You do not have to be a member to attend. Meetings are the 4th Monday of the month (sometimes we skip May or December). Come early because beekeepers like to buzz around in front of the hive.
SPEAKERS FOR 2019
January 28th - Jay Heselschwerdt - Jay is the East Tennessee representative of Tennessee State Apiarist Mike Studer and does an exceptional job discovering and managing bee diseases. He will share with us the latest on the Winter of 2018 versus the Winter of 2017 (which was very bad for Tennessee bees).
February 25th - Kent Williams - Kent comes to us from western Kentucky where his parents were probably born. (That was a reference to a John Prine song, who is from that area, and who Kent sounds like, and makes you laugh like.) Kent is a legendary beekeeper in our area who has vast experience, manages well over 100 hives, is Eastern Apicultural Society certified as a Master Beekeeper, and is paid for his beekeeping wisdom by some very large commercial beekeepers in and around Kentucky.
March 25th - Derick Forester - Derick is the Rising Fawn, Georgia owner and operator of Forester Farms Apiary. He will present on integrated pest management and will in particular talk about the hive heating device he has found effective.
April 22nd - Dr. Clarence Collison - While almost a "local" to us, Dr. Collison is also a nationally recognized academic authority on honeybees. Now retired, he was Professor of Entomology and Head of the Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology at Mississippi State University. Prior to his move there, in 1989, he was an Extension Entomologist at Pennsylvania State University, where he served as Beekeeping/Pollination Specialist and Livestock Entomologist. He now travels the country lecturing about bees and writes for Bee Culture magazine.
May - TBA - CANCELLED, due to Memorial Day Holiday.
June - TBA
July - TBA
August - TBA
September - TBA - but usually CANCELLED, due to our annual picnic
October - TBA
November - TBA
December - CANCELLED = We do not meet this month due to the holidays.