FLORIDA STATE BEEKEEPERS ASSOCIATION BOARD OF MANAGERS MEETING

March 12, 2005

Jerry Latner’s House, High Springs, FL.

Attending:

Malcolm Sanford

Laurence Cutts (Tupelo)

Carolee Howe, Florida Farm Bureau

Bert Kelley (Tampa Bay)

Joann Latner (Central) Jerry absent at a funeral

Fred Mellor (Tupelo)

Greg Brown (Tupelo)

Elmore Herman (Ridge)

Bob Tadeyske (Ridge)

Meeting Called to Order by President Cutts, 10:05a.m.

Roll Call: Associations represented: Tupelo, , Ridge, Tampa Bay,

Motion to accept previous minutes of general meeting in Chipley as published in The Florida Beekeeper by Elmore Herman, seconded by Greg Brown. Passed.

Exective’s Secretary Report: Newsletter publication schedule …4 more scheduled for 2005 (March, June, August, October (convention issue?) First Class mailing will continue.

Web site revamping; taken over by Executive Secretary December 2004. Discussion of how much to budget? Bill Overman to be contacted by President Cutts to determine what actual charges might be. The present server is the Executive’s Secretary Earthlink.net account; there is no charge for this. The charge for the domain name should be around $30 per year.

Discussion of the F_S_B_A <http://groups.yahoo.com/group/F_S_B_A/> set up by the Executive Secretary. Presently only 15 subscribers; a long learning curve for all expected.

Membership status (103 active 2004 [not renewed] 72 Active 2005 [current]; 90 Life, 8 complimentary, 26 advertisers, 14 inspectors. Discussion that legislators should be added to the list in accordance with bylaws. Carolee to provide a pared down list of those who should receive the newsletter.

Treasurer’s and State Fair Report: Bank account at $16, 377.49 with some bills to be paid for State Fair activities. Gross income from State Fair about $10,000 with $1,000 to go to Ag in the Classroom. Bert Kelley asked that the purchasing situation surrounding honey sold at the State Fair be changed; he would like the Association to pay for the honey up front instead of him paying for it first and then being reimbursed. He is also finding it more difficult to find tupelo honey for the fair. It is in great demand, but suppliers are drying up. Greg Brown said he would make a contact or so on this issue to ensure a source for the State Fair.

Non Profit Status: A ruling from the Farm Bureau’s accountant is that because the Assocation now grosses income of $25,000 or more, it should file a 990 EZ form and issue a 1099 to the Executive Secretary as a “contract worker.” Discussion about securing 501 C 3 designation for the Association from the IRS. The Executive Secretary to research whether the Association already has that status with the IRS.

Convention Report: The Clay County group (Northeast Florida Honey Bee Assn) is gearing up for the convention, November 10-12 at the St. Johns Agricultural Center. Next meeting is 14 March in Putnam County, East Palatka. Motel rooms locked in and local organizing committee is being selected. The Executive Secretary is to prepare a flyer for the Convention that will be used for publicity and also send information in early to the bee journals and other outlets.

Apiary Report: Lee Del Signore has deposited $5,662 for the south Florida apiary. Elmore Herman reported that he now has 17 hives in his apiary (life membership from Struthers; executive secretary to write a letter of acknowledgement to them). Elmore discussed the life membership, especially with reference to cash equivalent of a hive donation as stated in the bylaws (catalog cost is $162.60); for many years this has been set at $100. Motion by Greg Brown that cash equivalent for life membership be increased to $250, seconded by Fred Mellor. Passed.

Elmore Herman also discussed the “Extra Miler” designation. This would recognize folks who have given another equivalent of a Life Membership to the association’s apiary. Motion by Elmore that “extra miler” designation be awarded to life members who have given another hive or cash equivalent ($250). Seconded by Greg Brown. Passed. As acknowledgement, Extra Milers will be provided with free registration at annual state conventions.

The Executive Secretary to look into providing ribbons for name tags denoting life members and extra milers at conventions.

Brochure: Some 2,000 copies of the membership brochure have been printed and are being circulated. There has been good response. Suggested that some be sent to Fred Rossman to hand out at his establishment. Already minor changes need to be made; only half the budgeted amount has been expended in this activity ($214 out of $500 budgeted).

Fruit and Vegetable Association: The Executive Secretary to join the FFVA under the Association’s name. There will be continued discussions on who will represent the Association at the FFVA’s meeting and perhaps provide a presentation. Discussion that this could also be done for other associations (watermelon growers, etc.).

Apicultural Awareness Meeting Report: Carolee Howe reported that most key players showed up for this meeting February 22, 2005 in Gainesville. She will be receiving information from IFAS, DPI and USDA (MAVE in Gainesville) to put into some kind of document for Farm Bureau and others to use in their lobbying. This meeting was upbeat and especially is important as all parties seem to be working together to ensure that a 4-H (youth)- Apiculture position be established at the University of Florida. Carolee and others are asked to continue to work with legislators on this situation and keep Dr. Martha Roberts <mroberts@ifas.ufl.edu>, cell phone 850-509-7282.

National Farm Bureau Honey Advisory Committee: Elmore Herman and Carolee Howe reported on this meeting in Washington, DC, which will be used to set policy at the National Farm Bureau level. Carolee will provide a report as soon as one becomes available.

Farm Bureau Legislative Day is scheduled to be March 28 and 29, 2005: A dozen or so folks will be necessary to hand out honey and be ready to answer questions at this time. Coordinating the event for the beekeepers will be Elmore Herman, who will be in contact with Carolee Howe. This is an extremely important campaign opportunity as it appears some $300,000 of so-called “new money” may be appropriated by the legislature; Carolee to find out what it would take to provide honey and biscuits for the full run of the Agriculture and Environment Appropriations Subcommittee during the run of the legislative session (8 weeks).

Freedom Dental Program: A proposal that the activities of the Freedom Dental Plan <http://www.freedom-mdrx.com> be associated with those of the Association was tabled for the time being.

Central Florida Bear Hunters Association would like Association support to institute a hunting season. They will meet May 21, 2005 Flagler County Fairgrounds.

Disaster Aid for Beekeepers who lost 35 percent of their honey crop due to the hurricanes. USDA’s Farm Service Agency is due to release details in March. All beekeepers should contact their FSA office for details.

Motion by Laurence Cutts that $3,000 be provided as seed or matching money to the Division of Plant Industry to help in those research efforts. This includes $2,000 from the 2005 Association’s budget and the before-mentioned donation from the Escarosa Association. Seconded by Greg Brown. Passed.

Meeting adjourned 12:46 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Malcolm T. Sanford

Executive Secretary