Happy New Year Back Yard Beekeepers!

I hope you, your families, and your hives had a wonderful holiday season. 2022 is in full swing and the Back Yard Beekeepers Association is ramping up for another year of education and tending to honeybees. At the end of last year, a new slate of officers was voted in and I’d like to introduce myself and my fellow officers. 

I am Ben Haase and will be the President of BYBA for the coming year. I’ve been serving on the board since 2019 and have filled a few different positions including interim treasurer and webmaster. I’m joined by fellow board Andy Hatt serving as Vice-President, Keith Marsh as our Secretary, and Ted Sullivan as the club’s Treasurer. We’re accompanied by another 26 board members who fill the roles on various committees and chairperson positions. 

Though all our bee yards may be quiet, and possibly covered in snow and ice, the board has been meeting over the winter and developing our calendar for the year. The programing committee has been hard at work scheduling guest speakers for our monthly meetings and just last week kicked off Bee School 2022! We all recognize that COVID has changed the way we gather, but we would like to get back to our previous schedule of workshops and events as much as possible in 2022. Last year we even tried out a few new styles of events like the ice cream social that was a hit. 

I’d like to ask all of you to share your thoughts with us on what you’d like to see from the club this year and in the coming years. Are there workshops you’d like to see presented? Are there speakers you’d love to hear from? Is there a topic we’ve not yet covered that piques your interest? Please write to me at president@backyardbeekeepers.com with your ideas.

The club is always looking for volunteers to help out within the various committees we have. From helping to maintain the bee yards to staffing a booth at a nature fair, from caring for an observation hive at the local nature center to speaking with a school group. We are also always looking for more mentors to help our newer members as they begin their beekeeping journey. If you’d like to help with any of these please reach out to me or to any of the committee chairs directly. 

Finally a few reminders for everyone:

 – Bee School is in session. Session 2 was postponed, so feel free to still join if you’d like. You can watch the recording of Session 1 and be ready to roll before session 2 on January 24th.

 – Our first General Meeting will be on February 22nd with Evan Abramson.

 – Membership Renewal Time – Don’t forget to renew your membership for the new year!

Ben Haase

BYBA President