MEMBER NEWS

OCTOBER 2009

• CONGRATULATIONS to our KCBA Members who placed in the Tennessee Valley Fair Beekeeping Exhibits!!!
• The KCBA took 1st place in the County Beekeeping Exhibit. 
• In the Homemade Beeswax Product category, Deborah Bowie placed 1st. 
• Harry Bowie won 1st place in Amber Honey and 5th in Dark Amber Honey.
• Wilma Seay, competing in the Frames of Honey Show, won 1st Place in the Light Shallow, Deep Shallow, and Dark categories.  Wilma also placed 2nd in Individual Education Display, Italian Honeybee Showcase, and Extra Light Honey categories.  Wilma took 4th place in White Extracted Honey and was the Individual Sweepstakes Winner. 
• Earl Seay  placed 2nd in Light Shallow and Deep Shallow Frames of Honey Show.  He also finished 4th in Extra Light Amber Honey the Individual Education Display while taking 5th in White Extracted Honey. 
• Shirley DeBusk won 2nd place in White Extracted Honey and received 3rd place ribbons in Amber, Dark Amber Honey, and Individual Education Display.  Shirley closed out her competition with a 5th place in the Extra Light Amber Honey category. 
• Josiah, Daniel, Elayna, and Rachel Creech, our young KCBA Members and children of Brian Creech, won the Junior Honey Show in both the Light and Dark Extracted Honey categories. 

JUNE 2009

• Gus Clayton, son of KCBA Members Bill and Debbie Clayton, just won the local district competition for his 4-H Entomology Project.  Gus chose honeybees as his subject and will be competing in the Tennessee State Competition at the University of Tennessee Martin 4-H Roundup.  Congratulations, Gus!

MARCH 2009

• The 2009 Beginner's Short Course was a great success!  Held on March 3 and 5, attendance averaged about 50 each night.  On Tuesday night, attendees were treated to different speakers discussing the various techniques, equipment, and other essentials to beekeeping.  On Thursday night, everyone was able to visit various stations and exhibits to get "hands-on" with their beekeeping education.  Exhibits included woodenware, identifying problems in your hive, swarm catching, honey tasting, honey extracting, queen rearing, and others. 

DECEMBER 2008

• The annual Christmas Potluck Supper was a great time.  About 30 members and guests were in attendance.  A wonderful Christmas ham was prepared and attendees provided tasty vegetables and desserts.  A gift swap followed that was fun for participants and spectators. 

NOVEMBER 2008

• CONGRATULATIONS to Shirley DeBusk for being named the "2008 Beekeeper of the Year" by the Tennessee Beekeeper's Association!   To quote her nomination letter from the KCBA, "By providing demonstrations [of] frames and jars of honey, bees wax and products, observation hives, charts and posters in schools for 4-H Meetings, beekeeper meetings, the Tennessee Valley Fair, [or] whenever called upon, Shirley has had numerous opportunities to share her passion for honeybees" that she has always taken advantage of.  We are so proud to have her as a KCBA member!

OCTOBER 2008

• The KCBA was represented by several members at the 2008 TBA Annual Conference held this year in Memphis, Tennessee.  Members who attended found the conference very fun and educational.  Some reported highlights were the roundtable discussion panel of apicultural experts from across the country, seminars on the africanized honeybee migration, new research around solving colony collapse disorder, and a mead-making class!