[minz]

Our bee club has been turning everything into a ‘for profit’ business. The powers that bee are charging for everything from classes to getting together for bulk buys. The meetings are turning into commercials for their private business and information on things like treatment are a ‘$20 at my house on Saturday’ event. Its gotten pretty large over the last 5 years or so and maybe we have outgrown the one beek helping another that I thought it was supposed to be.
Just venting.

 

[wildbranch2007]

Our bee club has been turning everything into a ‘for profit’ business. The powers that bee are charging for everything from classes to getting together for bulk buys. The meetings are turning into commercials for their private business and information on things like treatment are a ‘$20 at my house on Saturday’ event. Its gotten pretty large over the last 5 years or so and maybe we have outgrown the one beek helping another that I thought it was supposed to be.
Just venting.

happening locally also, the allure of $ is attracting all kinds, I decided time to drop back out of the clubs, really want to drop FB also but do use it for some other things.

 

[elmer_fud]

Is the board elected? Sounds like it may be time for a change of leadership.

My local club and the state club are reasonable in that regards. The fees for the local club are $25/year and cover meetings, extractor loan (free to members), and a bit of outreach. The state meetings (all day, twice a year) are something like $20 but they include lunch and renting a location for the meeting. The next state meeting is being moved to zoom, and they are charging $5 for it, I suspect this is to cover getting speakers and buying a zoom license.

 

[psfred]

It can be an issue. We started one here, then one of the members got cheesed off at the rest of us and decided we needed to be involved in HAS meetings and buy an extractor and so forth.

That person plus a recent graduate in apiary science started a new club up the road, don't know how they are doing but the first thing on the agenda when they started was dues. All the commercial keepers went there, probably because they are half an hour closer to home at that meeting.

Our local little group is still pretty small and mostly Master Gardeners, but I always wanted it to be a place where information got shared and new beekeeper could get advice, not cover for a commercial operation nor something expensive to get into. Going to HAS meetings and things like that will have to wait until I'm retired, I don't have time while working.

There is a very good club over the river, but it's half an hour away at least and I have too many other things going on to get there.

If there are a number of people in the club who feel like you do, start your own!

 

[Saltybee]

So, do they share the treasure's report with everyone? Including the State Income Tax Division? Collecting a fee for service and putting it in your pocket is income. Running it through the clubs books or private pockets?

Reminds me of "Charitable" AAU basketball.

 

[msl]

Is the board elected? Sounds like it may be time for a change of leadership.
My local club and the state club are reasonable in that regards.

LOL votes matter? down here we just had a full on coup.
during the start of the covid lock down 2 people desided to take over, threw out the bylaws and voting, changed email passwords, took down the web site, seized control of the FB page and every post has to be moderator approved so people can't speak out, told the sitting president he is kicked out of the club and permoted thier friends to be club officers. Now they control the flow of info, and only the people they have deamed as "cool" receive emails and will know when and were things are going.

So now it has a new pres and VP that the members never voted for, and word on the street is the state ( CSBA) is going to support them rater then lose whats left of the membership. Tina Sebastian from the state has all ready been involved in propping them up

That is on top of last years state swarm hot line redistricting scandle
ya not a fan of the CO state club at the moment at all!!!

Coups and gerrymandering.... lesson learned, stay out of the clubs... bad for business.. I will support them when asked...speaking, workshops etc but I don't want to be a member and have a dog in that fight.

 

[Oldtimer]

LOL good story MSL.

Even over in my country some bee clubs start out with good intentions but then go way political. But it's not just bees, happens in dog breed clubs and just about any type of club.

Happened in the local bee club I used to be in. Leadership divided off into 2 factions, then I had people calling me on the phone arguing their case and trying to force me to take sides. Very difficult cos people on both sides were people I had considered friends. All got so intense I quit the club.

Then after that control was eventually seized by 2 pretty mercinary women, motivation, money. They wanted to run training etc for personal gain, which they did. People signing up for these things thought it was run by the club and only later found out the money went straight to these 2 people. Which greatly aggravated the majority who were mowing lawns and doing all sorts of other stuff voluntarily, for the benefit of the club.

 

[minz]

Well I guess I can’t complain after all.
Especially if it means that I have to step up and be an officer!

:lpf:

 

[elmer_fud]

LOL votes matter? down here we just had a full on coup.
during the start of the covid lock down 2 people desided to take over, threw out the bylaws and voting, changed email passwords, took down the web site, seized control of the FB page and every post has to be moderator approved so people can't speak out, told the sitting president he is kicked out of the club and permoted thier friends to be club officers. Now they control the flow of info, and only the people they have deamed as "cool" receive emails and will know when and were things are going.

So now it has a new pres and VP that the members never voted for, and word on the street is the state ( CSBA) is going to support them rater then lose whats left of the membership. Tina Sebastian from the state has all ready been involved in propping them up

That is on top of last years state swarm hot line redistricting scandle
ya not a fan of the CO state club at the moment at all!!!

Coups and gerrymandering.... lesson learned, stay out of the clubs... bad for business.. I will support them when asked...speaking, workshops etc but I don't want to be a member and have a dog in that fight.

I had heard about the state swarm hot line mess. I think the NCBA (northern Colorado) is back to using (and promoting) a local line instead of using the state swarm hotline.

I had not heard of the problems with 2 people taking over one of the local bee clubs. Which one was it? (message me if you want)

Hopefully nothing weird happens with NCBA, only time will tell.

 

[Chicago_ks]

When I read the subject I thought blues from not having meetings because of stay at home orders. I have those blues. The club I'm in doesn't have the problems you're going through.

 

[elmer_fud]

When I read the subject I thought blues from not having meetings because of stay at home orders. I have those blues.

We have not had meetings for the past 3 months. The club is still sending out a newsletter though.

 

[minz]

After I made fun of the 1 hr commercial for the presentation they seem to have ‘lost my dues’. They have a new system using pay pal. So I pay on line to become part of the club again or suck it up.

 

[elmer_fud]

This thread will benefit from this (off topic post)

 

[msl]

they seem to have ‘lost my dues’

yes, yes that game is being played here as well.

so true Elmer
but walking a way and giving up and not haveing to care any more was soooo refreshing

 

[b2bnz]

LOL good story MSL.

Even over in my country some bee clubs start out with good intentions but then go way political. But it's not just bees, happens in dog breed clubs and just about any type of club.

Happened in the local bee club I used to be in. Leadership divided off into 2 factions, then I had people calling me on the phone arguing their case and trying to force me to take sides. Very difficult cos people on both sides were people I had considered friends. All got so intense I quit the club.

Then after that control was eventually seized by 2 pretty mercinary women, motivation, money. They wanted to run training etc for personal gain, which they did. People signing up for these things thought it was run by the club and only later found out the money went straight to these 2 people. Which greatly aggravated the majority who were mowing lawns and doing all sorts of other stuff voluntarily, for the benefit of the club.

The main problem with any club is that you have a dozen or so members who are keen to run the club but never have any body else volunteering to assist. The club that oldtimer is refering to has close to 700 members in Auckland New Zealand but it is the same people time and again who put their hands up. Courses need a venue and when the local university charges exorbant fees for their rooms it does not help. It takes time to prepare courses and materials need to be purchased. It all takes time and money!

 

[elmer_fud]

but walking a way and giving up and not haveing to care any more was soooo refreshing

I believe it, sometimes that is the best solution

 

[tenleez]

You know what the irony of all this is? If you watch the bees working in their beehive, it's all for one and one for all. You'd think beeks would learn from them. If they acted as selfishly as people do, they'd have gone extinct a long time ago. They have so much to teach us, if only we'd watch and learn.

I watch the new crop of newbees coming in every year who want to save the bees. They go through the local bee school and learn all about commercial beekeeping. There's no official mentoring, they have a handful of people listed on their website as "mentors" but most of the help comes via telephone or FB. Not the best way for a newbee to learn. So last year, I offered a team beek approach and invited newbees to watch as I did a hive dive and OAV treatments. I believe newbees would benefit from sharing a hive their first year and learning together. It splits the cost and responsibility of managing a hive and learning together can be powerful. If successful, they can learn to do splits and procure their own hives the following year.

I tried to be the change I wanted to see. It's easy to walk away and say the hell with it and at times may be the best thing to do.

 

[Titus142]

You know what the irony of all this is? If you watch the bees working in their beehive, it's all for one and one for all. You'd think beeks would learn from them. If they acted as selfishly as people do, they'd have gone extinct a long time ago. They have so much to teach us, if only we'd watch and learn.

I watch the new crop of newbees coming in every year who want to save the bees. They go through the local bee school and learn all about commercial beekeeping. There's no official mentoring, they have a handful of people listed on their website as "mentors" but most of the help comes via telephone or FB. Not the best way for a newbee to learn. So last year, I offered a team beek approach and invited newbees to watch as I did a hive dive and OAV treatments. I believe newbees would benefit from sharing a hive their first year and learning together. It splits the cost and responsibility of managing a hive and learning together can be powerful. If successful, they can learn to do splits and procure their own hives the following year.

I tried to be the change I wanted to see. It's easy to walk away and say the hell with it and at times may be the best thing to do.

I always wonder how many people I see every year on FB, or reddit, all those hundreds of "Installed my first package!" posts make it to year 2 and keep on with it. I feel like if they all did, every backyard would have a hive by now.

I totally agree on the individuality thing. I would love to mentor, but I am just not there year, I need a lot more experience before I feel like I can put my self out there. I want to help everyone, but I don't want to spread bad info based on my lack of experience.

I walked away from my bee club after one member took up half the meeting promoting a gofundme thing so she could get paid to do what she had volunteered to do for the club. She was doing the newsletter and some photography and got featured in a newspaper once and decided that made her a "pro" and she should be paid now. I can't believe the president let that go on. It is too far to drive to put up with that.

But I had the same feeling, it wasn't a community at all. Just individuals.

 

[Gray Goose]

So do what the bees do , take "some" of the like minded members and Swarm to a new location. Raise a new leader. It is nice to have like minded folks to hang and converse with.
I have never paid dues in 45 years so not sure what the "allure" of the bee club is.

seems 10-15 folks with similar views would be enough to bounce ideas off of.

I recall a quote, "I would never be a member of a group with such low standards as to want me as a member" or something like that.

for cost and distance could do a Zoom meeting.
My dues are stings and lost Queens, and I pay enough.

The group buy of packages, and Extractor sharing is a feature, but so is sanity. So pay a few bucks extra, and do cut an strain, for a year or 2.
If I did not like it I would walk away in a heartbeat, could be I am just an Old intolerant cranky beekeeper.

For those newbies that need the club I feel for you. form a small group , have some Zoom meetings, carry on.

IMO the keepers do not need the clubs, the club "operators" need the keepers.
Yes and protest, vote the bums out and all that.

GG

 

[crofter]

A snip from GG post <could be I am just an Old intolerant cranky beekeeper.>

GG, I resemble that remark!

I sure dont get much satisfaction dealing with human emotional problems; give me a mechanical process issue any time, even a multifaceted one!