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MINUTES
Tampa Bay Beekeepers Association
May 8th, 2008
www.tampabaybeekeepers.com
The Tampa Bay Beekeepers Association monthly meeting came to order on Thursday, May 8, 2008, 7:30 pm at the Hillsborough County Extension Office old meeting hall. President Charlie Hammond presided. Approximate number of attendees was 40 and there were 6 guests. Charlie and Annemarie Hammond and Jim Johnson provided the refreshments and the door prizes were provided by Bert Kelly.
Club Business Meeting
Meeting was called to order 7:30 PM. Invocation and prayer by Todd Jamison
Guests
John
Bruce and Kathy McGehee
Ellen Stevenson bensteven_eight@msn.com
Rick and Connie Parker
We enjoyed refreshments first so to give Todd plenty of time, and for discussion.
Todd Jamison was the speaker.
Todd had the privilege of volunteering in Haiti for a couple of weeks. He and David Westervelt went and put on seminars for the Haitian beekeepers. Their job was to introduce the beekeepers to sound practices. The native language is Creole, not something they teach at the University of Florida. So there was a language barrier. They were not to give any items only knowledge which appeared to be very difficult for the two on them. The Haitians have nothing and they are using up the resources on the land without preserving much for the next generation according to Todd. Haiti has clear cut the trees for charcoal and consequently has mud slides .Todd and David visited three different apiaries. According to the pictures the boxes were in disrepair. Their honey houses have dirt floors and the walls are made of reeds and mud mortar. The poverty level is beyond poor. A Haitian queen excluder is ¼ inch hardware cloth. Most colonies did not have more than 4 or 5 frames of the honey. Most do not wear veils nor have smokers. Some beekeepers have hives in the hollow tree and as Todd explained these are Varroa mite magnets. During their stay in Haiti David and Todd put on Three Seminars. The first seminar had 30 beekeepers. Some of the participants of the seminars had walked 6 hours to attend the seminar. Todd showed queen rearing methods. He also showed the beekeepers the Varroa mite in their hives and until the Haitians saw the mite they were in disbelief. David and Todd built a smoker out of a coffee can and the beekeepers were very appreciative. “It was like you had just given them a 2 caret diamond ring. The average honey crop is 15 lbs. The flower source is citrus and mango and Coral vine. There is not a lot for the bees to forage on. Every hive had mites. They helped catch feral bees.. They showed them the powdered sugar method but the powdered sugar is too valuable for them to use the method on going.
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Treasurers reported by Jane Hall $5200.00
News of the Bee Seminar
Thank you to Rebecca Conroy, chairman, for the Bee Seminar. She was terrific during the seminar. She sounded the whistle timely and got people where they needed to be. You helped raise additional funds for the club. Thank you for your leadership and organization of this event.
Apiary report
The hives are still on the pollination and there will not be a work party this month. We have been paid for the pollination services by David Smith.
New Business
Mr. Keating $1.45/ pound. The pull yielded 300 pounds, 228. lbs yield after the growers and parks portion. Motion to sell the honey to Mr. Keating by David Smith and seconded by Rebecca Conroy.
Todd asked about mentoring program. Some agreed to participate. If you do want to mentor please let one officer know so when we are asked for a mentor we know who can be called.
Meeting adjourned at 9:30.
Next Meeting June 10, 2008. The refreshments were very nice this month. Thank you. It was
especially nice to see Annemarie at the meeting. No one signed up for the refreshments for June. If anyone would like to sign up please email me back or call 813 310-0125. Thank you.
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