Our January meeting will be held on Thursday, January 19th at Smith Memorial Playground starting at 7:30pm. In addition to 2012 Executive Committee elections, Ben Brown will be speaking on the process he followed in order to be able to legally sell his honey in the city of Philadelphia. Please join us! Keep reading to see the candidate statements for the election.

Candidate Statements

My name is Barbara Patrizzi, and I am seeking a seat on the Board of Directors of The Philadelphia Beekeepers Guild. I will be out of the country for the third week of January, and will therefore be unable to attend the meeting on the 19th. However, I would like to submit the following statement for consideration:

I have been keeping bees in the backyard of my Philadelphia row home since 2005.Over the years, beekeeping has rapidly become a more challenging pursuit due to the onset of CCD, varroa, small hive beetles, and the realization that more sustainable management methods are needed. The Philadelphia Beekeepers Guild has been an invaluable resource for me, and for all of us, as we face the joys and challenges of keeping bees. I have enjoyed volunteering at Honey fest, and assisting Suzanne at the Green Drinks event at Earth Brewery this year. However, I would like to do more in the year ahead.

It would be my pleasure to serve on the Board as Secretary, using my writing skills to help strengthen member participation and broaden the lines of communication between Guild members, the Board, and the general public.

I would like to help facilitate the regular posting of meeting minutes for both Board and General Membership meetings. By increasing communication to our members, I believe we will develop a more active and involved membership. We can encourage members to present at meetings, to seek out speakers, to participate in outreach events such as Honeyfest, or simply to post occasional comments and observations to our Facebook page.

As individual beekeepers, we help to sustain the vital role that bees play in our environment. Only together, however, can we build community, share resources, develop new methods of sustainable hive management, and provide education and outreach to the larger community. It is up to all of us to contribute to the Guild, and I feel that increased communication will encourage more members to step forward.

I hope to help our membership work together to achieve these goals and grow stronger in the year ahead. Thank you for your consideration.

My name is Chad Carnahan. I would like to be elected to the Executive Committee of the Philadelphia Beekeepers Guild in the position of a Member Representative. I am originally from North Carolina and graduated from the University of Notre Dame in 1997 with a degree in architecture. After living in Washington DC for a few years, I moved to Philadelphia in 2000 and now live in the Italian Market section of Philadelphia with my wife, Dr. Christina Fuoco and our 4 year old daughter as well as a couple cats. I have stepped away from architecture and am currently the Director of Operations of WAG: Whole Animal Gym, a veterinary rehabilitation facility in Philadelphia that my wife and I own and operate.

I am a first year beekeeper who maintains a couple hives on the roofs of my home, in the Italian Market. I currently have (2) 10-frame Langstroth hives and am adding an 8-frame one in the spring. My bees are small cell, on wax foundation, and I run treatment free hives. I had read and knew a great deal about bees until April 2011, when I received my bees, dumped them into a box and realized I didn’t know anything. I desire to gain knowledge and fellowship from any beekeepers I can encounter and I want to be on the Executive Committee to try to assist the Guild in its mission. I am a licensed architect who brings problem solving, design and project management skills.

I would appreciate your consideration for the position of Member Representative on the Executive Committee of the Philadelphia Beekeepers Guild.

I am Anna Herman. I live and work in the Mt. Airy neighborhood of Philadelphia. I have several hives and nucs in my backyard and other spots around town and maintain an observation hive and teach about bees at the Project Learn School. I am a food business consultant and writer and part time nature studies educator. I also coordinate a large community garden and have planned and planted several edible/pollinator habitat teaching gardens. I am finishing up a year long term as Secretary of the Exec Committee of this Guild and am willing to be Treasurer in the next go round (unless someone else would like this slot in which case I am happy to take on a different role). I have lot’s of skills and interests – primarily in the food, agriculture and homesteading crafts. I also have considerable professional experience with budgets, planning and finance for businesses and not for profit entities.

I am Suzanne Matlock and I live in East Mt. Airy, in of the City of Philadelphia. I have been beekeeping along with my husband, Norman, since 2009. We mentor the bio club of Arcadia University in beekeeping at their apiary. My experience is not long, but I am enthusiastic about helping other people get started in beekeeping and speaking to groups about the experience. I have been on the Executive Board of the Philadelphia Beekeepers Guild in 2010 & 2011, as a member representative. I would like to be considered for nomination to the office of Vice President in 2012, to be voted on by the members of the Guild.

I have planning and organizational skills, some scientific as well as artistic backgrounds, public speaking experience and a history of community volunteerism in several parts of the city less fortunate than where I live.

My name is Adam Schreiber and I have been keeping bees for the past three years. I have been on the Guild Executive Committee since the start of the Guild. For the past year I have served as the Guild president and I am running for that office again. I have enjoyed working with the other Executive Committee members and since the Guild didn’t totally collapse in the past year and no one else is running against me, I suppose I am a good choice for president. Thanks for your support!

I would like to renew my position as member representative. I am Trey Flemming. I am a commercial beekeeper and organic farmer. I have been keeping bees for six years and I have been keeping hives in Philadelphia for the past two years. I currently have 60 hives with about half of these in the city. I operate Urban Apiaries, a honey company in philadelphia, and produce honey labeled by zip code from 7 apiaries across the city. Part of the mission of Urban Apiaries is to educate the public about the importance of pollinators, which goes hand in hand with what the beekeeper’s guild is doing. I would like to represent the perspective of a commercial beekeeper to the guild.

I have a background in wildlife biology with a BS in wildlife biology from West Virginia University. I became a beekeeper because I am interested in the honeybee as an indicator of ecosystem health. I would like to work toward having the city become a better habitat for pollinators and people. I have a lot of interest in promoting pollinator habitat within the city.

My name is Jeff Eckel and I’ve been keeping bees for about 5 years.  I started with 2 colonies and expanded to over 20.  I am very interested in breeding a hygienic, cold hardy bee that will produce a surplus of honey.  I am running for the position of member representative.