Meeting Notes & Presentations
Our club meetings are fun and packed with timely, useful information presented by local, experienced beekeepers. We have a library of bee books our members can check out between meetings and every meeting features a raffle where you can win great stuff for your home and apiary. We meet the fourth Tuesday of the month at the Meridian Senior Center EXCEPT for August and December.
January 2026 Club Meeting
Robert lead the meeting and we had 102 people attend. The club has a number of Volunteer Opportunities, Build-it classes and 'what to do with Honey' classes hosted by a number of Club members (Club Calendar). The meeting also had 5 breakout sessions which allowed members to discuss various topics with various Ringleaders. Check out the minutes below for more details.
Robert lead the meeting and we had 102 people attend. The club has a number of Volunteer Opportunities, Build-it classes and 'what to do with Honey' classes hosted by a number of Club members (Club Calendar). The meeting also had 5 breakout sessions which allowed members to discuss various topics with various Ringleaders. Check out the minutes below for more details.
| tvbc_jan26_meeting.pdf |
January 2026 Annual Meeting
Brooklin lead a review of the year .. and what a year! Club continues to grow with plans to better connect with all members; both those signed up and those interested to hear about Bees! 25,000+ people engaged and the number continues to grow with increased outreach planned. The club is financially sound with plans to provide support to various groups to better Bees Keeping for the Valley. Looking forward to an even better 2026!
Brooklin lead a review of the year .. and what a year! Club continues to grow with plans to better connect with all members; both those signed up and those interested to hear about Bees! 25,000+ people engaged and the number continues to grow with increased outreach planned. The club is financially sound with plans to provide support to various groups to better Bees Keeping for the Valley. Looking forward to an even better 2026!
| tvbc_agm_21jan26.pdf |
November 2025
| tvbc_2025_fall_survey.pdf |
| november_2025_member_meeting.pdf |
October 2025
Great meeting once again!!! Thank you Melinda and Meghan for a very helpful and informative presentation on making labels for your honey bottles. Marc V. also presented on Tropilaelaps and its potential spread across the United States. See his presentation for important information on this very little and deadly mite. The position for secretary will open up this coming year so if you like to take notes and manage our website and calendar…throw your hat into the ring. We will be having a competition for the “Best Honey Label” for our club’s newly established honey selling venture. If you are creative and know how to make beautiful honey labels…be on the look out for an email from Brooklin about the guidelines and parameters of the competition. The winner will be announced at the November meeting….and if you win…you will go home with a Warre hive to add to your apiary in the spring. And lastly, our very own Steve Sweet was officially knighted “Master Beekeeper” from the Oregon State Master Beekeeper’s Extension program. Bravo to you Steve!
Great meeting once again!!! Thank you Melinda and Meghan for a very helpful and informative presentation on making labels for your honey bottles. Marc V. also presented on Tropilaelaps and its potential spread across the United States. See his presentation for important information on this very little and deadly mite. The position for secretary will open up this coming year so if you like to take notes and manage our website and calendar…throw your hat into the ring. We will be having a competition for the “Best Honey Label” for our club’s newly established honey selling venture. If you are creative and know how to make beautiful honey labels…be on the look out for an email from Brooklin about the guidelines and parameters of the competition. The winner will be announced at the November meeting….and if you win…you will go home with a Warre hive to add to your apiary in the spring. And lastly, our very own Steve Sweet was officially knighted “Master Beekeeper” from the Oregon State Master Beekeeper’s Extension program. Bravo to you Steve!
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September 2025
After our August break we roared back to action with over 90 members and 10 new guests in September. We shared some statistics from the Western Idaho Fair and all the events we've been holding and things coming up. We've been busy as bees! We had a wonderful presentation from allergist Dr. Neetu Talreja and reminded members on what they should be focused on in the apiary. You can review the meeting presentation as well as Dr. T's presentation below.
After our August break we roared back to action with over 90 members and 10 new guests in September. We shared some statistics from the Western Idaho Fair and all the events we've been holding and things coming up. We've been busy as bees! We had a wonderful presentation from allergist Dr. Neetu Talreja and reminded members on what they should be focused on in the apiary. You can review the meeting presentation as well as Dr. T's presentation below.
| 2025-09 TVBC Meeting.pdf |
| Honey Bee Allergies.pptx |
July, 2025
Summer is in full swing. Bees are making honey and beekeepers are trying to keep up with the ladies. We as beekeepers are also thinking and acting on mite levels in the hives. Don't forget to check your bees' mite levels.....it is important to the overwintering process. As Benoit Lafon, our expert Beekeeper at the FLC/TVBC hives says, "Don't be cheap with your bees!" And as Steve Sweet, our soon to be first TVBC, OSU certified Master Beekeeper says, "Manage your damn mites!"
If you missed our July member meeting, you really missed a superior and fun meeting. Guest speaker, Charlie Vanden Heuvel, a decorated Vietnam veteran, US NAVY Senior chief, medical Corpsman and a qualified submariner with duty on two US submarines during a 20 year military career shared his time and knowledge/expertise/research on Vitellogenin as it relates to bee health. Charlie also visited Jim McMahon's apiary as well as the Jim Hall Foothills Learning Center inspecting hives as well as teaching those in attendance how to read frames and assess queen and colony health. Charlie's time with our members was filled with much information and witty humor. Thank you Jim McMahon for hosting Charlie and bringing him to our club so that we can be better beekeepers through Charlie's research and skill. Please see the attached Power points of President Brooklin Gore's meeting outline and important upcoming information. Also attached are Charlie and Marc's presentation Power Points. And as always....the notes from the meeting are attached. Have fun reading.....there is lots of great information in these documents. See you at the Western Idaho Fair and next September.
Summer is in full swing. Bees are making honey and beekeepers are trying to keep up with the ladies. We as beekeepers are also thinking and acting on mite levels in the hives. Don't forget to check your bees' mite levels.....it is important to the overwintering process. As Benoit Lafon, our expert Beekeeper at the FLC/TVBC hives says, "Don't be cheap with your bees!" And as Steve Sweet, our soon to be first TVBC, OSU certified Master Beekeeper says, "Manage your damn mites!"
If you missed our July member meeting, you really missed a superior and fun meeting. Guest speaker, Charlie Vanden Heuvel, a decorated Vietnam veteran, US NAVY Senior chief, medical Corpsman and a qualified submariner with duty on two US submarines during a 20 year military career shared his time and knowledge/expertise/research on Vitellogenin as it relates to bee health. Charlie also visited Jim McMahon's apiary as well as the Jim Hall Foothills Learning Center inspecting hives as well as teaching those in attendance how to read frames and assess queen and colony health. Charlie's time with our members was filled with much information and witty humor. Thank you Jim McMahon for hosting Charlie and bringing him to our club so that we can be better beekeepers through Charlie's research and skill. Please see the attached Power points of President Brooklin Gore's meeting outline and important upcoming information. Also attached are Charlie and Marc's presentation Power Points. And as always....the notes from the meeting are attached. Have fun reading.....there is lots of great information in these documents. See you at the Western Idaho Fair and next September.
| vitellogenin_boise-upd.pdf |
| tvbc_2025-07_meeting_slides.pdf |
| mite_presentation_tvbc_july_2025.pdf |
| july_member_meeting_7_22_2025.pdf |
May, 2025
Spring is on its way out and summer is surging in and that means bees are making honey. Our May meeting brought out 10 new potential or possibly long-time beekeepers to our club. Total attendance was over 100 "bee loving" people. President Brooklin
Gore, dressed in his finest pre-summer shorts, shared with us information on Mayan Stingless bees. See the PDF below to learn more about how the people of Cozumel, Mexico harvest ($10 an ounce) honey from the Melipona stingless bee. Thank you to Ann Cochran for stepping up and into her new role as Volunteer Coordinator. She is filling a real need that our club has by streamlining our volunteer experience, expectations and guidelines. Ann expressed a real excitement to provide a clear and meaningful volunteer experience for our members as they serve and educate Treasure Valley community members on all things bees. Ruth Crone, one of our newest Oregon State Master Beekeeper Apprentices has eagerly and graciously taken on the role of Western Idaho State Fair Volunteer Coordinator. She is going to do a great job at this and she expressed a desire for ALL TVBC members to sign up and enjoy one of our biggest events of the year. Come on out and take a shift or two at our booth at the Western Idaho State Fair on August 15th- 24th. You get a free fair entrance ticket and you will be paired up with one of your fellow TVBC members to learn and share with one another as you educate this year's fairgoers on how important honey bees are to our planet. Thank you Ann and Ruth! The breakout sessions were very practical this month. David Pook taught us how to keep our smokers lit. Laura and Vic Otto gave us the "skinny" on maxing our your bees' honey production...but, don't forget to leave some for the bees. They need resources to overwinter. And finally, Garrett Hanna and Shanna Burbank took questions from members that had received Nucs and packages last month. Our raffle was a great success with even some of the Mayan Stingless bee honey given away by silent raffle. Thank you Darla and Don for doing a super job with the raffle.
See you in June....and don't forget to manage your mites and make room for the bees to make honey.
Spring is on its way out and summer is surging in and that means bees are making honey. Our May meeting brought out 10 new potential or possibly long-time beekeepers to our club. Total attendance was over 100 "bee loving" people. President Brooklin
Gore, dressed in his finest pre-summer shorts, shared with us information on Mayan Stingless bees. See the PDF below to learn more about how the people of Cozumel, Mexico harvest ($10 an ounce) honey from the Melipona stingless bee. Thank you to Ann Cochran for stepping up and into her new role as Volunteer Coordinator. She is filling a real need that our club has by streamlining our volunteer experience, expectations and guidelines. Ann expressed a real excitement to provide a clear and meaningful volunteer experience for our members as they serve and educate Treasure Valley community members on all things bees. Ruth Crone, one of our newest Oregon State Master Beekeeper Apprentices has eagerly and graciously taken on the role of Western Idaho State Fair Volunteer Coordinator. She is going to do a great job at this and she expressed a desire for ALL TVBC members to sign up and enjoy one of our biggest events of the year. Come on out and take a shift or two at our booth at the Western Idaho State Fair on August 15th- 24th. You get a free fair entrance ticket and you will be paired up with one of your fellow TVBC members to learn and share with one another as you educate this year's fairgoers on how important honey bees are to our planet. Thank you Ann and Ruth! The breakout sessions were very practical this month. David Pook taught us how to keep our smokers lit. Laura and Vic Otto gave us the "skinny" on maxing our your bees' honey production...but, don't forget to leave some for the bees. They need resources to overwinter. And finally, Garrett Hanna and Shanna Burbank took questions from members that had received Nucs and packages last month. Our raffle was a great success with even some of the Mayan Stingless bee honey given away by silent raffle. Thank you Darla and Don for doing a super job with the raffle.
See you in June....and don't forget to manage your mites and make room for the bees to make honey.
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| may_meeting_notes_2025.pdf |
April, 2025
Our membership is growing just like our hives....With over 104 attendees this month and 14 newbies finding their way to the TVBC through Boise Community classes, word of mouth and our fabulous website, our April meeting focused on the...."What now?" Many of our members received nucs and packages earlier this month from Steve Sweet, Kevin Duesman and Mike Morrison. Robert Sperry and Dave Pook shared with many of our members how to tend their new bees as they have new homes in our members' apiaries. Benoit Lafon, Laura and Vic Otto taught a great number of our members how to handle swarms in and out of our apiaries. Ruth Crone and Megan Montague our newest Oregon State Master Beekeeper Apprentices along with Ann Cochrane, Rena Alexander and Shanna Burbank shared "tips and tricks" in the apiary. We also raffled off some really cool stuff....best raffle yet. Let's not forget to thank our President Brooklin Gore for all of the hard work he does in keeping our meetings relevant, interesting and professional. We just keep getting better and better at supporting one another and become better beekeepers.
Our membership is growing just like our hives....With over 104 attendees this month and 14 newbies finding their way to the TVBC through Boise Community classes, word of mouth and our fabulous website, our April meeting focused on the...."What now?" Many of our members received nucs and packages earlier this month from Steve Sweet, Kevin Duesman and Mike Morrison. Robert Sperry and Dave Pook shared with many of our members how to tend their new bees as they have new homes in our members' apiaries. Benoit Lafon, Laura and Vic Otto taught a great number of our members how to handle swarms in and out of our apiaries. Ruth Crone and Megan Montague our newest Oregon State Master Beekeeper Apprentices along with Ann Cochrane, Rena Alexander and Shanna Burbank shared "tips and tricks" in the apiary. We also raffled off some really cool stuff....best raffle yet. Let's not forget to thank our President Brooklin Gore for all of the hard work he does in keeping our meetings relevant, interesting and professional. We just keep getting better and better at supporting one another and become better beekeepers.
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March, 2025
We filled all the seats this month with over 100 attendees and over 10 new attendees for a packed agenda which included some fascinating presentations on Apitherapy, Boise City Pollinator activities and about bees from the perspective of a young 4-H member. We had break-out sessions on swarm management, swarm catching and installing nucs and packages. For all the deets if you missed it, check out these outstanding notes by Secretary Burbank.
We filled all the seats this month with over 100 attendees and over 10 new attendees for a packed agenda which included some fascinating presentations on Apitherapy, Boise City Pollinator activities and about bees from the perspective of a young 4-H member. We had break-out sessions on swarm management, swarm catching and installing nucs and packages. For all the deets if you missed it, check out these outstanding notes by Secretary Burbank.
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February, 2025
With a great crowd of almost 71 folks from around the Treasure Valley. We could feel spring fast approaching. Our topics this month included an Epipen demonstration coupled with our resident/beekeeper doctor filling out prescriptions for our members to have at least two Epipens in our apiaries. Dave Ragsdale (See handout) educated us on why many commercial beekeepers have had high colony losses this year. Dave also said that Idahoan beekeepers are not represented on the APIS M. colony loss survey for 2025....so here is the link to fill out that form so that we can contribute to the scientific process of becoming better beekeepers. Our breakout sessions were aimed at the Newbie beekeeper supporting them on how to build an apiary and what hive configurations would work for them this coming bee season. Click on the button below for more info regarding our main beekeeping topics this month.
With a great crowd of almost 71 folks from around the Treasure Valley. We could feel spring fast approaching. Our topics this month included an Epipen demonstration coupled with our resident/beekeeper doctor filling out prescriptions for our members to have at least two Epipens in our apiaries. Dave Ragsdale (See handout) educated us on why many commercial beekeepers have had high colony losses this year. Dave also said that Idahoan beekeepers are not represented on the APIS M. colony loss survey for 2025....so here is the link to fill out that form so that we can contribute to the scientific process of becoming better beekeepers. Our breakout sessions were aimed at the Newbie beekeeper supporting them on how to build an apiary and what hive configurations would work for them this coming bee season. Click on the button below for more info regarding our main beekeeping topics this month.
| 2025-02 Meeting Notes.pdf |
January, 2025
We started off the year with a great crowd of almost 100 folks from around the Treasure Valley. We reviewed some amazing results from 2024, including: Talking to over 50,000 people about our club and beekeeping, managing over 400 hives, rescuing over 90 swarms and returning $80,000 to Treasure Valley and Pacific Northwest. We also recognized some of our amazing members, including Kevin Duesman with Lifetime Achievement. We learned about upcoming Products of the Hive Workshops, how to build a hive, how to make a sugar board and where to get bees and hive hardware. More detailed notes from the meeting are linked below. And pictures!
We started off the year with a great crowd of almost 100 folks from around the Treasure Valley. We reviewed some amazing results from 2024, including: Talking to over 50,000 people about our club and beekeeping, managing over 400 hives, rescuing over 90 swarms and returning $80,000 to Treasure Valley and Pacific Northwest. We also recognized some of our amazing members, including Kevin Duesman with Lifetime Achievement. We learned about upcoming Products of the Hive Workshops, how to build a hive, how to make a sugar board and where to get bees and hive hardware. More detailed notes from the meeting are linked below. And pictures!
| 2025-01 Meeting Notes |
2025 Annual Meeting
Twenty five members of the board attended our annual meeting. We elected new Officers (Brooklin Gore, President; Robert Sperry, Vice President and Shanna Burbank, Secretary with Rena Alexander elected to continue as club Treasurer. Treasurer Alexander reviewed the proposed 2025 budget which was approved by all present. Shanna and Jim McMahon lead the group in a goal setting and visioning exercise to develop club goals for the next three years. Detailed minutes from the meeting are linked below.
Twenty five members of the board attended our annual meeting. We elected new Officers (Brooklin Gore, President; Robert Sperry, Vice President and Shanna Burbank, Secretary with Rena Alexander elected to continue as club Treasurer. Treasurer Alexander reviewed the proposed 2025 budget which was approved by all present. Shanna and Jim McMahon lead the group in a goal setting and visioning exercise to develop club goals for the next three years. Detailed minutes from the meeting are linked below.
| 2025 Annual Meeting Notes |
2024
November, 2024
We wrapped up our 2024 meetings with a good crowd at the Sr. Center in Merridian. We had several great presentations on dealing with dead-outs, winterizing your hives and talked about all the events coming in the next few months including, back by popular demand, hands-on workshops. It was President Laura Otto's and Vice President Ann Cochran's last meeting after their two years of service, we we deeply appreciate. President Otto recognized several members for their service (pictures below). If you couldn't make it you can get all the details from our notes:
We wrapped up our 2024 meetings with a good crowd at the Sr. Center in Merridian. We had several great presentations on dealing with dead-outs, winterizing your hives and talked about all the events coming in the next few months including, back by popular demand, hands-on workshops. It was President Laura Otto's and Vice President Ann Cochran's last meeting after their two years of service, we we deeply appreciate. President Otto recognized several members for their service (pictures below). If you couldn't make it you can get all the details from our notes:
| Meeting Notes |
October, 2024
We're settling into our new location at the Meridian Senior Center at Kleiner Park in Meridian and figuring out the A/V system. Over 60 members attended including at least 5 new attendees and 4 Jr. Bee Clubbers. We learned about several officer vacancies for 2025 and solicited volunteers. We auctioned honey to support the FLC, had a wonderful presentation on Beekeeping with Kids, learned how to make simple sugar boards for feeding bees in the winter and learned a little about beekeeping in Croatia! If you couldn't make it you can get all the details from our notes:
We're settling into our new location at the Meridian Senior Center at Kleiner Park in Meridian and figuring out the A/V system. Over 60 members attended including at least 5 new attendees and 4 Jr. Bee Clubbers. We learned about several officer vacancies for 2025 and solicited volunteers. We auctioned honey to support the FLC, had a wonderful presentation on Beekeeping with Kids, learned how to make simple sugar boards for feeding bees in the winter and learned a little about beekeeping in Croatia! If you couldn't make it you can get all the details from our notes:
| Meeting Notes |
September, 2024
We had our first meeting at our new location at the Meridian Senior Center at Kleiner Park in Meridian. It is a wonderful new location with lots of room, great light and an excellent audio visual system. Over 80 attended including at least 10 new attendees. Our new dedicated Jr. Bee Club room was at capacity with 15 kids who also were treated to a nature walk by our Jr. Bee Club leader Jaelyn Westrick and some parent helpers. We learned a lot about what we should be doing to start getting our bees ready for winter from President Laura Otto and experts Kevin Duesman, Ben Lafon and Irene Lucy. We also had a lot of great items in our raffle this week -- a great reason to attend in person. If you couldn't make it you can get all the details from our notes:
We had our first meeting at our new location at the Meridian Senior Center at Kleiner Park in Meridian. It is a wonderful new location with lots of room, great light and an excellent audio visual system. Over 80 attended including at least 10 new attendees. Our new dedicated Jr. Bee Club room was at capacity with 15 kids who also were treated to a nature walk by our Jr. Bee Club leader Jaelyn Westrick and some parent helpers. We learned a lot about what we should be doing to start getting our bees ready for winter from President Laura Otto and experts Kevin Duesman, Ben Lafon and Irene Lucy. We also had a lot of great items in our raffle this week -- a great reason to attend in person. If you couldn't make it you can get all the details from our notes:
| Meeting Notes |
July, 2024
Over 100 members joined to escape the crazy heat and smoke we've been experiencing. Members learned about all the exciting things we have coming up including the Idaho Fair and National Honey Bee day. Folks also learned some great tips for extracting honey from their hives and preparing award-winning honey for the Fair. No meetings in August because we have so much else going on -- see you at the Fair and in September when our regular meetings resume. If you missed the meeting, here are some great notes from Ann.
Over 100 members joined to escape the crazy heat and smoke we've been experiencing. Members learned about all the exciting things we have coming up including the Idaho Fair and National Honey Bee day. Folks also learned some great tips for extracting honey from their hives and preparing award-winning honey for the Fair. No meetings in August because we have so much else going on -- see you at the Fair and in September when our regular meetings resume. If you missed the meeting, here are some great notes from Ann.
| Meeting Notes |
June, 2024
Over 70 members in person and 4 on Zoom attended. We heard about Mike Morrison's roadtrip to Purdue University in Lafayette, IN to participate in their Queen Rearing program to breed mite-resistant bees. He even caught a swarm and impressed the locals. We learned how to use a (honey) refractometer to measure the water content of honey. We need a few more volunteers for the Western Idaho Fair August 16-25. If you are interested, please email Just Bill. You can read the notes from our meeting below if you couldn't make it.
Over 70 members in person and 4 on Zoom attended. We heard about Mike Morrison's roadtrip to Purdue University in Lafayette, IN to participate in their Queen Rearing program to breed mite-resistant bees. He even caught a swarm and impressed the locals. We learned how to use a (honey) refractometer to measure the water content of honey. We need a few more volunteers for the Western Idaho Fair August 16-25. If you are interested, please email Just Bill. You can read the notes from our meeting below if you couldn't make it.
| Meeting Notes |
May, 2024
Over 90 members in person and 10 on Zoom attended. We learned some fun facts about bees, heard from new beekeepers Nancy and Robb Tiffany. Over half of our attendees had been beekeeping for two years or less. President Laura shared a lot of announcements and ways to become more involved in the club. There's a lot happening in June, so be sure to check out our calendar. We're also starting to gather volunteers for the Western Idaho Fair August 16-25. We need 120 of you to staff our booth during the fair days. If you are interested, please email Just Bill. You can read the notes from our meeting below if you couldn't make it.
Over 90 members in person and 10 on Zoom attended. We learned some fun facts about bees, heard from new beekeepers Nancy and Robb Tiffany. Over half of our attendees had been beekeeping for two years or less. President Laura shared a lot of announcements and ways to become more involved in the club. There's a lot happening in June, so be sure to check out our calendar. We're also starting to gather volunteers for the Western Idaho Fair August 16-25. We need 120 of you to staff our booth during the fair days. If you are interested, please email Just Bill. You can read the notes from our meeting below if you couldn't make it.
| Meeting Notes |
April, 2024
Over 100 members, were treated to a presentation by club member Garrett Hannah on beekeeping in Slovenia from a recent trip he took. We also heard experiences of new beekeeper Julie Simmons. The meeting featured a Q/A from experienced beekeepers. We a lot of community outreach events and our 2nd mite testing and treatment workshop happening in May, so be sure to check out our calendar. You can read the notes from our meeting below if you couldn't make it.
Over 100 members, were treated to a presentation by club member Garrett Hannah on beekeeping in Slovenia from a recent trip he took. We also heard experiences of new beekeeper Julie Simmons. The meeting featured a Q/A from experienced beekeepers. We a lot of community outreach events and our 2nd mite testing and treatment workshop happening in May, so be sure to check out our calendar. You can read the notes from our meeting below if you couldn't make it.
| Meeting Notes |
March, 2024
Over 130 members, celebrated new OSU apprentices, demo'd splitting your hive to prevent swarming and talking about swarm collection. We also announce a lot of new activities coming this spring, so be sure to check out our calendar. You can read the notes from our meeting below if you couldn't make it.
Over 130 members, celebrated new OSU apprentices, demo'd splitting your hive to prevent swarming and talking about swarm collection. We also announce a lot of new activities coming this spring, so be sure to check out our calendar. You can read the notes from our meeting below if you couldn't make it.
| Meeting Notes |
February, 2024
Over 110 members elected officers, celebrated new OSU apprentices, demo'd hive configurations and performed two hive necropsies. Check out our meeting notes and some pics from a buzzin' good time.
Over 110 members elected officers, celebrated new OSU apprentices, demo'd hive configurations and performed two hive necropsies. Check out our meeting notes and some pics from a buzzin' good time.
| Meetint Notes |
January, 2024
| Meeting notes |
Older Meeting Presentations
July, 2021
| Varroa Treatments, July 2021 |