85. The club has 19 copies of “Beekeeping Basics” and 10 copies of “Field guide to Honey Bees”. The total income from all sources for the period December 2016 – May 2017 was $1057. In accordance with past practice, Elise Conrad made a motion to donate 10% ($105.70) of the club’s total income to the Central Virginia Assembly of God where we hold our meeting. The motion was seconded by Ashley Powell. The motion was put to a voice vote with none dissenting. John Beers provided a check to the church at the conclusion of the meeting.
Call for assistants. Dennis Conrad expressed a need for someone to assist the club’s: webmaster, Susie Vander Bush; secretary, Marc Racette; and treasurer, John Beers. Interested persons should contact the persons involved.
Dennis Conrad asked John Beers to manage the election of officers. Mathew Lewis provided the Nominations Committee Report. The committee recommends the following slate of officers: President-Dennis Conrad; Vice President-Mark Clements; and Treasurer-John Beers. The committee did not receive any nominations for the position of secretary.
Nominations were solicited from the floor for each position and hearing none, were closed. There was a motion from the floor to accept the slate of officers by unanimous proclamation. The motion was duly seconded and the motion put to a voice vote with none dissenting. We will leave the secretary position vacant until we find someone willing to serve.
John Beers managed the voting on the Constitutional Amendment to increase the dues to $12 for an individual and $18 for a family with an allowance for the dues to be prorated by the months remaining in the dues year. Matt Lewis made the motion to accept as presented and Ashley Powell seconded his motion. The motion was put to a voice vote with none dissenting. The motion carried and the Constitution amended immediately.
John Beers managed the voting on whether or not to purchase a display hive for use at the Louisa Ag Fair and during bee classes. Elise Conrad made the motion to purchase the observation hive and Slade Hart seconded. The motion was put to a voice vote with none dissenting. The motion passed and John Beers volunteered to purchase the hive.
A discussion on the need for the club to have business cards for the members to distribute was initiated by Dennis Conrad and Mark Clements. It was decided that a contest would be held to design a club logo with submissions to be brought to the July 18, 2017 meeting to be judged and voted on. Information to be printed on the cards will be determined after logo development.
Elise Conrad brought up the fact that the State Fair of Virginia dates are September 29 – October 8, 2017 and volunteers are needed to staff the beekeeping booth at the fair. Clubs are paid based on their members hours staffing the booth. Individuals staffing the booth are not paid for their time. The more members from our club that staff the booth the larger the amount of the funds earned for the club. Last year the club earned $150.80 because Dennis and Elise Conrad staffed the booth.
Elise Conrad mentioned the Eastern Bee Conference will be hosed in Virginia during 2018 and volunteers will be need. More information to come.
Keep this date open: a gathering of club members is planned for August 5th, 2017. More information to follow.
Dennis Conrad covered some beekeeping tips and answered questions.
Points made included:
Varroa mite populations will peak in July. Treat all your hives in apiary. Know what you will treat with. John Beers will be making presentation at July 18, 2017 meeting “Tools for Varroa Management” created by the Honey Bee Health Coalition. Effective varroa sampling and control will be covered.
When you pull frames from your hive with burr comb on the bottom edge between the top and bottom boxes it often contains drone brood cells. Sacrifice these drones by pulling them out of their cell to check for varroa mites. Varroa mites have a preference for drone larva and that makes them a good place to check for evidence of varroa mites. The more mites per drone larva and the more larva that are infected, the higher the level of mites in the hive. Use this to determine if additional sampling or treatment is needed.
Meeting adjourned 8:30 PM
