Alamo Area Beekeepers Association
Next meeting: Tuesday, September 16, 2014 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 July 2014 meeting minutes (5 min)
Ø Treasurer & Membership Report, Richard Trevino (5 min)
Ø 2014 Youth Scholarship Program Update – Rick Fink & Scholarship Recipients (5-10 min)
Ø Program intermission & potluck dinner
Ø Presentation – Albert Pena, Great Harvest Bakery (20 min)
Ø Honey, Wax & Photo Judging (30 min)
Ø Q&A – Beekeeping Questions
Ø Reminders - AABA Newsletter – blog – Mind Your OWN Bee’s Wax
Our feature speaker this month is Mr Albert Pena. Mr Pena is one of the owners of the Great Harvest Bakery in San Antonio. He will discuss the use of honey in bread products.
Honey and Photo Contest
We hope that you all had an excellent honey harvest this summer….collected some great honey for friends and family and took a few pictures. The AABA honey, wax and photo contest is less formal than the Texas Beekeeper Association contest at the TBA meeting in November 2014 in Houston. If you plan to submit entries to the TBA contest please go to Google and search the TBA website for the entry rules. The 2014 TBA Meeting will be in Houston, TX –Nov 7-9, 2014.
The AABA (Alamo Area Beekeeper Assoc) entry rules for both the honey and photo contests can be found at the bottom of this e-mail. Please note that we will have the more traditional extracted honey judging plus a “Black Jar” contest where the honey is judged on flavor and taste alone. The “Black Jar” contest has proven to be very popular so pick some of your best personal “vintage” of honey from your apiary and bring it to the meeting.
Action Items:
The AABA will provide the meat dish with members asked to bring side dish-vegetables, dessert, salads etc.
We would appreciate it if a few people (20) could bring folding chairs to the September 2014 AABA meeting.
Extractor Update – the gear on the extractor motor has been repaired (under warranty) by Maxant on September 9, 2014. We may have the extractor back a day or so before the AABA meeting on Sept 16th. Suggestion if you have honey that you want to extract for the AABA honey contest please call Rick Fink, Don Fraser or Richard Trevino Jr and we will help find an AABA member with an extractor you can borrow.
Meeting Agenda – submitted by Don Fraser, VP AABA
Blog: Mind Your OWN Beeswax
Link: http://aabanewsletter@blogspot.com. 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 merissa.stricker@gmail.com
Link: http://aabanewsletter@blogspot.com. 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 merissa.stricker@gmail.com
2014 Events
Tuesday Jan 21
|
Meeting *
|
Saturday
Feb 1
|
Bottling Party
9am-1pm
Youngblood Honey
3300 FM 1582
Pearsall, TX 78061
(Use Mapquest for Directions; GPS in your car may get you lost)
|
Saturday
Feb 1
|
AABA San Antonio Stock Show
& Rodeo Booth Set-up
Booth Location - #52 on the map – Little Buckaroo Farms, A Texas Experience by HEB
|
Feb 6-23
|
San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo
Come meet us at our booth |
Tuesday
March 18
|
Meeting *
|
Saturday
April 26
|
Field Day
Fink Ranch, 1199 Lower Mason Creek Rd, Bandera, TX 78003 |
Tuesday
May 20
|
Meeting *
|
Tuesday
July 15
|
Meeting *
|
Tuesday
Sept 16
|
Meeting *
Honey, wax and photo contests |
Tuesday
Nov 18
|
Meeting *
Thanksgiving Dinner and AABA Officer Election |
Bi-monthly meetings are held 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. Plan to arrive about 6:30 PM to register. The meeting will begin at 7 PM.
2014 Annual Alamo Area Beekeepers Association – Honey and Photo Contest.
General Entry Requirements:
1. Remove identifying label or markers from entry (See Black Jar Entry Requirements) Contest administrators will affix coded tabs to entries upon submission.
Extracted Honey Entry Requirements:
1. The TBA rules state that you must submit extracted honey entries in one-pound Queenline glass jars. AABA rules adjustment – Mason jars etc are acceptable – clear glass containers.
2. Contestants may only submit honey entries produced in their own apiary or by bees that they manage in a different state for honey production or pollination (see also Black Jar – Non Local Category).
“Black Jar” Honey Entry Requirements:
1. Entries must be submitted by a beekeeper and be pure unadulterated honey produced by his or her own bees.
2. An “Entry” consists of one (1) one-pound jar of honey.
3. Submit a one-pound jar without any identifying marks. Contest administrators will affix coded tabs to entries upon submission.
Photo Entry Requirements:
1. Judges will evaluate all entries in a class, regardless of black and white, color Photographers may submit any size entry with a maximum size of 8”x10”.
2. Entries in “Our Glorious Honey Bee” should depict honey bees in their natural environment depicting some element of honey bee behavior, science, or history or any aspect of beekeeping that contains a honey bee in the photo.
3. Photographers may only submit photos taken personally.
Manual Registration:
Competition Entry Form
One Form Required Per Contest Entry
Last Name: ___________________ First Name: ____________________
Address: ___________________________________________________
City / State: ___________________ Zip: ________ Phone:___________
o Honey - Extracted Honey
o Honey - “Black Jar” (note below)
o Photography – Our Glorious Honey Bee
“Black Jar Categories”
Local Blend ___ Local Varietal ___ Non-Local Blend ___ Non-Local Varietal ___ Exotic ___
HONEY JUDGING CRITERIA
Contest Judging – Extracted Honey - Judges may award points to entries in the following
categories for a possible 100 points:
Extracted Honey
Container Appearance 10
Level of Fill 10
Free of Foreign Matter 10
Brightness 10
Free of Air Bubbles and Foam 20
Flavor 40
Total Points 100
Contest Judging – “Black Jar” – Judges will award First, Second, and Third place to entries in categories based on blind tastings. Judges will not see the color, clarity, or any visual appeal of the honey. It is a contest based on flavor profile and taste alone. A panel of judges will taste test and score the honey entries individually, awarding points to each entry. Total Points determine placement.
Best Local Blend (example blend: wildflower, mesquite, native brush, tallow, etc)
Best Local Varietal (example at least 45% from one source: tallow, cotton, native brush, wildflower)
Best Non-Local Blend (example: Clover, Canola, Orange, Sourwood, etc blends)
Best Non-Local Varietal (example: at least 45% from one source: Clover, Canola, Orange, Sourwood, etc.)
Exotic (It still has to come from your own bees, and really be honey)
PHOTOGRAPY JUDGING CRITERIA
Contest Judging – Photography – Our Glorious Honey Bee - Judges may award points to entries in the following categories for a possible 100 points:
Photography – Our Glorious Honey Bee
Relevancy to Topic 25
Composition / Arrangement 15
Focus / Sharpness 20
Lighting 15
Creativity 25
Total Points 100
