President's Corner
by Frank Marro
A new year is upon us and with it our anticipation of getting into our colonies to ascertain how our charges did over the winter. We are very pleased to have had 40 students for the beginning beekeeping workshop. Most seem inclined to actively manage hives this year. All of the feedback we received from the students was positive and this is no doubt due to all of the help in scheduling, tracking and working on the course.
My heartfelt thanks go out to State Apiarist Bob Mitchell, Master Beekeeper Dean Burroughs, Master Gardener Maggie Moor-Orth, and Dave Carter for presenting excellent didactic sessions, and to Debbie, Katie, and Dick Goerger for all of the things they did both on site and behind the scenes. Thanks also to Bill Leitzinger for picking up the breakfast and break amenities. We received door prizes from Mann Lake, Kelly, Brushy Mountain, and Dadant. Dave Carter also provided goose feathers with instruction on how to use as a bee brush.
I cannot thank John Clendaniel, of Delaware State University, enough for partnering with us in this endeavor by providing the Outreach and Research Center facilities for our use. His team cleaned the classroom and set up tables, chairs, audiovisual and other amenities for our use. They also cleaned up what we did not, the following day. He also financed the purchase of Dr. Caron’s textbook for distribution to the students. Our course would obviously not have been anywhere near as successful as it was without his help. We look forward to reciprocating the help in programs that DSU holds in the future.
Our annual meeting approaches on March 6, at the Paradee Center in Dover. We look forward to welcoming Dr. Debbie Delaney, newly appointed professor of entymology at the University of Delaware. She will present us with an update on her areas of study and how we as an organization might collaborate with her in these areas. In addition, we will be visited by Dr. Galen Dively, of the University of Maryland, who will speak on pesticide exposure risk to honeybees. We will have the business portion of our meeting in the morning, including election of new officers, presentation of any bylaw changes, and general discussion on the direction the DBA should take in future operations.
These include the continued funding of the website, revenue enhancement from sales of DBA logo items, tracking speaking engagements, initiation of an emeritus status in membership, and recognition of exceptional service by a member. There will be door prizes from the suppliers mentioned above as well.
I look forward to seeing you for what promises to be a very educational day, and an opportunity to meet old friends and make new ones.