November 5, 2009
Opera House,
Attendance:
Lisa
Coleman
Bobby
Cutts
Laurence
Cutts
David
Mendes
Gordon
Clauss
Amy
Walker
Johnny
Walker
Todd
Herring
Larry
Helk
Randi
Helk
Wade
Fisher
Kathy
Fisher
Eli
Mendes
Rodney
Jones
John
Gentzel
Steve
Corniffe
George
Waldoch
Gayle
Prevatt
Enzo
Torcoletti
Debbie
Bohannon
Debbie
Claxton
Ray
Claxton
Bill Dunn
Dianna
Williams
David
Barnes
Heather
Gamper
Raynae
Williams
Holly
Jones
Virginia
and Carl Webb
Ernest
and Bettie Peach
Robin
Dahlen
Brendhan
Horne
Linda and
David Hackenberg
Bert
Gwaltney
Tom
Heifner
Donald
and Paula Smiley
Donnie
and Donna Harcus
Bill and
Margaret Merritt
Malcolm
and Syvia Bullard
Gary and
Diane Van Cleef
Tommy
Duggar
Chappie McChesney
Joann and
Gerry Latner
Gary
Ranker
David
Webb
Keith and
Melissa Councell
Kelly
McKinnes
Richard
Stockton
Roger
Twitchell
Ellyn
Hutson
Susan Drake
Charles
Futch
Robert
Jackson
David
Hall
Ann and
Jerry Herting
Elaine
and Keul Suber
Kent and
Sue Wooldridge
Katherine
Hogg
Tongy
Hogg
Bob
Livingston
Elmore
Herman
Call to Order by President Plenge, 7:13 p.m.
Motion to approve the minutes as published at http://floridabeekeepers.org and in
the convention program pamphlet by David Hackenberg with following corrections by, Ellyn Hutson:
Spelling of "Attending" not
"Attemding"; Ellyn Hutson was
in attendance as President of Apalachee Beekeepers but was not listed as being
a representative.
Paragraph about L. Cutts at CA meeting: two spelling errors:
"people out ion" and "talking tin." Seconded by Elmore Herman. Passed.
Executive Secretary’s Report: This consisted of two areas, membership and activities as reported by Malcolm T. Sanford, current Executive Secretary:
Membership
Report: Numbers of members based on
paying dues (only those Active 2008 and later) are considered voting members:
Active
2007 49
Active
2008 108 (New
2008 – 147)
Active
2009 268 (New 2009 – 87)
Active
2010 138 (New 2010 – 77)
Active
2011 2
Extra
Milers 6
Life
Members 82
Eligible
voters - 604 (Active 2008 onward plus
life); Of those the following
information is provided
|
Association |
Number
FSBA Members |
Board of
Managers Representative |
|
Alachua |
4 |
Chappie
McChesney |
|
Apalachee |
10 |
Charles
Futch |
|
Beekeepers
of |
69 |
Dennis
Riggs/Keith Councell |
|
|
2 |
Leo
Gosser |
|
Escarosa |
11 |
Malcolm
“Doc” Bullard |
|
|
2 |
|
|
|
29 |
Cal
Wilcox/Butch Patterson |
|
Orange
Blossom |
16 |
David
Webb/Beth Fox |
|
|
71 |
Brendhan
Horne |
|
|
2 |
|
|
Ridge |
25 |
Bert
Kelley |
|
Suncoast |
13 |
Gary
Ranker |
|
|
109 |
Gary
Ranker |
|
|
3 |
Michael
Shreves |
|
|
28 |
|
|
|
2 |
Ernest
Peach |
|
Not
affiliated |
200 |
|
An exciting development concerns brand new members. 147 new members signed up
for the first time in 2008; In 2009, 87 more new people were added, and
since the beginning of September In 2009, another 77 have enrolled up for the
year 2010. These 311 brand new members are almost half of the current members
in good standing at the present time. This is a welcome addition to the
membership, which was static or slowly declining prior to 2008, but represents
a challenge to the leadership in terms of retention and future
activities.
Over thirty percent of the membership is not affiliated with a local
association. Given the Association's structure, this population would seem to
lack representation on the Board of Managers.
Note that
some associations are under represented, having less than 5 members also
members of the State Association,
including: Putnam County, Alachua County, Nature Coast, Broward County, North
Escambia and Tri-County.
Activities:
I have
established an FSBA Ezine at Ezezine.com, under the Bee Culture account. I am
slowly signing up people for this initiative and using it to send out messages
about association activities. Currently that distribution list has 176
subscribers, which means less than half of active members are subscribed. I
will be continuing this effort in the coming year. See the latest post at: http://home.ezezine.com/1636_3/1636_3-2009.09.07.16.04.archive.html
I published four (4) newsletters last year, along with the convention booklet
for the
I have published two inserts for the Melitto Files, the publication jointly
produced by Jerry Hayes and Dr. Jamie Ellis and mailed to every registered
beekeeper in the state. There are currently about 1,400 registered beekeepers
in
I mailed out a membership renewal reminder letter in January. This garnered a
few replies, but local associations continue to be the source of the majority
of new memberships and renewals. I published two runs of receipt books that are
handed out to associations to help them recruit members.
Treasurer’s Report: Bert Kelley provided the following report:
Check book current balance is $25,428.85.
Fiscal Year 2009-2010:
|
Dues |
7110.00 |
|
Research Donations |
617 |
|
Convention |
8697.79 |
|
State Fair |
18,788.70 |
|
Newsletter Ads |
1735 |
|
Apiaries |
6166 |
|
Queen/Promotion |
2487 |
|
|
|
|
Total |
45601.49 |
|
|
|
|
2009 State Fair Event |
|
|
Income (sales) |
18788.70 |
|
Expenses |
16173.99 |
|
Profit |
1614.71 |
|
|
|
|
2008 Convention |
|
|
Income |
8697.79 |
|
Expenses |
5395.25 |
|
Profit |
3302.54 |
Proposed Budget was also presented:
Discussion of certain line items:
Spring meeting: Last year cancelled; this year’s buget $2000
Honey Queen Program/Promotion: Amount spent $3,324 was for hats and shirts, and chef’s fee for the honey cooking exhibit at the fair. There is no honey queen program.
Agriculture in the Classroom. Amount spent $96 for educational materials, generally at the State Fair. Discussion that the category is confusing given there is a formal Ag in the Classroom program funded by automobile specialty tag sales: http://www.flagintheclassroom.com/ Suggestion that the category be renamed to simply Beekeeping Educational Materials.
Discussion of State Fair activities. Given the timing, it is difficult to get expenses and income for fair in same fiscal year, resulting in confusion. It is better to look at “event” income and expenses as provided by the Treasurer above. Discussion of transparency; the membership has little idea about how the honey is purchased and what happens at the Fair. More transparency is needed especially when it comes to purchasing honey to sell to the public. This is handled by Bert and volunteers; high quality is essential.
Motion by Gayle Prevatt that the membership be notified with reference to selling honey at the fair and some kind of bidding process be implemented. Seconded by Ellen Hutson. A hand vote showed 19 for and 32 against. Motion did not pass.
David Webb moved that the question of how to handle these honey sales be given to a committee so that a reasonable policy could be implemented. Seconded by Bert Gwaltney. Passed.
Brendhan Horne moved the Treasurer’s report be accepted as delivered. Seconded by Laurence Cutts. Passed.
President’s Remarks: President Plenge said that he regretted not accomplishing as much as he wanted. Subsequent to being elected he developed significant heart problems and was simply unable to provide the leadership needed. He did thank those who assisted him during his time of need and helped in going forward on some issues.
Cancellation of the mid year meeting was also a disappointment. A series of events culminated in the cancellation of this event. Fortunately, Palm Beach President Brendhan Horne indicates that he will put forth a bid to host this meeting in 2010.
President Plenge specifically pointed out the contributions of Vice President Roger Twitchell in terms of the mosquito control situation last year. There has been a considerable opening based on Mr. Twitchell’s opening a relationship with Division of Plant Industry and mosquito control districts.
He also pointed out the landmark accomplishment of Nancy
Gentry and others in adopting the honey standard in
Another event of importance during his administration
included successful celebrations of Honey Bee Awareness Day around the state,
notably by The Apalachee association, Alachua association in cooperation with
the Beekeepers of Putnam County, and
Apiary Report: Vice President Roger Twitchell called on those present to provide a report of income from the Conrad Cramer Memorial Apiary, a collection of beehives purchased by Life Members over the years. Current volunteer managers include Elmore Herman, Bill Merritt and Lee Del Signore. Mr. Herman manages 18 hives and produced an income of $405. Mr. Merritt managing 60 hives unfortunately left his report at home and was unable to report income at the moment but did say the numbers remained stable and he had transferred the hive to Tommy Duggar. Mr. Del Signore was on his way to the meeting and so no report was forthcoming. David Webb and Laurence Cutts indicated they also had hives from the Apiary, but were not official managers. The Vice President of the Association is in charge of coordinating reports from apiary managers according to the bylaws.
Report from Tony Hogg on activities of a committee (Tony Hogg, Brendhan Horne and David Webb) appointed by President Plenge to look into revising the bylaws. Mr. Hogg reported that his e-mail concerning the committee’s deliberations sent to the board of managers met with little response. This indicates there is little appetite for change at the moment. Much discussion ensued. Frustration was apparent on the lack of closure of this issue. Motion by Ellen Hutson that the Board of Managers again ask for specific recommendations from the committee on changes. Seconded by Brendhan Horne. Passed.
Election of Officers: The nominating committee (Roger Twitchell, Elmore Herman and Laurence Cutts) did not present a slate of officers. Rather, it provided a printed ballot with a list of nominees. This consisted of President (Gary Ranker and Tommy Duggar), Vice President (David Webb), and Treasurer (Bert Kelley and Bill Dunn). The results reported by Brendhan Horne of the counting (three representatives from different associations, including those not being represented) resulted in the following, with a total of 74 votes being cast:
President: Tommy Duggar (38), Gary Ranker (35), abstain (1); Vice President: David Webb (63), abstain (11); Treasurer: Bert Kelley (52), Bill Dunn (22).
Motion to adjourn by Brendhan Horne, seconded by David Mendes. Meeting adjourned, 9:10 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Malcolm T. Sanford
Executive Secretary