That's great Gypsi. The future of beekeeping is in the hands of our youth.
Our club has about 535 members with an average (this past year) of 125 per monthly meeting. Many join to get a monthly newsletter that is published by the club editor. Club officers can be in a particular position for 3 years. At that point they can be elected, by the club, to a new position or step down. The club also has a board that meets annually or more depending on need. We have a club president, club program chairperson, 1st vice president in charge of scholarship students, 2nd vice president expert in honey plants, Treasurer (has a life time position because he is exceptional), Secretary, a club librarian (in charge of bringing the club's collection of books to meetings)and a webmaster. I am in the 3rd year as club secretary. We also have a volunteer who comes in early to make coffee and organize snack providers.
The club meeting programs are usually broken down into the 1st 15 which is a quick topic. Sometimes that is a report from scholarship students on their first year of beekeeping (a requirement). Or how to properly make a frame or winter chores, etc. The 1st 15 is usually a club member that has knowledge on a topic or done their homework to make a good presentation.
The rest of the meeting might be presented by a club member or guest from another club, or an "expert" that happens to be available and in the area. That portion of the meeting is an indepth presentation on topics including IPM or harvesting honey, etc. We did decide that there was a need to present information for the long term members of the club as most topics are geared toward newbies. So we hope to have topics including queen rearing and commercial beekeeping.
We also have a meeting scheduled where the topic is gadgets and gizmos. That involves homemade devices that club members have made that works for them. Homemade extractors, hot boxes, hive stands, etc. We sometimes have Q&A Ask the Old Bee Guy/Gal.
In March the club hosts a Beginning Beekeepers Class which usually takes two consecutive Sundays. In June the club hosts a Fun Day which just gets better every year. Funday is for beekeepers in all stages of beekeeping. Last year's keynote guest speaker was Tom Seeley. This year's Keynote speaker will be Marla Spivak. We also hope to get Dr. Marion Ellis to come back again. Funday is filled with breakout sessions that will engage all beekeepers.
We usually have 3-7 scholarship students. There is a set of established rules regarding the scholarship program. It includes an application process, interviewing with the student and their parents, suitable mentors, attendance requirements and the club provides the woodenware, bee package, bee suit and basic equipment. The board is currently putting together a program to train future mentors, called MITs (Mentors in Training). It seems like the same old timers sacrifice their time every year to mentor a students. So this would be a way of recruiting and assuring that mentors would be knowledgeable enough to mentor.
We have two fund raisers per year to support the scholarship program. An auction at the December meeting and a silent auction at Funday. Bee related items are brought in, from club members, to be auctioned off.
I have to give credit to club officers and board members that also belong to other regional and state clubs. They are constantly networking to learn new ideas, meet potential guest speakers and get ideas for our club. They stay educated and informed on what is happening in the beekeeping world. They are the heart beat of the club and devote countless hours to it's success.
Apologies for the lengthy response, but you asked!
