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‘10 Texas Honey Queen Report

Saturday, 13 February 2010 17:00 |

by Allison Adams

Hello, Texas Beekeepers!

     I hope you and your bees are off to a wonderful start this New Year! I have just arrived home from an adventure in Florida, beginning with the ABF Convention in Orlando, and I’d like to share my experiences with you.
     It all began on Tuesday, January 12th, when Nicole Pettibon, Rachael Seida, Shirley Acevedo, Blake Shook and I arrived at the Wyndham Resort in Orlando, Florida. After checking into the hotel, I had the privilege of meeting the 2010 Pennsylvania Honey Queen, Tessa Bryson (the younger sister of Rachel Bryson, who was the 2008 American Honey Princess when our own Rachael Seida was the 2008 American Honey Queen). Like me, Tessa had come to the Convention to observe and learn before competing for the American Honey Queen title in 2011. She and I (and Mrs. Talbert, who joined us) enjoyed a very nice conversation together. On Tuesday evening was the welcome reception, and I had the opportunity to meet beekeepers from all over the nation. It was a very pleasant time of fellowship!
     The Convention officially began on Wednesday morning with the opening ceremonies, greetings from Diane Jurchen (American Honey Queen) and Allison Hull (American Honey Princess) and introduction of the competing state Honey Queens. In the afternoon, I sat in on several very informative shared interest group presentations in the honey producers/packers division. Since most of my time at the next 2011 ABF convention will be spent in meeting people and selling quilt raffle tickets, I thought this event in Florida was my chance to learn as much as possible! Wednesday’s evening event was the Honey Queen reception and Quiz Bowl which proved to be an excellent opportunity to observe, learn and take notes for next year!
     Thursday began with the ABF Ladies Auxiliary Breakfast and meeting, when the American Honey Queen and Honey Princess gave their end-of-year reports. Next, each of the competing state queens demonstrated their knowledge of beekeeping and hive products by performing a short skit or giving a brief presentation before the assembly. It was very entertaining to see how creative the girls had been in designing their marketing presentations – I am already getting ideas for next year! During the breakfast I enjoyed listening to the ladies at my table as they shared stories about their introduction into beekeeping by marrying commercial beekeepers – their first date in the bee yard, picking up packaged bees on their honeymoon, etc. I am sure some of you ladies can relate to that! Thursday ended with a trip to the Sleuth Mystery Theater for dinner and a show.
     Friday’s big event was the ABF Foundation Scholars Recognition Luncheon, where those who had made significant contributions to the Foundation for the Preservation of Honey Bees were recognized and awarded. After the ceremony we heard from the keynote speaker, Dr. Jim Tew of Ohio State University, who gave an interesting and humorous speech on the ways beekeeping has changed over the years. Late Friday afternoon I sat in on the American Honey Show Auction where beautiful honeys, candles and beeswax sculptures were sold to the highest bidder. That evening, I left with Rachael Seida, Shirley Acevedo and Janet Rowe to walk a few blocks to a local Indian restaurant (the four of us love Indian food) for supper. We then had a fun time exploring some gift shops before returning to the hotel in time to see part of a thought-provoking bee film.
     Saturday was my last convention day. I made my final tour of the tradeshow, which was one of the highlights of the Convention. I had thoroughly enjoyed walking up and down the aisles, looking at books, extractors, smokers, mailboxes, beetle traps, honey, note cards, Polish propolis lollipops, bee bracelets, calendars, salt and pepper shakers and so much more! It was also a wonderful place to meet people, and I was a little sad to see it go. I also listened to a fascinating seminar on top bar hives on Saturday morning. In the afternoon, I met up with the Honey Queens and Honey Princess at the Orlando Public Library for Kids and Bees, an event organized by Kim Lehman of Austin, TX. Saturday evening was the ABF Banquet. It began with the entry of all six competing state queens and the American Honey Queen and Honey Princess. We then enjoyed a delicious formal dinner before the introduction of the new ABF officers. Next was the sweepstakes drawing, quilt raffle drawing and live auction. The last and crowning event of the evening was the coronation of the 2010 American Honey Queen and American Honey Princess. Chosen as the 2010 American Honey Queen was Lisa Schluttenhofer of Indiana and Amy Roden of Wisconsin was crowned 2010 American Honey Princess.
     Throughout the Convention I had been meeting people from all over the United States, Canada and even Bermuda. A great way to do this was to casually approach someone or walk by them and say, “Hello, I’m Allison Adams. What is your name?” Their reply would sound something like this: “Oh, hi! I’m _____ - and where are you from?” I would answer, “I’m from Texas, in the Dallas area – and where are you from?” They would respond and I would ask, “And do you keep bees in _____?” When the person told me how many hives they kept in their state, province, or country, the number was nearly always in the hundreds or thousands. When they asked me “And how many hives do you keep?” I must confess I felt a little silly at my answer: “Four.” I guess I felt a bit out of place among all the commercial beekeepers, but by the end of my stay in Florida, I came to realize that it does not matter how many hives a person keeps. Whether one keeps 6,900 hives, 25 hives or just one, or even if someone has no hives at all, but nurtures a few flowering plants for the honey bees to gather pollen and nectar from, they are doing a truly wonderful thing. After I replied with the small number of hives I kept, some of the beekeepers would say very sincerely, “Good for you!” That encouraged me so much – I’m glad to be a beekeeper!
     When the Convention was over, my family (who had driven to meet me) picked me up and we enjoyed several days exploring Florida before driving back home. One of our stops was at an organic pick-your-own citrus grove in Clermont, Florida. The family who owned the orchard kept many beehives on their property for pollination and honey production, and I tasted their delicious orange blossom honey, as well as, some saw palmetto and tupelo honey that they sell. My family and I also spent a day in St. Augustine, and as we were strolling down one of the old streets there, we spied a little tea and spice shop, so we stepped in to look around. As we spoke with the two ladies working in the shop and we mentioned we were beekeepers, they looked upon us with wonder and approval. It reminded me of something said at the Convention: “Beekeepers are the good guys.” Honey bees are in trouble (after all, the title for this year’s ABF Convention was “Keeping the Hive Alive”), and thus, we too are the good guys. Thanks to the media, thousands of people now understand how important honey bees are to us. That speaker at the Convention was explaining that because of this, beekeepers have truly become the “good guys.” As those who care for these precious creatures, beekeepers are esteemed and respected more now than perhaps ever before – it certainly is a wonderful time to be a beekeeper!
     I want to thank you all so very much for making it possible for me to attend the 2010 ABF Convention. I had an amazing time meeting and learning from beekeepers and researchers from across the nation, such as David Hackenberg, Reyah Carlson, Nancy Gentry, Randy Oliver, Maryann Frazier, David Mendes and many, many more. Some of these people I had only seen in television productions, so I felt like I was meeting movie stars! It was an incredible privilege to be able to learn from these people and share in their discoveries. It will be so nice to arrive at the 2011 ABF Convention in Galveston and already know so many friendly people – I just love beekeepers!
     I am looking forward to my next event at the Fort Worth Livestock Show at the end of January or beginning of February – stay tuned for more information!

Thank you all for your support,

~ Queen Allison

Ray Latner, Branch Manager Dadant - Paris, TX;

Rachael Seida, former Texas and American

Honey Queen and Allison Adams, 2010 Texas Honey

Queen outside the exhibitors area.

Allison Adams, 2010 Texas Honey Queen;

Rachael Seida, former Texas and American Honey Queen;

Lavada and John Talbert, Sabine Creek Honey Farm in Josephine, Texas

and Janet and Jim Rowe, Bee Charmer of Wylie, Texas.

Front Row: Wisconsin Honey Queen, Amy Roden;

American Honey Queen, Diane Jurchen;

Kim Lehman of Austin (in the bee dress);

American Honey Princess, Allison Hull;

Texas Honey Queen, Nicole Pettibon and

Minnesota Honey Queen, Alexa
Sorenson.

Back Row: Pennsylvania Honey Queen, Maya Althouse; Indiana Honey Queen, Lisa Schluttenhofer and Iowa Honey Queen, Shiliah Spaulding.

Last Updated (Saturday, 13 February 2010 17:00)

‘10 Jan/Feb Honey Queen Chair Report

Saturday, 13 February 2010 16:55 |

by Shirley Acevedo

Dear Texas Beekeepers,
     As Texas Honey Queen Program Chairperson and with much regret, I inform you that our 2009 Texas Honey Queen, Nicole Pettibon, was not selected as 2010 American Honey Queen or Princess at the recent North American Beekeeping Conference in Orlando, Florida. I will say Nicole represented Texas beekeepers impeccably well and looked beautiful throughout the 5-day event. Thank you, Nicole! You did an outstanding job!
     Nicole’s trip to Orlando began on Tuesday, January 12, with a 6 am flight out of Dubuque, Iowa, where she attends Emmaus Bible College. First thing on Nicole’s agenda at the Conference was a 2 pm meeting with the five other state honey queens who were competing for the titles. The other lovely young women were from Indiana, Iowa, Minnesota, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
     Tuesday evening was a reception, and the Honey Queens were in full swing, meeting attendees and selling quilt raffle tickets (proceeds benefiting the American Honey Queen Program). Thank you, numerous Texas beekeepers, who purchased tickets from Nicole prior to and during the Convention!
     On Wednesday morning at the opening session, Nicole had the opportunity to introduce herself, mentioning her own hives and how much she likes beekeepers! Wednesday evening was the Auction and Quiz Bowl, and the winning team was the “Sweet Stingers” (Nicole Pettibon of Texas; Alexa Sorenson of Minnesota and Shiliah Spaulding of Iowa).
     Thursday morning was the Ladies Auxiliary Breakfast with 3-minute marketing resentations by each of the state honey queens. Nicole presented herself as Reverend Langstroth’s daughter, Harriet in period clothing, touting Italian bees and the bee space in hives with removable frames. The setting was Langstroth’s sale of bee equipment at a county fair in 1863.
     By noon on Friday, the six state honey queens had sold the 2000 quilt raffle tickets @ $5.00! On Saturday morning, each of the contestants were interviewed by the three judges, who had remained incognito throughout the Conference. Saturday afternoon was the Annual Kids and Bees event at the Orlando Public Library and headed by Kim Lehman of Austin, TX. Saturday evening was the Banquet, Auction and the Coronation.
     Miss Congenialty was voted upon by the six queen contestants themselves, and they chose Maya Althouse of Pennsylvania. A Runner-Up was selected by the judges, in the unlikely event the Queen or Princess could not complete her reign, and she is Maya Althouse of Pennsylvania. The 2010 American Honey Princess was named - Amy Roden of Wisconsin. The 2010 American Honey Queen was named - Lisa Schluttenhofer of Indiana.
     There was tears of joy and tears of sadness. The Honey Queens and other beekeepers came away feeling grateful for the memorable experiences, the newly-made and renewed friendships, and the invaluable learning that took place at the 2010 North American Beekeeping Conference in Orlando, Florida. It was a great event!
     Thank you, dear Texas beekeepers, for your unrelenting support of the Texas Honey Queen Program!
     Our 2010 Texas Honey Queen, Allison Adams, attended the Florida Conference also. As a visiting state honey queen, Allison was able to get acquainted with the people and events of the National Convention, helping her to become a possible strong candidate for the 2011 American Honey Queen/Princess program. Our 2008 American Honey Queen, Rachael Seida of Texas also attended the Conference, along with numerous other Texas beekeepers.
     I look forward to hearing from you to schedule Allison’s visit to your beekeeping club meeting and events. I look forward to seeing you at the Janice and John G. Thomas ‘59 Honey Bee Facility in Bryan, TX, on Saturday, February 20! Do put on your calendar the American Beekeeping Federation/American Honey Producers Association event in Galveston, TX, at the San Luis Resort and Conference Center, January 4 – 8, 2011! I’ll see you there!
Appreciating you!

Last Updated (Saturday, 13 February 2010 16:55)

‘10 Jan/Feb President’s Report

Saturday, 13 February 2010 16:48 |

by Todd Youngblood

Dear Friends,

     I hope all of you have made plans to join us at the Dedication Ceremony of the Janice and John Thomas ‘59 Honey Bee Facility in College Station Saturday, February 20, 2010. As I prepare for this day, I can’t help but to look back at where we have come from. If my memory serves me correctly, it was at the 2003 Convention in Tyler that the idea was first hatched. The vision of some of the leadership back then has finally become a reality. It has been a long and winding adventure to get to where we are today. But an adventure that I hope you and I will find to be fruitful in the coming years. I am a firm believer in research and development. I think this is the only way to be successful. It is facilities like this one at TAMU that will help us find answers to the ever increasing list of problems that this industry faces every day. As we move forward in this relationship with TAMU, it will require a lot of effort to make this facility what we want it to be. The leadership of the TBA will be offering ideas to the TAMU Entomology Department and assisting in the research that will be taking place at this Facility. So if you have ideas feel free to offer them, because after all, this is the Facility you helped to build.
      Another project that your TBA Board has moved to the front burner this year is the Standard of Identity for honey.
We have already determined that the Texas Department of Health has jurisdiction over this and by the time you are reading this, we should have already had a meeting with them. The Standard of Identity of Honey may very well be one of the most important things we do this year. I continue to see more and more honey blend products in the market place all of the time. We will have to deal with this or we will continue to lose market share to these products. It is interesting to me that this and other major producing countries of the world continue to have below normal crops, but it is never reflected in the price of honey. These honey blends are taking the place of true honey and it is hurting us all. I hope you will join me and your Board and support this issue.
      As I sit here in late January, the outlook for a good crop in the south Texas brush country are improving. We have had adequate rains and the winter has not been too severe. We had a cold snap in mid January, but it did not last long enough to do any damage. I hope your outlook is as good as ours.
Thank you,

Todd Youngblood

Last Updated (Saturday, 13 February 2010 16:48)

Texas Beekeepers Swarm Into Tyler for Annual Convention

Thursday, 14 January 2010 13:21 |

Kids Learning About Bees

By Violet Bourns

Tyler was the host city for the Texas Beekeepers Association Annual Convention on November 12-15, 2009 at the Holiday Inn Select on South Broadway. Our special guests were the Texas Honey Queen, Nicole Pettibon from McKinney, American Honey Queen, Diane Jurchen from Iowa and other Queens and Princess from all over Texas. They included Collin County Honey Queen, Allison Adams from Plano and Honey Princess, Kaylynn Mansker from Nevada; Williamson County Honey Queen, Rebekah Jones from Spicewood, and ETBA Honey Queen, Kellie Lenamond from Wills Point.
Thursday the 12th focused on Kids Learning about Bees; renamed by Jimmie Oakley and in the future, will be called “KLAB.” Our goal was to reach 500 school-age children in the East Texas area who were home-schooled, in private schools and 4-H clubs who could attend on a weekday. We had a grand total of 440 children, excluding accompanying adults and children in strollers.
Thanks to the hard work and commitment of Tammy Lenamond, mother of ETBA Honey Queen, Kellie Lenamond, and her committee, consisting of Judy Giles, Brenda Claire and Darlene Rappazzo, many of the small communities were reached, which helped make it a success. These ladies also worked the registration table.
As the teachers and children arrived, they were greeted outside the hotel by Brandon and Susan Pollard of Collin County Beekeepers dressed as honey bees with yellow and black balloons, and had time to meet and have their picture taken with Buzzy Bear played by members of the Seida, Kilpatrick and Mansker families. Once inside, they were escorted to the registration table by Patsy McCall, Gloria Harmon, Karen Anderson and Joe Mekalip. From there, each group was escorted to the different tables by a Honey Queen or Princess. The teenage beekeepers of ETBA, with an experienced ETBA adult at the table, volunteered to teach the children different aspects of beekeeping.

The first display was an observation hive that contained four frames of bees with a marked queen displayed by ETBA student, Mike Rappazzo. Mike had made an observation hive with a swivel base and safety glass with the help of his instructor, Dick Counts. This allowed the children to safely see the bees at work as Mike explained the three kinds of bees and their role in the hive. Mike Lenamond worked with him.
Next the children were educated about the importance of the honey bee as the most valuable pollinator of the world’s food supply by ETBA student, Hayden Wolf and her father, Gus Hayden had many pictures of bees collecting pollen and nectar from flowers. She explained the different parts of the flower and the difference between pollen and nectar; and also how the bees store pollen in their pollen baskets and nectar in their stomachs. They then fly back to the hive, deposit the pollen into the cells to feed the young larvae and the queen and transfer the nectar to the other worker bees, so they can make honey.
The third table demonstrated the beekeepers protective clothing such as the suit, veil, gloves and boots worn by Joshua and Joseph Bradley, while working with their bees; and when they experienced first-hand bee removal from a building with instructor, Dick Counts. The Bradley boys brought a honey and deep super, top & bottom, inner & top cover with frames & foundation to show the children how bees live and are taken care of in boxes called hives. Joe Moench worked with them.
Around the room to the extracting table where a child could see first-hand how pure natural honey was cut off the comb with a hot knife, frames put in a stainless container that spun around to remove the honey; which was strained, then bottled by ETBA student, Travis Freeze and adult, John McCall. Each child received a brochure about making honey and the teacher was given a honey stick for each child.
Next the children got to see a collection of old skeps that are no longer used from different areas of the world brought by Mr. Jan Aerts. ETBA student, Roland Crossman did many hours of research to learn about the skeps so he could participate with Mr. Aerts in explaining how they were made and used in the past.

The next table, Bee Swarms and Stings from bees are always an area of interest. ETBA President, Andrew Bellefeuille and his twins, Katie (who shares her father’s enthusiasm) and Will who was just happy to hand out neon pencils to everyone. Kerrie Lenamond, who had helped her father, Mike collect swarms helped educate about swarms, remedies that can be used if a person gets stung by a bee, and how to remove the stinger.

The last table and perhaps the most popular for the children was the candle making table where the children got the experience of hands on rolling a beeswax candle to take home. Linda Pelham and Gayle Mekalip worked with students Erin Lenamond, Abby Giles and others who volunteered to help when it got crowded.
On the way out the children visited with ETBA Honey Queen, Kellie Lenamond, who displayed her scrapbook and a bee quilt she had made that was later auctioned off for $500.00 to support the Texas Honey Queen Program. The most popular question was “Are you a real queen?” She assured them she was; not only as a title, but that she also worked her bees like all beekeepers and extracted her own honey to use in cooking for her family.
On the way back to their schools, students, parents and teachers stopped to purchase small glass bee trinkets made by the Lenamond children and sold by student, Becka Lenamond and Susan Holloway. Also available was ETBA’s cookbook “Cooking With My Honey”; a fund raiser to support our Queen and Princess sold by Stan and Mary Jo Brantley and our 102 year old beekeeper, Mr. John Knight and wife, Shirley.

Submitted by Violet Bourns
East Texas Beekeepers Association
Honey Queen-Princess Chairperson

Last Updated (Thursday, 14 January 2010 13:21)

Tyler … America’s Rose Capital – 2009 Convention Report

Thursday, 14 January 2010 13:15 |

by Jimmie L. Oakley

The Holiday Inn Select Hotel in Tyler, Texas, was the site of the Texas Beekeepers Association Convention this year. The meeting took place over the third weekend in November, starting on Thursday morning the 12th and running through Sunday morning the 15th, giving the beekeepers and visitors to the event three full days of learning and activities.
Thursday morning the Convention kicked off with another successful run of Kids-LAB (learning about bees). Coordinated and directed by Texas Honey Queen Chair, Shirley Acevedo, the East Texas Beekeepers manned their education stations as Honey Queens and Princesses escorted the various home-schooled groups through the large staging area to learn more about bees. There were over 440 youngsters in attendance, not counting teachers and parents.
Concurrently, Dr. Larry Connor of Wicwas Press from Kalamazoo, MI, conducted a well attended workshop on Honey Bee Management (Level II).
The TBA Executive Committee also met on Thursday morning to take care of preliminary business of the Association. Chaired by TBA President, Todd Youngblood, the Committee took up important issues and considered the budget for the coming fiscal year (2009-2010).
In the afternoon, the vendors began to set up the Trade Show in the Conference Center. This year seven vendors were present: Dadant & Sons, Mann Lake, Ltd., Texas Insurance & Financial Services, American Beekeeping Federation, American Honey Producers, Jan Aerts - Bee Services and Jerry Freeman - Beetle Traps. Five other vendors participated by sending door prizes and/or catalogs: Bee Culture, National Honey Board, Bucko Gloves, Plastic Packaging Concepts and Walter T. Kelly.
The Annual “Bee Buzz Social and Honey Queen Reception” was hosted on Thursday evening by American Honey Queen, Diane Jurchen; Texas Honey Queen, Nicole Pettibon; Collin County Honey Queen, Allison Adams; East Texas Honey Queen, Kellie Lenamond; Williamson County Honey Queen, Rebekah Jones and Collin County Honey Princess, Kaylynn Mansker. There was a great turnout with good food and drink, the renewing of old friendships and several long-time beekeepers from the area getting to attend. Again, Burleson Honey Company of Waxahachie, TX, generously sponsored the food and drink with the additional help of Dadant & Sons, Inc. of Paris, Texas, and Mann Lake Ltd. of Hackensack, MN; and the Honey Queens offered (honey) sweet treats to all who visited their lovely display tables.
Friday morning was the official start of the Convention with the Representative Leo Burman of the Texas 6th District giving the Welcome, followed by the TBA President’s Address from Todd Youngblood. The Honey Queens were officially introduced by Shirley Acevedo, Texas Honey Queen Chair. Attending this year was Diane Jurchen, ABF Honey Queen from Cumberland, IA; Nicole Pettibon, Texas Honey Queen from McKinney, TX; Allison Adams, CCHBA Honey Queen from Plano, TX; ETBA Honey Queen, Kellie Lenamond, from Wills Point, TX; WCABA Honey Queen, Rebekah Jones, from Spicewood, TX, and CCHBA Honey Princess, Kaylynn Mansker from Nevada, TX. Texas Honey Queen, Nicole Pettibon gave her event filled PowerPoint slide presentation to the appreciation of the beekeepers assembled.
After the morning break, Dr. Bastina Drees from Texas A&M moderated a panel to present the latest on ‘our newest problem’, the Rasberry Crazy Ant. We were privileged to have Tom Rasberry of Pearland, TX who has been fighting the ant for the last 5-6 years. Steve Coplin of Algoa, a victim of the pest was on the panel with his experience. Dr. Shashank Nilalhe, Entomologist from the Texas Department of Agriculture lent his expertise.
The Honey Queen Program hosted the Queen’s Luncheon during the noon hour to a record crowd, giving the Queens and Princess opportunity to share some personal and charming experiences

The afternoon general session featured speakers from the USDA Honey Bee Lab in Weslaco as John Adamczyk opened the session with his remarks and was followed by Dr. William Meikle speaking on the research on the Small Hive Beetle. Dr. Frank Eischen brought us a report on his Overwintering and Feeding Trials. Before the afternoon break, Raul Rivera and Juan Campos addressed the subject of Fatty Acids and Proteins in Overwintered Honey Bees.
After the break John Talbert, TBA Executive Secretary and ABF Director provided a preview of the ABF and AHPA Conventions in January of 2010, and extended invitations to TBA members to both meetings.
Dr. Clint Walker of Walker Honey Co. in Rogers, TX, brought us the latest on the National Honey Bee Advisory Board, and Area 2 Director, Blake Shook enlightened all the attendees on Registration, Regulation, Licensing and Labeling issues in regard to your honey business.
On Friday evening, the awards from the TBA Honey, Wax and Photo Contest were presented. Henry Graham hosted the award presentation this year and was assisted by the Honey Queens and Princess. As each category was announced and ribbons handed out, the Honey Queens posed so pictures could be taken to record the event. The Honey Queen Program took center stage to close out the evening in good-natured competition as the Honey Queens played the game “Jeopardy” (provided in PowerPoint by former Texas & ABF Honey Princess Sarah Paulson) to exhibit their bee knowledge. It was an enjoyable contest. Thank you ladies!
Samuel Heinz of D’Hanis, Tx, Delegates Committee Chair, hosted a Delegate’s Breakfast on Saturday morning that was well attended. Accomplishments were acknowledged and future activities were discussed. The dedication of the new Honey Bee Research Facility was selected for the site for the winter delegates meeting
Dr. Clint Walker opened the final session of the Convention on Saturday morning, speaking on the US Honey Board and the National Honey Packers & Importers Board with some insight as to what is happening.
The Convention received a visit from US Congressman Louie Gohmnrt (East Texas) District 1 as he welcomed us to East Texas and was made aware of the issues beekeepers are facing. He addressed the session.
Before the break, an aggregate of speakers from the Texas Honey Bee Research Facility and Education Center were introduced to bring us the latest on that project. Chad Wootton, V.P. for Development & Strategic Outreach; Monica Delisa, Sr. Director of Development and Paul Jackson, Texas Apiary Inspector were all present. A slide presentation was given to show the progress and completion of the lab and in conclusion, an announcement we made about the creation of the Nevin Weaver Excellence Fund at Texas A&M. It is based on an endowment by Dr. John and Janice Thomas of Bryan, TX to honor the work and life of Nevin Weaver.
After the morning break, Brad Metz, graduate student in honey bee research at Texas A&M, gave a presentation on Variation in and Response to Honey Bee Brood Pheromones and Trent Kuckerka reported on Some Effects of Rasberry Crazy Ants on Honey Bee Colonies. Paul Jackson, Apiary Inspector at Texas A&M gave his update on the Apiary Inspection Service to conclude the morning session.
The Texas Beekeepers Association held its Annual Business Meeting on Saturday afternoon to hear committee reports, pass resolutions and elect officers for the coming year. The meeting was called to order when a quorum was determined by President Todd Youngblood. After the reports were received and the passage of all presented resolutions, the membership elected a slate of officers that had Todd Youngblood from Pearsall retained as President and Ed Priest from San Antonio as V.P. The only new Director’s position was in Area 3 and it went to Clint Weaver from Navasota, TX. The meeting adjourned in order.
On the final evening of the Convention in Tyler, the Annual Awards Banquet took place in the Broadway South Restaurant. It was well attended by beekeepers and many family members - 103 - a new record. After a delicious formal dinner, the presentation of awards took place.

The John G. Thomas Meritorious Service Award for 2009 went to Janice Thomas of Bryan, Texas.

The President’s Award presented by Todd Youngblood went to Chad Wootton of Texas A&M and Beekeeper or the Year went to Joan Coplin of Algoa.
The TBA Honey Queen Coronation is always the “crowning” event of the evening. This year Nicole Pettibon, the 2009 Texas Honey Queen crowned the Collin County Honey Queen, Allison Adams, of Plano, Texas, to reign as 2010 Texas Honey Queen. She was assisted by ABF Honey Queen, Diane Jurchen, and she was presented with flowers by WCABA Honey Queen, Rebekah Jones.
The evening wrapped up with the Honey Queen Auction that always follows the Banquet and Honey Queen Coronation. Larry Lough from Whitehouse, TX, conducted the auction. With the Honey Queens and Princess presenting the items and the TBA members holding up their hands, over $7,600.00 was raised to support the Honey Queen program.

By the numbers, one hundred ninety people were “badged” for the Convention, many of them young people. Seventy two people attended the Queens’ Luncheon and there were 103 at the annual Banquet. There were eighty-six beekeepers that renewed their membership (paid dues) at the Convention and there was twenty-eight new members joining TBA at the Convention. Thanks to all who help to make it so.
The Executive Committee held a final meeting on Sunday morning to approve the 2010 TBA Budget. Jimmie Oakley

Last Updated (Thursday, 14 January 2010 13:16)

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