# Want to start a beekeeping club. How to do it??



## hayzor (Dec 8, 2003)

A friend and I have started beekeeping in the last year. We have relocated about a dozen Africanized bee hives and currently have 6 active hives. 

We are interested in starting a beekeeping club that caters mostly to the novice/amateur/backyard beekeeper. We have met many folks who are interested in beekeeping, but lack a good place to start and a network of beekeepers that have "been there, done that". 
There is an active beekeepers club on the other side of town, but is full of "old timers" that run big operations and are not terribly interested in the backyard beekeeper. 

One of the main goals is to create a network of like minded "backyard " beekeepers that can share information, resources, etc, to help the newbies shorten their learning curve and get going in the hobby. 

Anyone with experience in starting/running a club?
some of the questions:
how to set it up, ie officers, etc.
how to manage the finances
meeting place(s).
website and/or forum 

Any help would be appreciated.


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## TxGypsy (Nov 23, 2006)

I'd think that the first place to start would be your state bee association. Contact them and see if they can't point you in the correct direction.

I've gone to beekeeping meetings that were held at a church, the meeting room of a bank and a classroom at a local junior college. 

Officers. You will need a president, treasurer and a vice president(basically someone to pick up the slack when the president can't be there). 

My bee club does something that is pretty cool. I'm new to this club so I haven't yet found out how they determine the recipient, but we have a beehive scholarship. Members of the club donate beehives to be given to a young person to get them set up with beekeeping. Usually it is a high school aged kid. We mentor them and help them along for a year with their hives. If they lose interest it goes back to the donor.


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## alleyyooper (Apr 22, 2005)

(1. Find a meeting place that will hold about 20 people to start. After the first meeting the number will drop about half. 

(1A. Place a notice in several local news papers that there is a new bee club in town meeting at this time Monday evenings at* time* at this location 7 ponds nature center.

(2. at first meeting set amount of dues and elect officers. One of the clubs I belong to has their meetings in a Texan restaurant and dues pay for the coffee and tea the members drink.

(3. No meetings to be held unless open to the full member ship. 
One club I had belonged to held officer meetings and set the agenda of what the full member ship meeting was going to be about. Shame on you if you wanted to talk about some thing not on the agenda.

The club died a slow 2 month death as no one wanted to belong any longer.

Remember 10% of the members will do 95% of all the work.

 Al


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