The Richmond Beekeepers Association

Minutes for Date: May 9th, 2017

Meeting held in Kinsmen Pavilion at Richmond Nature Park, 7:30 pm

There were 61 people in attendance.

Meeting called to order at 7:32 pm.

1. Opening Remarks and Introduction by Fiona Gold

1. 1. There were 4 “Newbees” in attendance.
2. Motion to approve minutes from April 11th, 2017 meeting
   1. Motion to approve April 11th 2017 minutes made by Amanda Goodman Lee, seconded by Blair Trenholme
   2. Carried
3. Treasurer’s Report
   1. RBA account currently at $13,404.34
4. Liberian beekeepers
   1. Unfortunately the Liberian beekeepers were denied Visas to enter Canada. The May 9th 2017 speaker was changed to allergy specialist Dr. Kanani.
5. President’s Lost and Found
   1. There is a portable tea mug that was left behind. Contact Fiona Gold to collect.
6. Thanks
   1. Thanks to Allen Garr and Leslie Williams for contributions to the newsletter, and to Ian Caven for putting the newsletter together and sending it out. If any member is not receiving the newsletter please contact Ian. Thanks to Shaidah Karim for picking up the bee gym for the raffle.
7. May Iotron run
   1. The last day to drop off equipment for the May Iotron run is Thursday May 11th, 2017 at 2pm.
8. Website update
   1. Ian Caven gave an update regarding the website. There is still a lot of work to be done. Work will continue over summer.
9. Reminder last meeting for summer
   1. May 9th 2017 is the last RBA meeting for the summer. Meetings resume September 12th, 2017. Bees and Beers meetings will continue throughout the summer, and are a good way to stay in touch, and discuss beekeeping issues through the season. Shaidah will be sending out updates throughout the summer.
10. Seed Exchange
    1. Interest was gauged from the RBA for a bee friendly tree grafting workshop in the fall. There was some interest.
    2. Blair Trenholme grows hops and offered it to the group should anyone need any.
11. Booking honey extractor
    1. The RBA owns an electric honey extractor. It’s stored at Miriam’s house near BCIT in Burnaby. Miriam can be contacted by phone or email to book the extractor and arrange a time to pick it up. A $10 deposit is required to borrow the extractor. Miriam will provide instructions on how to use the extractor upon pickup.
    2. Hugh Mawby offered the use of his 2 frame hand crank extractor. Anyone wishing to borrow Hugh’s extractor can connect with him through the online group discussion.
    3. The club also has an older electric extractor that no longer works. If anyone has the skills necessary to convert the extractor to hand crank please contact Fiona Gold.
12. Red Eagle website
    1. The Red Eagle TBH website will be shutting down this year. If there is anyone interested in taking over the running of this site please contact someone on the executive.
13. Upcoming Events:
    1. May 29^th Day of the Honeybee – Gus Santen offered to take Allen Garr’s demo hive to Trout Lake Market. Anyone interested in volunteering was asked to see Fiona Gold at the coffee break. There is also a Day of the honeybee on 27th in burnaby. Volunteers are also needed. Anyone interested in volunteering was asked to speak with Fiona at the break.
    2. June 17^th Field day – The Surrey Bee club will be putting on the summer Field Day at Vinoscenti Winery in Cloverdale. This event is potluck, so members are asked to bring food to share. Details can be found on the RBA website. This year’s theme is Bee Art.
    3. September 9^th – Randy Oliver will be speaking at the Snohomish Bee Club, just north of Seattle. Anyone interested in putting together a car pool from Vancouver to attend this event please contact Shaidah Karim.
    4. October 14-15^th Kirk Webster workshop – The topic will be Making the Varroa mite your ally. The first day will be talks, and the second day will be interactive demonstration.
    5. October 27-29th – 2017 BCHPA semi-annual meeting will be held in Kelowna. Friday will be a Business day, Saturday will be speakers, with workshops on Sunday. Randy Oliver will be one of the guest speakers.

14. Presentation: Allergy specialist Dr. Amin Kanani – Topic: Beestings
15. Coffee Break & Raffle
16. Beekeeping Questions Coach’s Corner
    1. RBA members broke out into smaller groups for coach’s corner with Eric Crosby, Steve Bailey, Julia Common, and Amanda Goodman Lee.

17. Motion to Adjourn: 9:45pm… Carried
18. Next Meeting: Tuesday, September 12th 2017