The Buzz Newsletter

December 2006

 

 

Page 1

Greetings from the President of the IHPA

Dear Honey Producers,
Another informative Annual Meeting of the Iowa Honey Producers Association has come and gone. It is always a lot of work, but the reward of providing the membership with a quality program is well worth the time. A great big hand goes out to Pat Ennis for the planning of this meeting. Thank you Pat and Peggy for all of your work. Pat has recently had back surgery, but that hasn’t slowed down his enthusiasm for the IHPA and the programs it provides. If you didn’t attend, you missed a great time. The date for next year is November 16th and 17th at the Marshalltown Best Western Regency Inn. Mark your calendars now. Pat already is planning that event.

Thursday evening November 16th the IHPA officers and board members along with several members of the IHPA met with the new Secretary of Agriculture, Mr. Bill Northey. A very candid discussion took place. Questions were posed by Mr. Northey and the IHPA members present concerning the direction of beekeeping in Iowa. We are very anxious to continue the dialog and to work on creating the best possible Apiary Department in Iowa.

There are nine new Iowa beekeepers due to the new Youth Scholarship program. Teresa Jurchen created and has administered the program for the Iowa Honey Producers Association. The nine finalists attended the meeting held in Marshalltown. They were interviewed on Friday afternoon and then attended the banquet to find out which five had won the scholarships. They were pleasantly surprised to find out that all nine finalists were going to be awarded scholarships. The coming year will prove to be an exciting time for these new beekeepers and their mentors.

Make it a goal to try some of the tasty foods that were entered in the Honey Foods contest. Some of the recipes will be included in the BUZZ this month with the remainder following in future editions. Enjoy them for the holidays.

Chelsa Bronnenberg is the new 2007 Iowa Honey Queen. Her parents are Connie and Curt Bronnenberg from Perry. If you are sponsoring or attending a promotion and would like to have her help you promote honey, please contact her.

I would like to THANK the 2006 Iowa Honey Queen, Elizabeth Macken, for all of her hard work in helping to promote honey and beekeeping in Iowa this past year. She is a delight to work with.

American Honey Princess, Teresa Jurchen also needs a well-deserved “Thank You” for all of the time she has spent on honey promotions. We are going to miss both Teresa and Liz, but wish them both the best of luck in the future.

With the approaching holidays, consider an Iowa Honey Producers Association shirt as a gift. Another idea for gift giving could be a membership to the IHPA or a subscription to a beekeeping magazine.

Family time is such a wonderful gift. Many of us take it for granted. Please remember our military men and women and their families this holiday season. Many families will be separated by miles this Christmas. Remember to keep them in your thoughts and prayers and to thank them for their service when you see them.

“Bee” truly happy and enjoy your holiday. Spend time with your family to create happy memories. If you can’t be together, find a way to communicate your pleasure of “beeing” part of a family. Our organization is an extended family, so my wish for you is to have a Merry Christmas and a Blessed New Year in 2007.

Sincerely,
Donna Brahms, IHPA President

 

The Buzz Newsletter Submissions

Please send submissions, classified ads, and photos to Alex W. Ebert by email to TheBuzz@ABuzzAboutBees.com
or by mail to The Buzz, c/o Phil Ebert, 14808 S. 102nd Ave. E., Lynnville, IA 50153.
The deadline for submissions to The Buzz is the 15th of each month.

Gordon Powell, IHPA Treasurer

4012 54th St.

Des Moines, IA 50310

Phone : (515) 278-1762