November 2013 Meeting Agenda

PLEASE NOTE THAT WE ONLY HAVE ONE MORE MEETING BEFORE THE NEW YEAR!!  Don't forget, we will need help running our booth at the San Antonio Stock Show and Rodeo!!  If you are interested in helping out, even if you are a newbie, please let us know!!

Nov 19

Meeting * Thanksgiving Dinner

To make sure we don't all bring candied sweet potatoes, please use the following to help with a varied and delicious meal:

If your last name falls on or between the following letters, please bring the food listed below.

A-F--savory side dish

G-L--salad (green, beet, egg, potato, pea, etc)

M-O--dessert

P-T--Bread

U-Z--gallon of drink(lemonade, unsweet tea, sweet tea, soda, etc) 

Alamo Area Beekeepers Association

Next meeting:  Tuesday November 19, 2013 at 6:30 p.m.

At Helotes Independent Baptist Church

15335 Orange Tower Road

Helotes, TX 78023

MEETING AGENDA

Ø  President’s Welcome & Visitors Intro by Rick Fink (5 min)

Ø  Approval of the September 2013 meeting minutes (5 min)

Ø  Treasurer & Membership Report, Richard Trevino (5 min)

Ø  2013 Youth Scholarship Program – Hive Update from the Scholarship     Winners (2 minutes per Scholarship Recipient)

Ø  Presentation – Bill Baxter, Interim Chief Apiary Inspector, Dept Entomology, Texas A&M University (20-30 min).  Topic Varroa Mites; Rules & Regulations – Q&A

Ø Program intermission & potluck dinner

Ø AABA Election of Officers for 2014 (Sam Heinz)

Ø Planning for 2014 (R. Fink, D Fraser, R. Trevinio Jr)

Ø Reminders - AABA Newsletter – blog format – Mind Your OWN Bee’s Wax

Ø Reminders AABA – honey extraction equipment

Ø Question & Answer Session

Meeting Agenda – submitted by Don Fraser, VP AABA

Blog: Mind Your OWN Beeswax
Post: August Newsletter
Link: http://aabanewsletter.blogspot.com/2013/09/august-newsletter.html

Reminder – Mimi Stricker would love to receive your pictures and stories for inclusion in the AABA Blog: Mind Your Own Beeswax.  If you have an idea for a story or some interesting pictures you would like to share please contact her at: Mimi Stricker (210) 367-2896 merissa.stricker@gmail.com

Action Items:

R. Fink – review final agenda and action items; mail to both AABA and non-AABA members; reminder to members regarding pot-luck.  The AABA will provide the meat dish with members asked to bring side dish-vegetables, dessert, salads etc.

Action Item - AABA Bee Scholarship Winners - List of recipients (see below).  Expectations for scholarship winners – take care of the bees, work with mentors, come to AABA meetings and provide a 1-2 min overview of their beekeeping activities.  The use of pictures, poster boards etc is encouraged.  Parents are encouraged to help their children with their 1-2 minute presentations; it is a great opportunity to learn presentation skills before a friendly and supportive audience. The list of scholarship recipients include:

Parents	Children
Vonda and Curtis	Nathan, Joshua and Alex (family award)
Laura	Jacob
Jenni	Nathan
Richard Lynn and Joni Lea	Brenton
Kelli and Stephen	Mayce, Ryland, Cadyn and Eyslie (family award)
Michael and Sue	Luke
Ricka	Abby
Mimi and Thadd	Chloe

2013 Events

Jan 15	Meeting *
Feb 2	Bottling Party 9am-1pm Pearsall, TX
Feb 2	AABA San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo Booth Set-up
Feb 7-24	San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo Come meet us at our booth
March 19	Meeting *
April 13	Field Day Majestic Ranch, Boerne TX
May 21	Meeting *
July 16	Meeting *
Sep 17	Meeting * Honey, wax and photo contests
Nov 19	Meeting * Thanksgiving Dinner

Alamo Beekeepers Leadership Development Program--WE NEED YOUR HELP!!

Alamo Beekeepers Leadership Development Program

Over the last few years we have seen a significant growth in the AABA. Some of this is due to the recognition among consumers for the need to protect bees because of the important role that they play within our food production system. Others will cite the back-to-nature movement among consumers who grow their own food.

Several years ago the AABA leadership team discussed the need to develop and mentor the next generation of leaders for beekeeping in South Texas.

Volunteer organizations need a mix of talent to function. The AABA leadership team would like to expand our pool of talent by sharing what we have learned. We also seek to bring new ideas and expand our outreach programs and need to have members who are ready to step up if personal or family illness or job relocation impacts key AABA programs. The assumption of most newbie beekeepers is:

• I need to become an expert beekeeper before I could even think about assuming more
  visible role within the AABA or any other organization.
  
• I do not have the time
  
  
  Knowledge of beekeeping is essential if you are teaching or mentoring a group on the art/science of beekeeping but a successful program also requires a host of other volunteer talent. For example:
  
  
  
  San Antonio Rodeo Advance Logistics – site inspection; equipment checks, booth setup, communication with SA Rodeo leadership, honey purchase, honey bottling and transportation, booth set up, scheduling booth personnel, AABA web site update, live bee sourcing and transportation, bee display switch outs, booth signage, sales receipts, booth breakdown and storage, AABA accounts update (financial) etc.
  
  
  
  AABA Field Day Advance Logistics – program development, site inspection, contracting for security and insurance, speaker sign-up, vendor logistics, sign-in; name tags, parking, bee nucs and packages - vendor delivery and support logistics, meal logistics, site cleanup, AABA accounts update (financial) etc.
  
  Membership Logistics – meeting members and visitors list, name tags, raffle tickets, auction items to support the scholarship program, membership list maintenance.
  
  AABA Newsletter – editor and support team to plan content and newsletter execution and delivery
  
  IT Support – refinement of the AABA website; website re-design
  
  Publicity/Education – development of bee educational materials for public/private schools
  You can see from the aforementioned list that you do not have to be a “bee expert” to play a key role in supporting current programs. We want your input on what we can do
  better and your ideas for new projects/programs that you think the AABA should be more involved in.

Food/Refreshments – purchase of food/supplies for the AABA meetings in Helotes and the AABA Field Day; kitchen coordination and delivery of pot-luck meals; clean-up.

All of us are busy in one way or another. Beekeeping is not a full-time job for vast majority of the AABA members. We enjoy the fellowship and the opportunity to share our knowledge with others. If you have an interest we can find a role for you that will fit your schedule.


Please email me at merissa.stricker@gmail.com and an AABA leadership team will contact you to discuss what type of volunteer activity that you would like to participate in.

Author – Don Fraser – VP AABA; Reviewed by R. Fink – President; Treasurer – R. 2 Trevino Jr – Treasurer/Membership 

September Meeting Agenda

Alamo Area Beekeepers Association

Next meeting: Tuesday September 17, 2013 at 6:30 p.m. 

At Helotes Independent Baptist Church

15335 Orange Tower Road

Helotes, TX 78023

PLEASE NOTE THAT WE ONLY HAVE ONE MORE MEETING BEFORE THE NEW YEAR!!  Don't forget that we will need help running our booth at the San Antonio Stock Show and Rodeo!!  If you are interested in helping out, even if you are a newbie, please let us know!!

MEETING AGENDA
Ø President’s Welcome & Visitors Intro by Rick Fink (5 min) Ø Approval of the July 2013 meeting minutes (5 min)
Ø Treasurer & Membership Report, Richard Trevino (5 min) Ø Presentation – Rick Fink (20 min)

• USDA Baton Rouge Bee Lab – Research Focus
  
• USDA Honey Bee Breeding, Genetics and Physiology Laboratory and
  the Louisiana Beekeepers Association 17th Annual Field Day on
  Saturday, October 19, 2013
  
• Texas - $35.00 permit – swarm capture permit fee
  Ø Presentation – Alamo Beekeepers Leadership Development Program – Don Fraser (10 min)
  Ø 2013 Youth Scholarship Program – Hive Update from the Scholarship Winners (2 minutes per Scholarship Recipient)
  Ø Program intermission & potluck dinner
  Ø AABA September 2013 Meeting-Honey, Beeswax and Picture Contest Ø Reminder – November 2013 – Election for Officers for 2014
  Ø Reminders - AABA Newsletter – blog format – Mind Your OWN Bee’s Wax
  Ø Reminders AABA – honey extraction equipment
  Ø Question & Answer Session
  Meeting Agenda – submitted by Don Fraser
  Blog: Mind Your OWN Beeswax
  Post: August Newsletter
  Link: http://aabanewsletter.blogspot.com/2013/09/august-newsletter.html
  Action Items:
  R. Fink – review final agenda and action items; mail to both AABA and non-AABA members; reminder to members regarding pot-luck. The AABA will provide the meat dish with members asked to bring side dish- vegetables, dessert, salads etc.
  

R. Fink/R. Trevino/D. Fraser – identify and confirm the judges for the September 2013 honey, photo and wax contests prior to the Sept 17, 2013 Meeting.
R. Fink – identify members of the AABA Nomination Committee for the AABA Officers Election in November 2013
R. Fink – USDA Bee Lab Update – Research and Open House. Prepare short update for AABA Newsletter
D. Fraser – Prepare draft of the AABA Leadership Development Program. Review of program announcement prior to the AABA meeting.
Action Item - AABA Bee Scholarship Winners - List of recipients (see below). Expectations for scholarship winners – take care of the bees, work with mentors, come to AABA meetings and provide a 1-2 min overview of their beekeeping activities. The use of pictures, poster boards etc is encouraged. Parents are encouraged to help their children with their 1-2 minute presentations; it is a great opportunity to learn presentation skills before a friendly and supportive audience.
The list of scholarship recipients include:

Parents	Children
Vonda and Curtis	Nathan, Joshua and Alex (family award)
Laura	Jacob
Jenni	Nathan
Richard Lynn and Joni Lea	Brenton
Kelli and Stephen	Mayce, Ryland, Cadyn and Eyslie (family award)
Michael and Sue	Luke
Ricka	Abby
Mimi and Thadd	Chloe

2013 Events

Jan 15 Meeting *

Feb 2 Bottling Party 9am-1pm Pearsall, TX

Feb 2 AABA San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo Booth Set-up

Feb7-24 SanAntonioStockShow&Rodeo Come meet us at our booth

March 19 Meeting *

April 13 Field Day Majestic Ranch, Boerne TX

May 21 Meeting *

July 16 Meeting *

Sep 17 Meeting * Honey, wax and photo contests

Nov 19 Meeting * Thanksgiving Dinner

Bi-monthly meetings are held 7-9 PM on the 3rd Tuesday
of the ODD numbered months (Jan-March-May-July-Sept-Nov) at Helotes Independent Baptist Church 15335 Bandera Rd Helotes, TX 78023