I recently completed my tenure presiding over the
Arkansas Beekeepers Association. It was a true honor to be entrusted with the
leadership of the state’s beekeeping trade association. In this role I had
great help. A capable team of committed volunteer leaders from all areas of the
state played an important role in planning and conducting the association’s
tasks. These leaders, the Officers and Regional Directors of the ABA’s
Executive Committee, included James Rhein, Larry Kichler, Britt Bailey, Linda
Rhein, Alan Isom, Howard Waddell, Steve Cline, Patrick Edwards, Jeremy Bemis,
Howard Hawthorn, Richard Coy, Melissa Mencer, and Jon Zawislak. Each of these
individuals assisted in conducting our educational conferences and bee
equipment trade shows and assisted roughly 30 local beekeeping associations
representing 2000 beekeepers.
Recent years have found me increasingly involved in
training and mentoring of beekeepers. I have been conducting beekeeping
training classes with Jeremy Bemis at Bemis Honey Bee Farm in Little Rock,
Arkansas. We are finding great interest in beekeeping training, especially
among the expanding number of new beekeepers. Further, I was honored to be
asked to participate in the development of a new beekeeping college located in
one of the villages where I trained beekeepers in Africa. My host, Wubishet
Adunga, is building the college located at Bonga in the highlands of southwestern
Ethiopia. For this project I edited the curriculum for the Apinec Apiculture
Technical Vocational and Education Training College. Beekeeping and production of
hive products are important for food security in the developing world. The
worldwide communications between beekeepers and the efforts being taken to provide
training and protect bees and the beekeeping industry is visible in today’s
photo. At a meeting of the Eastern Apicultural Society, I noticed a picture of
myself inspecting brood in one of my Arkansas bee yards. The picture is on the
cover of training manuals published in England by Bee Craft. The Underhills of Peace Bee Farm wish beekeepers and
peace-loving people worldwide that peace be with you.
--Richard