October 14 Meeting: Saturday 9-

October 14 Meeting: Saturday 9-

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We missed getting minutes for this meeting. {:-(>

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Saturday October 14, 2017   9-11 AM

(If this has not been updated check the public service announcements in the Ravali Republic or the Bitterroot Star)

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We'll meet at the Hamilton Assembly of God Church, 601 W Main, Hamilton (entrance in the rear – remember to bring a non-perishable food donation to thank them for use of their space.)

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Hi fellow beekeepers!!
It's hard to believe that summer is nearly over, and that snow may even fly this week.  I know that some of you had problems with queens this year, and if you weren't at last month's meeting, we asked Scott Debnam about it.  He said that if there were issues with the queens to begin with, that you had done nothing wrong.  I don't know if that'll make you feel any better, but at least it makes me feel that we aren't completely incompetent!

HONEY TASTING!

For the last portion of our meeting, we'll do a honey tasting featuring YOUR honey!  Please bring a small jar of your honey to share.  We'll write our names and general location on cards when you get to the meeting.  I had hoped to do a semi-formal tasting, like I experienced at the Western Apicultural Society meeting, but it would require that I have samples ahead of time, etc.  Maybe we'll be able to work that into the January class :)  

WESTERN APICULTURAL SOCIETY CONFERENCE

I'm going to share some of what I learned at the WAS meeting last month.  I promise not to PowerPoint you to tears.  Mainly, I want to encourage everyone to attend next year's conference in Boise and to share some of the awesome stuff I got to hear about!

WHAT WORKED AND WHAT DIDN'T WORK

We'll spend some time reflecting on our summer of beekeeping.  What successes you had, and your failures...what do you want to do better for next year?  What can we do as a club, and what can you do to help you and others be more successful?

PREPARING FOR WINTER

We'll have another brief discussion on what you should do to get your hives ready for winter.  All of your hives should have about 10 lbs (or 10 brood frames) of honey already.  If they don't, you should be feeding!  We'll talk about cold-weather treatment options for varroa mites, and fall feeding ideas.

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NOVEMBER OFFICER ELECTIONS AND TWO BITS OF EXCITING NEWS!

Each November, we elect our new officers.  There has actually never been a real election in the sense that not more than one person volunteers to run for a position!  

I (Jaylene) am resigning/retiring as our club president.  I've very much enjoyed my last 4 years of involvement with the club, and am certainly not abandoning it!  It looks like I'll become the Director-At-Large for Western Apicultural Society.  This means that I'll be able to develop more connections that will benefit our club :)  This year's VP Loren Stormo (our Vape-A-Mite creator!) has agreed to step up :)  If anyone else is interested in running for club president, let me know!  At this point, we need people to run for vice-president, secretary and treasurer.  Call me or shoot me an email if you're interested and I can give you more information and get you on the official ballot.

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MONTANA STATE BEEKEEPER'S ASSOCIATION HOBBY BEEKEEPERS MEETING - OCT 21

On Saturday, Oct 21, the MT State Beekeepers will be hosting a meeting in Bozeman from 9am - ? Featured speakers include Scott Debnam, Jerry Bromenshenk, Dr. Dale Hill (bee nutritionist), and our MT state apiculturist.  This will be a great opportunity to hear from experts and meet other hobby beekeepers from around the state!  I'll have more details on this soon.  I'll be there, and I hope you can pop over for the day!

SUPER EXCITING NEWS!  

Randy Oliver of scientificbeekeeping.com is coming to Montana on July 6, 2018!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  I can't possibly tell you how exciting this is!!!!  Obviously, I'll inundate you with more details as they get ironed out.  I'm planning for us to do a mini-conference in conjunction with the Missoula Club (Big Sky Beekeepers) and others in Western MT, Idaho and E. Washington.  I really can't wait!