Our Committees - Join US!

Co-Chairs: Derek and Chanda Gravitt

Purpose:
• To Develop an Adopt a Hive Program to teach the different bee keeping methods, the conditions that affect Bee health/growth/production (brood, wax, honey) in our local area.
• Our ultimate goal is teaching newer beekeeper's methods for raising healthy colonies, and to make their Apiary self-supporting for bees and financially viable for the beekeepers.

Key Requirements:
• Must be a Gilmer County Bee Cub Member with 2 years + keeping experience.

Key Responsibilities:
• Perform Apiary maintenance, as needed and varying by season
• Regular caring and feeding
• Pest and disease management.

Chairman: Jim Harris

Purpose:
• To provide educational opportunities in Gilmer County for both novices, beginners, experts or anyone interesting in learning more about honeybees.
• Typically, this is done through schools, clubs, churches, and general public events i.e. Earth Day.

Key Responsibilities:
• Actively reach out to the various audiences to set up presentations that typically last 30 minutes or as long as needed.
• Once presentation has been confirmed, committee members will conduct the training.

Time Committment:
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Chairman: Mary Hanie

Purpose:
• The Extraction & Sales Committee is responsible for managing the entire process of harvesting, bottling, and preparing the club apiary's honey for sale.
• This committee ensures that all honey produced by the dub is extracted safely, processed cleanly, and packaged attractively under the club's label to support club operations and community outreach.

Key Responsibilities:
• Honey extraction from club apiary, processing & filtering raw honey to maintain quality & purity, bottling & labeling, inventory and sales support.
• Assist with honey sales at club events with the Education Committee, farmers markets, or other approved venues.

Time Commitment:
• Members typically participate during the honey harvest season (once in June and once in August), with additional time as needed for bottling and labeling sessions.

Chairman: Will Strother

Purpose: Our task is to develop and implement a comprehensive outreach plan to raise the profile of
Beekeepers of Gilmer County club and promote its activities. To create engaging and informative content that captures the attention of the members and encourages participation through the website, communication and social media (i.e. Facebook, Instagram, X, & Linkedln).

Time Commitment: This Committee meets on a monthly basis. Will require bi-weekly review of social media through emails or phone calls outside of monthly meetings.

Key Responsibilities:
• Work with other Committees to ensure relevant information is posted on the website
• Updating of website on a continual basis
• Provide adequate information on training, conferences, events, etc
• Promote the Associations initiatives and events
• Review content for uploading to both website and social media.
• Develop and implement social media strategies

Goals:
Provide the most up to date information and communicate that information to our members on a continual
basis.

Support:
This committee works with other committees and is highly supported by Association staff.

Chairman: Bill Emery

Purpose:
• This committee is dedicated to organizing and carrying out efficent and safe bee swarm removals.
• Many beekeepers are eager to collect swarms to expand their colonies. Removing the swarm safely benefits both the bees and the community.
• We serve the community whenever a swarm has been reported needing removal then relocate them to a new home.

Key Responsibilities:
• Swarm committee members will be responsible for attending periodic training sessions in order to learn the art of Swarm catching.
• As a committee member gets more comfortable catching swarms, it is recommended that they put together their own swarm catching/harvesting equipment, so they are ready to jump into action.

Time Committment: