fbcjan2025newsletter.docx
January 19, 2025
January FBC letter from the President.
I would first like to thank everyone for allowing me to be your President this year. I will do my best to make it a great FBC beekeeping year. Jenifer Berndt has stepped up this year and accepted the nomination as VP and by your popular vote given her the opportunity to serve in 2025 as your FBC VP. Jenifer will be managing your meeting education each month this year so be sure and thank her for all those efforts as well as many other tasks she will perform to make FBC and better bee club. In December we had our annual board meeting and planning for our 2025 year at FBC. Those in attendance were Jen (VP), Teri (Secretary), Ryan (Treasurer), Bill (MAL), Andy (MAL), Lily (MAL), and myself. Our plan for 2025 includes our monthly meetings Jan through Oct, our two-day bee school, queen rearing class, disorder class, honey show, and our annual holiday dinner. We are putting together a partial schedule, and you may even have it by the time you see this newsletter. And for 2025 you should receive this newsletter one to two weeks prior to our monthly meeting. We are looking forward to a great 2025 beekeeping year.
It is now mid to late January, and I hope everyone has done the following. Fed their bees well in fall and have plenty of food on board now as the bees have begun their spring build up. They began their build up just after the winter solstice, which was Dec 21, at 4:19 am. And of course, treated our bees to mites in summer, maybe fall, and again in December. It also is a good idea to take a quick look into your hives on a warm day in mid-January to see that all is good. Plenty of food and more brood rearing. And since it is cold outside a good time to stay where it is warm and get all your equipment ready for spring and maybe build some new boxes. Also, if you are planning spring splits, and you have not ordered queens then you should do this now as most queen breeders will be out soon for spring deliveries.
Looking forward to seeing all of you on January 23rd to kick off our 2025 FBC year. Our speaker this month will be Peter Helfrich from MABA and will talk to us about “Native Bees.”
Best Regards,
Butch Shelton
Speaker Spot Light
Peter Helfrich is President of Metro Atlanta Beekeepers Association.
Peter is a backyard beekeeper with many years of experience. Along with the honey bee, Peter loves native bees. He sits on Decatur’s Bee City USA Committee to help ensure the community does all it can to preserve pollinators. Peter was Georgia Beekeeper Association’s Beekeeper of the Year for 2024.
Meeting Check-in
Please check in on the Wild Apricot App or the iPad FBC will have available.
If a guest does not have an account with FBC, please have the guest fill out their information on the note pad that will be provided.
This change in procedure will allow us to see our attendance numbers with greater ease than doing a 1-2- 3 head count.
Wild Apricot/Membership Software
Please go to
https://forsythbeekeepersclub.wildapricot.org, log in and update/enter your information.
Address, phone number, high school district etc.
Your information will be private to other club members, but keeping your information up to date allows the Board members to contact you should we need to.
Mentoring
Mentors will be assigned based on your Forsyth County high school district. When you fill out your membership form on our Wild Apricot Website, please fill in what district you reside in.
If you reside outside of Forsyth County, we will do everything in our power to assist you but cannot guarantee hive side visits.
Mentors will walk you through all aspects of beekeeping, from setting and selecting your apiary site to installing your bees to hive inspection and managing your hive. This service is provided free of charge to all paid members of FBC. Mentors are Certified and above. If you would like a mentor, please contact Teri Meyer and she will assign you to one in your area.
The private mentoring page (club membership form and paid dues required) ensures advice is sound, from experienced local keepers, and can be found here:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1037121333000214/
Bee School Day 1:
February 22, 2025, at the Armory.
100 Aquatic Circle, Cumming, 30040
9:00 am to 3 pm
This school is modeled from First Lessons in Beekeeping by Dr Keith Delaplane.
I encourage you to read this book before school. The club has a few copies and of course, Amazon.com.
The covered topics will get you through your first year of beekeeping. This is also a great refresher course for those eligible for the UGA Master Beekeeper Program Certified Beekeeper exam.
FBC will provide lunch and snacks also. If you have special dietary needs, please let Teri or Ann know.
If you would like to volunteer, please contact Bill Dunn.
Bee School Day 2:
Tentative date of April 26th with May 3rd as a backup date in case of rain.
Bill’s Pecan Orchard
Time: 9am-3:00pm
This is hive side, bring your smoker, veil, jacket, hive tool and questions.
Senior members of FBC will take you through the hive, then you will take us through the hive.
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Bring a chair and a sack lunch and water/drinks.
Wear appropriate footwear (we are in a cow pasture)
Bring your bee suit, veil, gloves, hive tool, smokers.
The facilities are primitive. Sawnee Mountain is a short drive if you are not comfortable with the trees;)
Directions:
There is not a physical address for the property.
https://maps.app.goo.gl/2Jr4ZPD6MXUZtoXa9
From Dawsonville:
Highway 9 south, past Spot Rd, Antioch Rd, you will turn right onto Dr. Dunn Rd.
(across from Sawnee View Gardens Cemetery) At the end of Dr. Dunn Rd, turn right onto Bettis Tribble Gap. Look for the hive boxes just a few hundred feet from the turn.
From South of the Square:
Hwy 9 North, past the VFW, across Sawnee View Gardens cemetery, turn left onto Dr. Dunn Rd.
Turn right at the stop sign (Bettis Tribble Gap)
Please text/call if you get lost.
Teri
770-235-5985
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Club Resources
(Available to paid members)
The Club Library includes books, magazines, DVDs, journals, and teaching hives.
Librarian: Lilly Turpin lillian1@mindspring.com 678-463-0907
Extractors are available for borrowing to paid members. Lilly hosts the extractor and equipment. Please email Lilly Turpin lillian1@mindspring.com to reserve the extractor. $20 cash deposit, returned to borrower upon cleaned extractor returned within 4 days.
2025 Club Officers
President: Butch Shelton butchshelton@bellsouth.net
Vice President: Jennifer Berndt
Secretary: Teri Meyer 770-235-5985 fbctreasurer1@yahoo.com
Treasurer: Ryan McDonald
Librarian: Lilly Turpin 678-463-0907
Members At Large: Bill Dunn, Andy Bailey, Butch Shelton
Member Products or Services:
Blue Ridge Honey Company Bees, beekeeping supplies Bob Binnie
706-782-6722
B & A Bees Honey and Hive Products Butch and Ann Shelton
770-366-3622
Bill’s Bees Honey and Hive Products Bill Dunn
770-630-2742
If you would like to have your inform