Join us for the Vermont Beekeepers Association Summer Meeting, featuring nationally recognized speaker Julia Mahood, educational workshops for beekeepers of all experience levels, updates from Vermont's beekeeping community, vendors, raffle prizes, and plenty of opportunities to connect with fellow beekeepers.
2026 Summer Meeting Agenda
Keynote Speaker: Julia Mahood will be presenting "
It’s all about the Drones". Honey bee drones are the Rodney Dangerfields of the bee world; they (often) get no respect! Learn all about the amazing drones and their mysterious drone congregation areas (and how to find them using the other kind of drone).
Speaker Bio:
Julia Mahood is a Georgia Master Craftsman Beekeeper who has been keeping bees since 2004 and has a particular fascination with the often-overlooked world of honey bee drones. She is the founder of MapMyDCA.com, a citizen science project that helps beekeepers locate and map drone congregation areas using innovative UAV-based techniques.
Recognized as Georgia Beekeeper of the Year in 2018, Julia is an active leader in Georgia's beekeeping community and a dedicated educator. She coordinates the Georgia Beekeepers Association prison beekeeping program and teaches beekeeping in correctional facilities throughout the state. In addition to her beekeeping accomplishments, Julia is a graphic artist and designer of Georgia's "Save the Honey Bee" license plate.
Workshops:
Horizontal Hives - Jason Morin - Learn how horizontal hives can reduce heavy lifting while providing an alternative approach to managing honey bee colonies.
Grafting Workshop – Andrew Munkres, Bianca Braman, Cheryl Achilles - Get an introduction to grafting and queen rearing through this interactive workshop. Participants will learn the grafting process and have the chance to try grafting themselves. Space is limited, sign up at the registration table.
Record Keeping That Works for You – Julia Mahood - Record keeping that works for you. Successful beekeeping is often paired with good record keeping. However, taking on a record keeping system that is too arduous will quickly be abandoned. This talk presents many methods, from simple to complex and invites beekeepers to use the methods that they can manage and feel good about.
Winter Bees: The skinny on Fat Bees – Julia Mahood - This presentation focuses on how honey bees physiologically prepare for winter. It teaches beekeepers how to help their colonies survive cold months by understanding the crucial, nutrient-rich "fat" bees that keep the cluster alive
Making Beeswax Candles – Cheryl Achilles - Explore the process of turning beeswax into candles. This workshop will cover cleaning and filtering wax, choosing appropriate wicks, and working with candle molds.
Splits, Nucs, and Swarm Control – Bianca Braman - This workshop will cover how and when to split colonies, establish nucleus (nuc) colonies, and implement effective swarm control techniques. Attendees will learn how these management tools can help maintain strong, productive hives while reducing swarm risk.
Pastry & Baked Goods Potluck:
Bring a treat to share. There is no signup sheet.
Raffle:
Support our VBA fundraising raffle by donating a raffle item. Contributions of all kinds are welcome and appreciated.
Vendors:
- BetterBee will be attending and bringing orders. Space is limited. Please get your orders in ASAP.
- Dadant will be attending and bringing orders @ 10% off. Orders must be called in by Monday, July 13. Orders to be brought to the VBA summer meeting cannot be made online; their website will not list an option for delivery to our meeting. Place orders by calling the Dadant Pennsylvania Office: 570-980-9831 or 1-877-532-3268. Space is limited.