2021 VBA Summer Meeting Agenda
September 4, 2021 at the Brandon Town Hall, Brandon, VT
8:45am Check-in
9:00am Welcome from Bernie Carr, Executive Director of the Brandon Chamber of Commerce and Unofficial Mayor of Brandon.
9:10am Opening remarks – VBA President Andrew Munkres
9:15am VT Bee Lab Update – Dr. Samantha Alger
9:30am Bee Inspector's Report, Brooke Decker, VT Agency of Agriculture
9:45am Recognition – Mission Superheroes and Outstanding efforts on Honey Bee Education - VBA Recognition Committee
10:00-11:00am
Keynote Speaker: David T. Peck, Ph.D., Director of Research and Education at Betterbee, in Greenwich NY
Topic: Varroa destructor: History, Biology, Transmission, and Monitoring
11:00am Break
11:15am Business Meeting
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Review Minutes from the 2020 “Summer” meeting and the 2021 Winter Meeting for amendment (if needed) and approval.
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Treasurer’s Report Treasurer, Richard Roy
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2021-2022 Budget for approval – Treasurer, Richard Roy
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Update on Honey Purity and Adulteration studies – Andrew Munkres
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Update on VBA Beekeeper Training Program – Fred Putnam and the rest of the Training, Mentoring, and Certification cadre’
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Nominating Committee Report and election. Slate proposed:
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For President, Andrew Munkres (incumbent)
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For Vice President – Jeff Battaglini (incumbent)
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For Treasurer – Richard Roy (incumbent)
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For Membership Secretary – Laura Johnson (incumbent, formerly Director-at-large)
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For Recording Secretary – Fred Putnam, Jr. (incumbent)
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For Director at Large – James Key (proposed new Board member)
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Any other business
Noon – 1:00 Lunch on your own at one of 11 nice eating spots withing a few minutes’ walk of the Town Hall or bring a bag lunch
Afternoon Workshops
1:00-2:00 Workshop #1
Dr. David Peck - Varroa Management: Treatments, Integrated Pest Management, and Naturally and Artificially Selected Bee Resistance to Mites
2:00-2:15 Break
2:15 – 3:15 Workshop #2
Ross Conrad – Ross will share the results of a USDA SARE grant-funded study that compared treatment-free cultural varroa controls with a commercial mite treatments.
3:15 Wrap-up and pick up raffle items
About our Speaker(s)
David T. Peck, Ph.D.
Dr. Peck is the Director of Research and Education at Betterbee, in Greenwich NY. His doctoral work at Cornell University's Department of Neurobiology and Behavior was supervised by Professor Tom Seeley. His dissertation research focused on the transmission of mites between bee colonies, as well as the mite-resistance traits of the untreated honey bees living in Cornell's Arnot Forest. After earning his degree, he has continued to research varroa/bee interactions, including field work in Newfoundland Canada (where varroa still have not arrived) and Anosy Madagascar (where varroa arrived only in 2010 or 2011). He has served as a teaching postdoctoral fellow in Cornell's Department of Entomology, and is still affiliated with Cornell through the Veterinary College's Honey Bee Health program. Dr. Peck has kept bees for more than a decade, though his home apiary is usually full of mite-riddled research colonies so he doesn't usually produce much honey.
Ross Conrad
Ross Conrad of Dancing Bee Gardens in Middlebury is a regular contributor to Bee Culture magazine, author of Natural Beekeeping, and co-author of The Land of Milk and Honey: A History of Beekeeping in Vermont. In past years, Ross also served as President of the Vermont Beekeepers Association.