I'm asked to speak on beekeeping! And no, my audience didn't go to sleep!

Anytime that I'm asked to talk to a group on the importance of helping the honey bees, I'll do it. I guess I consider myself as a town crier of sorts to tout the need to help our insect friends to survive and thrive. I have to admit that when I decided to become a beekeeper, I never imagined that I would end up speaking to groups about my hobby or saving the honey bees. But its amazing how things evolve from one activity into something else completely.

My friend, Bruce Citty, asked me a month ago if I would be his guest at the Reidsville Kiwanis Club meeting to talk about beekeeping. Without hesitation, I said yes. So we set the date for September 23rd and I got myself prepared with some facts and figures...and I peppered them with a few personal experiences too. When I arrived, the Kiwanis fed me a really nice buffet lunch, then I spoke for about 15 minutes on why we need to help the hard working honey bee. Of course, I could have gone on for hours, but the Kiwanis Club is made up of busy business leaders, so I had to keep it short. 

What a great group! After I made my presentation, they asked some really great questions about hive management and honey production. And I think they took great delight (especially the ladies) when they discovered that colonies are dominated by females and they kick the drones out in the fall. It seems that when people learn that the ladies work themselves to death, all while they attend to the drone's every need...they think it mimicks human life. It always gets a few chuckles. 

I really appreciate Bruce for inviting me to speak to the Reidsville Kiwanis Club to spread the good word about beekeeping! It was fun and I hope to go back sometime in the future and talk about it even more. And thanks to Bob Mullings for the great photographs.