Tupelo Beekeepers Association 14 Feb 2022
Meeting Minutes
Meeting was called to order at 1805.
Members present:
Skipper Turk (President), Mark Wolf (VP), Betsy Straley (MAL), Chris Liddle (Secretary), Tim Brehm (Treasurer), James Morris, Bubba and Laurie Cobb, Jim Rish, Stephen Revell, Dirk and Jacoba Neitzel, Buddy Rich, Danny and Shannon Bost, Amberleigh Schmidt, Josh Ray, Hayden Pearson, Grady Stanley, Elmore Herman, Jack DePue, Doug Bailey, Chris Mumpower, Christina and Michael Sabo, Ruth and Philip Berry.
Secretary Report: December 2021 Minutes were sent out to general membership for review. No comments received. Minutes approved as written.
Treasurer Report: There is currently $888.92 in the TBA account. The decrease from last meeting was due to checks for the pizzas for the Christmas party and payment for the TBA post office box. No outstanding payments.
Old Business:
1. American Farm Bureau plans to eradicate the popcorn tree by introducing a beetle: No update. (open)
2. T-shirts with club logo: Budget Printing in Tallahassee has the TBA logo on front and “Follow me to the beekeeper’s meeting” on the back. These shirts can be purchased individually from Budget Printing for $24. They can be purchased in any color. Contact Crystal. No further developments on printing from Little Village. (closed)
New Business:
1. Dues increase to 20$/yr with a sticker was presented to the membership. Skipper Turk also presented the possibility of a membership card to be presented to the Millie Bee Farm Store. Elmore Herman stated he will give 5% back to the TBA for any equipment purchases at his store. A member needs to identify themselves as belonging to TBA. Voted unanimously. To take effect immediately. (closed)
2. Millville Community Garden: Sam Mello of Sandhill Native Nursery presented that she is building a 1 acre garden/food forest on College Ave in Panama City in collaboration with Living Healthy Simplified and the City of Panama City. They wish to have 2 bee hives as the centerpiece of the garden. There would be 8ft fencing around the hives, signage at the hives would include TBA as a sponsor. Brian Hamilton (photographer/social media expert for the project said he would maintain the hives—he belongs to the Panhandle Bee Club in Chipley). Multiple members discussed donating equipment, possibility of catching swarms for the bees. Discussion of using this as a platform for community education on bees. Discussion of having our field day with open hive demonstration at this garden in April as well as participation in Earth Day to promote beekeeping in Panama City. Voted to to proceed with this gar-
den project. There was 1 dissenting vote. (open)
3. Earth Day: Much discussion about renting a table at Earth day (April 22 or 23) and what to do there. (honey tasting, honey sales, seed give-away, package for pollinator gardens). Sam Mello volunteered to provide seeds, Amberleigh Schmidt is a Girl Scout leader and said she would have her scouts put together packets. Voted to participate in Earth Day. Secretary will look into renting booth and putting together a group for people to work on project. (open)
4. Field Day: Lots of discussion about having a field day the week following earth day because we have gotten much interest in beekeeping during earth day. Discussion about where to have it (North Bay Haven vs Millville Community Garden), charging a fee, open hive demonstrations, education stations etc. Membership voted to have a field day, tentatively the week after Earth Day at the Community Garden. Secretary to put together a committee to work on this project. (open)
5: Rish Bee Castle: Jim Rish asked to present his invention at the next meeting. The Bee Castle decreases small hive beetles and mites. There is no presentation planned for March so he will be presenting his bee castle to the membership. (info)
6. Danny and Shannon Bost presented to the membership some issues with the Florida Beekeeper’s Association and the desire to find out if there was interest in starting a Panhandle Collaborative Bee Association of the 19 districts in this area of Florida. There was much Q&A and discussion. They would like members to discuss their issues and ideas with the president. All the presidents of those 19 districts (and anyone else who wishes to attend) will have a discussion about this at the Beekeeping in the Panhandle Days on May 6 and 7 in Chipley. The Bosts and Elmore Herman wanted to see if there was membership interest in forming a new association. A vote was held in the affirmative regarding this issue although the presenters did not need or want a vote. This is just in a discussion phase at this time (open)
Electronically signed, 14 Feb 2022
Christine Liddle, Secretary, TBA
Electronically signed, 17 Feb 22
Skipper Turk, President, TBA
Tupelo Beekeepers Association 14 Feb 2022
Board Meeting Minutes
Meeting was called to order at 1740.
Members present:
Skipper Turk (President), Mark Wolf (VP), Betsy Straley (MAL), Chris Liddle (Secretary), Tim Brehm (Treasurer), Danny Bost, Shannon Bost, Jack DePue, James Morris
Minutes: Minutes of Dec 2021 were sent to the board members and general membership. No comments
or corrections received. Approved as written.
Old Business:
1. American Legion Hall room transferred put out of Theresa Helms’ name. Buddy Rich and Betsy Straley’s husband and Mark Wolf are members of this legion hall. (closed)
2. Stephen Revell’s name was added to the website for cutouts/bee removals. (closed)
3. New beekeeper information file. Secretary to forward this information to Fern Compton for inclusion on our webpage. Need to ensure that there is a link to the Florida best practices for beekeepers on the website. Password for minutes on the website has been changed to Skipper Turk. (open)
New Business:
1. There was discussion about increasing the membership dues to $20/year with a TBA sticker. This will be presented to the general membership. (open)
1. Danny Bost wishes to talk to the membership regarding a collaborative effort to establish a Panhandle Beekeeping Association. He will be speaking at the general meeting. (info)
2. Sam Mello of the Millville Community Garden on College Ave has been talking with Skipper Turk regarding having 2 beehives as the centerpiece of the new community garden that is being built in Panama City. This would be for education purposes and to get the community informed on bees and their importance. There was discussion about signage, and 8ft chain link fence for protection of the hives, donation of hive equipment, bees, catching swarms, maintenance and possibly having our field day there. This will be presented at the general meeting. (open)
3. Discussion of participation in earth day. Renting a booth. Will be discussed at the general meeting. (open)
Adjourned at 1800.
Electronically signed, 15 Feb 2022
Christine Liddle, Secretary, TBA
Electronically signed, 17 Feb 2022
Skipper Turk, President, TBA
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