[size=14]Honey Judging Contest at the 2012 Fall Conference!

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In the distant past, the MBA held a honey judging contest at the fall conference. Once again, we will be bringing this popular and entertaining event back to the 2012 fall conference. So bring your honey and strut your stuff. Entries can be liquid honey, creamed honey, comb honey and/or bees wax.

Michigan Beekeepers Association Honey Show Rules
1.Only members in good standing of the Michigan Beekeepers Association will be allowed to place entries in the show.
2.All entries must have been produced within the last 12 months.
3.All honey entries will have three of each item. (liquid, three one pound jars, comb, three sections, etc.)
4.Exhibitors are allowed one entry per class.
5.Entries must have no identifying labels or marks on the entries other than the marks placed on them by show officials.
6.Color grades are to be determined by the show superintendent, whose decision is final.
7.The show superintendent may refuse entries for reasons he or she believes are just.
8.All entries must be entered and in place before the program begins on Saturday.
9.All entries must be exhibited in clear glass or plastic. In case of a tie and no other way can be found to break the tie glass will be judged over plastic. Comb honey entries in wood may be exhibited in removable cardboard paper cartons. Round sections must have clear covers on both top and bottom.
10.Standard honey jars, Gamber, Queenline, etc are acceptable. No other jars, canning, jelly, etc. will be accepted.
11.Metal or plastic caps may be used.
12.Beeswax-two classes. Class one entries will be three one-pound blocks. Class two is an artistic presentation that shall use a minimum on one pound of beeswax.
13.Decisions of the judges are final.
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Theres has been beekeepers who have lost some of their hives due to hive beattles and to wax moths. Just wanted to pass this along.

The 2012 MBA Fall Conference is closer than you think and it is time to start planning to attend!

The conference will be held in Flint, Michigan, at the Holiday Inn Gateway Center 5353 GATEWAY CENTRE on Friday, October 5, 2012 and Saturday, October 6.

This is an important meeting to attend on Sautrday as there will be voting for Vice President, Treasurer and 3 districts. Must be present to vote.

The featured speaker will be Dann Purvis.

There will be break-out sessions on both days covering a wide range of topics that should be of interest for both the beginner and advanced beekeeper alike. And, of course, the ever-popular vendor area will be back so that you can see all of the latest beekeeping equipment in one place.

Pre-registration is available on-line and we encourage all attendees to do so. When you pre-register, your conference material will be available for immediate pick-up… no waiting in line. And, you get a discount too!

Before you pre-register, please note that in order to get the MBA member discount you must be a current member of the MBA. The 2011 memberships expired on December 31, 2011. So you may need to renew your membership for 2012. Click here to check your membership status.

Note: Pre-registration will close Wednesday, October 3.
To pre-register on-line, click here.

Registration Fees:
Pre-Registered
MBA Member, 2-Day: $20.00
MBA Member, 1-Day: $10.00
MBA Guest/Spouse: $10.00
Non-Member, 2-Day: $40.00
Non-Member, 1-Day: $20.00
Non-Member Spouse/Guest: $10.00

Paid At-the-Door
MBA Member, 2-Day: $25.00
MBA Member, 1-Day: $15.00
MBA Member Spouse/Guest: $15.00
Non-Member, 2-Day: $45.00
Non-Member, 1-Day: $25.00
Non-Member Spouse/Guest: $15.00

Lodging:
MBA has reserved a limited block of rooms at the Holiday Inn Gateway Center which are available on a first-come-first-served basis. Special MBA rates are $89 per night (single or double). Plus applicable fees, state and local taxes.

If you are planning to stay at the hotel, then we suggest that you make your reservations early.

Friday Banquet:
The ever popular Beekeeper’s Banquet will be Friday night. Tickets can be purchased on-line when you register for $25 per person, or can be purchased at the conference.

Schedule of Events:
There will be break out sessions on Friday morning, afternoon and Saturday morning. A list of the classes will be posted when available.

Vendors:
The vendors are always a very popular event. You can see what’s new in beekeeping and purchase equipment and supplies for the upcoming season. Most vendors will bring items to the conference for sale and some are accepting pre-conference orders (you save on shipping!). Please support our vendors, as they help make the spring conference possible.

Volunteers
Putting on the conference is a lot of work and we can always use volunteers to help us along. We can use help with a short setup on Thursday evening, handing out material in the classes and general session, assistance with at-the-door registration and post-conference evaluation. Even if you only have a short time available, any help is greatly appreciated. Contact Steve Tilmann, MBA Treasurer.
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Good Afternoon Fellow Beekeepers,

Our club meeting is this Thursday July 10, 2012, at 7:00p.m. Doors open at 6:30p.m.
Mid-Michigan Beekeeper's Club
Richfield Township Hall, located at
5381 N. State Rd., Davison, MI 48423



We have a full evening ahead of us with two speakers.

Our first speaker Bob Hollis, Bob will be doing a two part demonstration one part this month on "How to harvest honey, what equipment is needed and used, our club has an extractor that can be rented out(details below), covering steps required in the process and time involved, and how to store honey. Bob will do part two at the August meeting.

Our second speaker will be Jeff Phol, from Iotron Industries, Inc. He will be speaking on electronic Laser’s beams they use to sterilize hive supers that have had disease or foul brood in them. Attached is the information Jeff has sent me so please review and have your questions ready for him at the meeting.


Honey extractor can be rented out for $25.00 for three days, and additional days will $5.00 more per three days, additional days will have to be checked and cleared with Phillip Hitchcock who is our club extractor manager 810-869-2547. Five dollars is for the rental and twenty dollars is a security deposit to which is returned if the extractor is returned cleaned. If the extractor is not returned there can be additional charges for the extractor. So please keep Phil informed at all times while you have the extractor.

The Honey Festival is coming up on July 28th from 10 to 5 at the Imlay City Fairgrounds. $5.00 to get in and children under 16 are free.

Saginaw Valley Beekeepers Association club picnic is August 4th, detail at the meeting.

Mid-Michigan Beekeepers Association club picnic August 11th set up at 12:00p.m. Eat at 1:00p.m. Bring a dish to pass and a brown bag gift for the white elephant auction doesn’t have to be expensive new or old. If you plan to attend please let us know at the August 2nd meeting so we have a count for the meats to purchase.

Thank you to Don Schram who gave a great presentation on Queen Rearing, we had 20 people present. Thank you to all who came and for the terrific food, great conversation and class.

Subject: IOTRON and IMPELA processing of Bee Hives

It was nice to meet you and some of your fellow beekeepers Friday at the Michigan Beekeepers association meeting at the Kellogg Conference Center. I wanted to follow up with you and provide your organization Iotron’s information. I have attached the apiary document that I left with you so you could distribute electronically to whom you think might benefit as well as our general brochure. While at the Kellogg center I also had some nice discussions with Michael Hansen whom is the Regional Supervisor / State Apiarist. Working with Michael and Kathleen Prough, Michaels counterpart in Indiana, we have already set up the commerce guidelines to ship hives (supers) to our facility for processing. Also, Michael and I spoke about how it would be beneficial for organizations such as yours to work as a hub for organizing shipments to save costs for all beekeepers. With kind regards, Jeff Pohl Jeff PohlSales & Marketing Manager Iotron Industries USA Inc.4394 East Park 30 DriveColumbia City, IN46725 USA Tel: (260) 212-1722 Ext 302Mobil: (260) 450-5579Fax: (260) 244-2762E-mail: jpohl@iotron.com WebSite: www.iotron.com

Please note that the 4th of July falls on Wednesday, due to this, we have voted to move our July meeting to July12,2012 at 7:00p.m.

Please see the Attached file which contains our Picnic Flyer information that will be held August 11, 2012 at the Pavillion behind the township hall where we meet. At the August meeting we will like a rough head count of how many plan to attend the picnic so we know how much meet to buy. Thank you.