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Offline brooksbeefarm

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Bee Clubs
« on: January 16, 2014, 10:41:27 am »
Our club membership has grown to 200+ and we are starting a beginners class in Feb. for new members. My question? Can a club get to big? We had to move from the Library(that was free) to the SWMU college Ag. building where we pay a small rental fee plus having to buy insurance, up until two years ago our bee schools were free, two years ago they charged $30.00 per person and they got a club membership $15.00 and a First Lessons in Beekeeping book $9.00 and the club got $6.00 from the $30.00 and we had over 100 people take the classes. This year it's $50.00 per person and not so many have signed up so far, we have to split the regular meetings up in two groups now with new members in one room and advanced members in another. My self i miss the old days when we had 45 to 60 members and everyone knew each other and we talked about our bees and the problems and problems they were having and and how and what to do for it, and how good some of there bees were doing and how they take care of there bees.Now days i don't know half of the members and i brought this up to our president and board members and may have started a fire storm :o. Would like to know your feelings on this,? and don't get me wrong, i do like meeting new want to be Beekeepers. Jack
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Offline iddee

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Re: Bee Clubs
« Reply #1 on: January 16, 2014, 10:46:01 am »
I see and understand completely, but I don't have an answer. Any way you go with it, someone is going to be hurt.
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Offline Perry

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Re: Bee Clubs
« Reply #2 on: January 16, 2014, 10:53:43 am »
I would be happy just having a club. We are so far spread out it is not really feasible. I belonged to one out west that had about 50 regular members and it was great. You knew everyone so you could groan out loudly when the wrong folks won the door prizes and not offend them.  :D
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Offline DLMKA

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Re: Bee Clubs
« Reply #3 on: January 16, 2014, 02:07:17 pm »
Our club has grown to 70+ members and we've been having better attendance at meetings too with 20-30 that regularly show up. I think it can get too big but I'm just glad we're getting better attendance, it makes it more fun for me.
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Offline Moots

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Re: Bee Clubs
« Reply #4 on: January 16, 2014, 04:37:26 pm »
brooks,
Is a secondary club an option?  I belong to the Baton Rouge club which meets on the first Tuesday of every month.  Not sure of the actual membership numbers, but I'd say we average about 75 people at our meetings.  I also belong to a club for the Parish (i.e. county) where I live, that meets the second Tuesday of each month, it's much smaller, probably averages 10 to 15 members per meeting.

I feel like while they are both a very different experience, they both offer something.  I know other Beeks that only belong to one or the other.  It's my understanding that the gentleman that started the local club did so because he thought the other club was simply to big and while he still maintains his membership in it, I never see him attend any of the meetings.

That being said, our local "small" club meeting had 23 people at the meeting Tuesday, by far the biggest crowd I've seen in the nearly 1 1/2 I've been a member.  :)
Overall, a good sign/problem for the bees and the hobby...but there is something to be said for a smaller group.
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Offline brooksbeefarm

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Re: Bee Clubs
« Reply #5 on: January 16, 2014, 05:21:47 pm »
Our club meeting is on the 4th Tues. of the month also, we have got 120 to 150 members out of the 200+ that show up at our meetings. The ones i've met are really interested in the bees and very nice people and have come to my farm to ask questions, and i would tell them what little i know and go through some of my hives. With the membership and book they get out of the $50.00, the club offers free mentoring from members who volunteer,well i started looking around to see how many older members are left that would make good mentors. There might be 20 of them left, the others are either dead or to old to come, and some have told me they just don;t get anything out of it any more. The president ask if i thought a secondary club might be an option when i called him? i told him i would hate to see it come to that, but it may come to that. I'm thinking maybe i'm just one of those old farts that don't like change and want things like the old days. :-[ Jack
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Offline Jen

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Re: Bee Clubs
« Reply #6 on: January 16, 2014, 09:34:19 pm »
Perry ""I would be happy just having a club.""

Me too Perry, the only two clubs that i know of are 1 1/2 hours away and in the winter there is a big mountain pass I have to get over to get to either of them.

For the time being this forum is my bee club  ;)
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Offline tecumseh

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Re: Bee Clubs
« Reply #7 on: January 17, 2014, 05:02:08 am »
interesting question Jack.  I would guess yes but have no idea where you might draw the line.  in a club you would like most members to know one another.  the splitting off to make other clubs or associated clubs does however produce a problem.  first think I notice is the associated club members no longer attend and they no longer feel compelled to participate in the bee clubs activities.  then of course with the smaller numbers it becomes more and more difficult to attract speakers.
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Offline Gary

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Re: Bee Clubs
« Reply #8 on: January 17, 2014, 09:38:06 am »
Started a new beekeepers club for our area last night. Over 70 members to start with and they asked me to serve as president for the first year so I agreed. Does anyone out there have a copy of your bee clubs Charter or By-Laws that you might share so I don't have to start from scratch? I would be most thankful for your help.
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Offline iddee

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Re: Bee Clubs
« Reply #9 on: January 17, 2014, 10:05:45 am »
Gary, sent you an email
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“Listen to the mustn'ts, child. Listen to the don'ts. Listen to the shouldn'ts, the impossibles, the won'ts. Listen to the never haves, then listen close to me... Anything can happen, child. Anything can be.”
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Offline Jen

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Re: Bee Clubs
« Reply #10 on: January 17, 2014, 01:46:22 pm »
Good For You Gary! And wonderful how you are going to work with the vets. Applaud!
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