ECWBA Newsletter - January 2011

Happy New Year to all of the ECWBA members!!!

1. Meeting Dates: Here is the list of meeting dates for the new year, 2011:

• January meeting: January 15, 2011, 9:30 am, at Ripon Public Library, Ripon, WI.

• February meeting: February 12, 2011, 9:30 am, Room O-104, Moraine Park Technical College, Fond du Lac, WI.

• March meeting: March 12, 2011, 9:30 am, at Ripon Public Library, Ripon, WI.

• May (or June) meeting: Field day. Date, time, and place are yet to be determined. Some members have requested that the field day be moved to the middle of June in order to observe colonies that have already transitioned to the honey production phase.

2. Meeting locations:

The January and March meetings will be at the Ripon Public Library, 120 Jefferson Street, Ripon, WI. The meetings will be downstairs in the Silver Creek Room. The Ripon Library is located one block behind the Ripon City Hall.

The February meeting will be held at the Moraine Park Technical College (MPTC), 235 North National Avenue, Fond du Lac, WI. The meeting will be held in Room O-104. Parking is available in the parking lot on National Avenue north of Johnson Street.

3. Meeting topics: The topics for the first few meetings have been established. At the January meeting, Dean Lapp of Lapp’s Bee Supply will speak about the beekeeping supply industry, package bee sourcing, and be able to answer questions about beekeeping topics. At the February meeting, Craig Petros, one of Wisconsin’s state bee inspectors, will speak about the current state of bee health in Wisconsin and also answer questions about bee diseases.

4. Officer elections: At the January, 2011, meeting, the offices of vice-president and treasurer will be up for election. The positions are currently held by Don Palkovich as Vice President and George Weigel as Treasurer. Both, Don and George, have done a great job as ECWBA officers for the past two years. Here’s an opportunity to be come directly involved with the ECWBA. Please consider running for either of these offices -- a little “electoral competition” would be great to see. If you have any questions about the election or about becoming an officer, please contact Jeff Champeau by phone or e-mail.

5. Membership: For 2011, the membership dues payment period will be the first two months of the year. After that, membership privileges (voting at meetings and receiving a newsletter) will be withheld until dues are paid. Dues will remain at $15.00 for a yearly membership. See next page for more information.

Happy New Year and Best of Beekeeping,

Jeff Champeau - President, ECWBA - Telephone: 715-330-9969 - jeff.champeau@yahoo.com