PSBA
Immediate Past President's Potherings …
December 12, 2008
Happy Pennsylvania Admission Day!
In case you were not aware, today is the day that we all celebrate the ratification of the U.S. Constitution by our Commonwealth. I do not know of any special parades going on today; let me know if there are.
Annual Meeting and Banquet
If were unable to attend the annual meeting in November, you missed a fun and educational meeting. We had special workshops for those “new to beekeeping”, splits, summer nucs, swarming, overwintering, honey house regulations, and labeling guidelines. Speakers included Mel Disselkoen, MDA Splitters; Jeff Pettis, USDA; and Byron Taylor, New Zealand Apiculture Officer.
The meeting balanced practical beekeeping with research. The Penn State University researchers presented their findings and Jeff Pettis gave us an update on Nosema cerana, a potential key to Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD).
Other topics covered at the state meeting include pollinator friendly gardens, identification of native pollinators, and a workshop on working with youth. This year we had more vendors than any time in recent years.
Please plan to attend the meeting next year—mark your calendar for November 13-14, 2009.
Honey House Regulations and Labeling Guidelines
Ben Weirick, Food Sanitarian for the PA Department of Agriculture, presented the Guidance and Requirements for Home Food Processing and the Guidelines for the Sanitary Operation of Honey Extracting Facilities at the PSBA State Meeting. The take home message from his talk is that the state regulators have not been actively nor consistently pursuing regulation of honey houses and home extracting facilities. We will make sure that the published regulations are posted on the PSBA web site and included in a future newsletter.
Hive Equipment Sterilization
Mark Antunes and Brian Marcy worked out the details for the next round of equipment sterilization. If you have American Foul Brood (AFB) infected or potentially infected equipment, you can have it disinfected. You will find dates, costs, and other details in this newsletter.
PSBA Summer Picnics
Yes, summer will soon be here (well, eventually it will be back), and plans are being made for the summer picnic by the Lancaster Honey Producers and PSBA for Saturday, July 25, 2009. The Northwestern PA Beekeepers Association has agreed to host the 2010 event. Please plan to attend both of these events.
Board Meeting Conference Calls
The PSBA Board has agreed to hold conference meetings at 7:00pm on March 18, June 17, and September 16, 2009. Please be sure that Yvonne Crimbring has the contact information for your local association representative.
Saturday Speakers Meeting
Several members met with me at the state meeting on Saturday noon to discuss sharing speaker lists and educational opportunities among our local and regional associations. It was agreed that we would post speaker lists and recommendations from our organizations on a volunteer basis. If you are a meeting planner for your organization and would like to either post information or view the existing recommendations, please e-mail me.
We also agreed to pursue a two-way broadcast of an educational presentation (preferably the most popular talk at the state meeting) to all Cooperative Extension Offices that have the capability.
Packages, Nucs, and New Beekeepers Courses
If you advertise to sell nucs or packages in the PSBA newsletter, we will also post that ad on the PSBA web site. Also, if your organization is planning a new beekeeper course, we will post that on a special web page. Please send all new beekeepers information, digital brochures, contact and other information to webmaster@pastatebeekeepers.org. Yvonne will send the ads for nucs and packages to our webmaster.
Term Limits
Well, the past state meeting marks the end of my term as your president. I have one thing in common with George Bush; we are both facing term limits this year. I have served two years as vice president under Joe Duffy and the last four years as president and have now reached the end of my service. It has been my pleasure to serve your interests and would like to thank everyone that helped to keep the organization running over the past six years. I was told when I was first elected that the organization “basically runs itself.” Although I was skeptical, I did find some truth to the statement. The organization is filled with many gems; people that work quietly behind the scenes, keeping their part of the organization running. We are blessed to have these people; it is the only way that we can transition smoothly from one administration to the next.
There are many people that I would also like to thank for their guidance and assistance. I mentioned many of them at the state banquet so I will not list them all here. I am so thankful to all of you who volunteered (some with a little push). Please extend that same generosity to our new officers: President Lee Miller, Vice President Warren Miller, and 2nd Vice President Mike Thomas.
According to the Good Book, there is a time for change. A major theme of the past national election also was change. Over the next year we will see many changes. I think it is time for a change and new ideas for PSBA and I am confident that Lee Miller will provide that leadership.
Two of the top priorities of the incoming administration are healthcare and employment. May PSBA members pursue these same goals for their laborers—keep them healthy and hard at work.
Peace,
Jim Bobb
Immediated Past PSBA President
Email: JimBobb@GCT21.net
Phone: (610) 584-6778