When: Tuesday, May 4, 7:00 p.m.
Where: Zoom meeting: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/92391693233?pwd=dkQzOC9kVFljeFZscEtHcXlVUTE4QT09

This month we feature our famous panel of experts who can answer all of your questions. Bring all your beekeeping queries for the Q&A, especially those timely Spring topics such as package installation, queen health, sugar syrup ratios, and anything else on your mind.

When: Tuesday, April 6, 7:00 p.m.
Where: Zoom meeting: https://zoom.us/j/92391693233?pwd=dkQzOC9kVFljeFZscEtHcXlVUTE4QT09

Spring is here and it is time to get ready for new hives! Joining us for a primer on beginning beekeeping is Danny Najera of Green River Community College. Learn about the equipment you need, how to install bees in your new hive and how to them off to a good start.

And, if that wasn’t enough, Cassie Cichorz of the WA Department of Agriculture will join us to give an update on the Asian giant hornet and efforts to track and eradicate them.

When: Tuesday, March 2, 7:00 p.m.
Where: Zoom meeting: https://zoom.us/j/92391693233?pwd=dkQzOC9kVFljeFZscEtHcXlVUTE4QT09

Our first speaker on March 2 is Loni Ronnebaum of Fungi Perfecti. She will discuss “how fungi can help give bees a chance.” Fungi Perfecti has teamed up with Washington State University to study the effects of fungal extracts on bees. Together our efforts have raised over $5 million towards this important cause! She will discuss their research, future plans and what, as individuals, we can do to give bees a chance.

Then we will hear from Ellen Miller of the Washington State Beekeepers Association, who will talk about their Apprentice and Journeyman beekeeping programs. If you haven’t taken the Apprentice class, it is very worthwhile and will improve your beekeeping knowledge. If you already have your Apprentice certification, the SnoKing Beekeepers Association is forming a study group for the Journeyman program, starting on March 22.

When: Tuesday, February 2, 7:00 p.m.
Where: Zoom meeting: https://zoom.us/j/92391693233?pwd=dkQzOC9kVFljeFZscEtHcXlVUTE4QT09

It is still chilly, but spring isn’t far away and it is time to think about what you need to be prepared.

Our speaker will be friend of the club Cory Marchand from the Snohomish Bee Company. Cory spoke to the group last fall about preparing for winter, so it seems appropriate that he’d talk to us about how to get ready for when the colonies that survived (thanks to his great advice) are flying again.

If you are a new beekeeper, you will not want to miss this.

And, of course we will have the ever-popular roundtable to answer your beekeeping questions.

When: Tuesday, January 5, 7:00 p.m.
Where: Zoom meeting: https://zoom.us/j/92391693233?pwd=dkQzOC9kVFljeFZscEtHcXlVUTE4QT09

To start 2021 off on a sweet note, our program will be all about honey.

Carla Marchese, from the American Honey Tasting Society, will tell us all about honey – the taste, the color, and the love.

We figured it would be good to start with something that is unique, interesting, and positive. We will return to fretting about winter hive loss, varroa, and murder hornets later.

And, to make sure we fully spread the honey love, we want everyone to join us, even if you haven’t visited in a while or haven’t paid dues. It would be good to see everyone’s smiling face.

When: Tuesday, December 1, 2020, 7:00 p.m.
Where: Zoom meeting (members, check Diane’s Nov. 25 email for log-in information)

This month, Cassie Cichorz of the state Dept. of Agriculture will be updating us on their busy fall season of tracking and trapping Asian Giant Hornets. Also, you can keep up-to-date of their happenings through their Asian Giant Hornet Facebook page.

Sadly, due to our Covid pandemic, we are unable to have our Beekeepers Ball this year.  Next year we’ll be back with bells on.  BUT WAIT…in order to bring some holiday cheer and festivities to our meeting, we are going to have a Virtual White Elephant Gift Exchange.  Check out the details below.  Gary has quite the online set up for us.  Bring a beverage of choice to our Zoom meeting and let’s have some fun and enjoy this virtual festivity.

White Elephant Gift Exchange

Here is how we will play:

1. Each participant should buy a gift ahead of time ($15 or less in value, please)
2. Each participant will wrap their gift to make it look like a fun and entertaining present
3. We will gather together on our December Zoom call.
4. We will select a picking order, probably based on a name or magic number.
5. Gifters will hold up all presents in the zoom call.
6. Each participant picks a present in turn, based on the picking order. The gifter unwraps the gift on camera and we will collect who selects each present so that we have the master list at the end
7. The next player takes a turn, either stealing the present or having another gifter unwrap a new present.
8. The game continues until all presents are gone.
9. Once the event concludes, gifters send presents to their rightful owners.

Here are some rules to make it fun for all!
1. Stick to the budget – Like any gift exchange, the white elephant works best when all participants stick to the suggested price range, so try to keep the gifts to $15 or less.
2. Remember that your gift is still a gift, not just a joke – While selecting an outlandish gift is one of the most fun aspects of a white elephant party, consider that your recipient will keep the present once the party ends. The best white elephant gifts are silly, but still desirable.
4. Gift givers send the presents only after the game ends – Stealing presents while playing virtually presents a logistical challenge. Instead of trading gifts on the spot, the member who bought the item will hold onto the present until the game’s end. The gift givers can still wrap the object up and unwrap the box when a team member picks that present, but will not ship the item until the game ends and there is a definitive recipient.
5. Players can choose to keep a present or steal a present from a player who has already gone – If a player prefers another present over the unwrapped gift, that player can force another participant to give up the gift. To keep the game from getting too chaotic, we will stipulate that no more than three steals can occur during one turn. The third person must accept the gift opened during that turn.
6. No player can decline a trade – Swiping gifts is part of the fun of a white elephant exchange, and all players enter the event with that knowledge. A guest cannot refuse to swap, and cannot steal back an item during the same turn.
7. There is a limit on stealing  – This is an optional rule. To keep the game from getting out of hand, we will decree that players cannot steal a single gift more than three times and that a single player cannot steal more than three times per game.
Want some fun during our December SVBA meeting?  If so, then plan on participating in our Virtual White Elephant Gift exchange! Virtual white elephants are online gift exchanges where participants give wacky and impractical gifts to each other. We will have a “steal” mechanism, where one participant can snag a gift from another. White elephant exchanges aim to entertain, and teammates compete to see who can find the strangest-yet-still-desirable present.

Since our regular meeting day would coincide with Election Day…

Our November club meeting will be held November 10, 2020, at 7:00 p.m.

It’s another good one! Mt. Si Brewing Supply will be telling and teaching us about Mead Making. Just in time for the holiday! Cheers!

Club members, look for a newsletter from Diane with the Zoom link for the meeting.

Our September 1 meeting brings our Annual Meeting.  Two important events normally happen at this time, our ELECTIONS for our Board Officers and Trustees and also the NUC DRAWING.

Additionally, this year’s September meeting also brings another opportunity for our active members. RANDY OLIVER will be our guest speaker. In lieu of our Members-Only Summer Picnic, our September’s meeting is a Member-Only event. If you are not yet an active member, you too have an opportunity to join us and see renowned beekeeping expert Randy Oliver on September 1. 

Elections
We are taking nominations for the 2021 Board Officers and Members at Large positions.  Whether you would like to nominate yourself or another active member, we are accepting nominations for:

• President 
• Vice President
• Secretary 
• Treasurer
• 2-3 trustees 

To nominate yourself or another member, email Diane at [email protected].

Nuc Drawing
Our annual Nuc Drawing is normally held at the September meeting. With Covid-19, there have been many changes we all have experienced including the apiary, which has not been operating in normal fashion. So, this year we do not have an actual Nuc to raffle off. Instead the club will purchase a “Nuc Gift Certificate” from Snohomish Bee Company and raffle that off this year. The Nuc itself will be available for pickup at the Snohomish Bee Company in Spring 2021.

• Each currently active member household will receive one ticket in the raffle.   
• For these currently active members, who renew their membership (for 2021) by August 31,  2020, you will receive an additional ticket for this year’s Nuc raffle.  (Two chances to win.)
• Those who are currently inactive and join by August 31^st, 2020 will receive a ticket for this year’s Nuc raffle.  

The drawing will occur at our September 1, 2020 meeting after Randy Oliver’s presentation during our club announcements between 8:00 – 9:00 PM on our Zoom call. You must be present on the Zoom call to win.

Online sales are now closed. Thank you to everyone who ordered online! We look forward to seeing you from 9:00-noon on Saturday, August 15 at the Umpqua Bank in North Bend (146 W 2nd St.).

If you did not get a chance to purchase online, you can swing by our event on Saturday and purchase some honey!

Just because we’re all supposed to stay apart these days doesn’t mean we can’t learn from each other. With many of us receiving bee packages this week, our vice president Todd takes us through some equipment basics.