Howard County Beekeepers Association, Inc is a not-for-profit, tax-exempt 501(c)(3) organization.

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To contact us, use this website, send us an email at hocobeekeepersassoc@gmail.com or mail us at: P.O. Box 1416 Ellicott City Maryland 21041

Copyright 2019, 2020, Howard County Beekeepers Association, Inc. No original content or images may be used without permission.

Other> General Meeting Information

HCBA General Meeting Information:

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January 14, 2020, 7:00 PM at the Howard County Fairgrounds Dining Hall

Join us for our first meeting of the new year!

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Our guest speakers will be Monica Schmitt, Vice President and Russell Sprangel, President of the Carroll County Beekeepers Association.  Monica and Russ will help us kick off our 2020 beekeeping season with Winter planning tips, as well as Spring preparation checklists and 'to-dos' to help us meet our individual beekeeping goals. 

 

Also joining us will be Luke Goembel from the Legislative Committee of the Central Maryland Beekeepers Association.  Luke will inform us of the current effort to pass a bill in Maryland this January to limit the use of a pesticide that is a threat to bees and how we, as individual beekeepers, might be able to help.

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And you won't want to miss the Black Jar Honey Contest we will hold during the meeting to see who has the best tasting honey in Howard County!

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We hope to see you there!

Black Jar Honey Contest Information

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During the meeting, we will hold a contest to decide who has the best-tasting honey in Howard County!  We hope you will be able to join us to participate, regardless of whether you enter a jar in the competition.

 

If you plan to enter a jar of honey, please read this information about the Black Jar Honey Contest:

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  • Must be a 2020 member of HCBA ( so be sure to renew your membership before then!)

  • ​Register to enter your honey here by or before January 12th.

  • Honey must have been produced in 2019 as an individual beekeeper, part of a family, business, or other group effort.

  • Must enter at a 12 oz jar of honey - in a squeeze bottle with a flip-top lid.  (Don't worry if you do not have a squeeze bottle with a flip-top lid - we'll have a few on hand!)  The reason for the squeeze bottle and flip-top lid is because this is a honey tasting contest...there will be no exceptions to this requirement.

  • The honey jar must have your name on the bottle - anywhere is fine, just not on the lid.

  • Entrants will sign in and leave their jar of honey at the registration desk between 6:30 and 6:50 PM on January 14th.

  • Entries will be covered to obscure the honey's characteristics, as well as any distinguishing marks, such as your name or label.

  • Judges will vote to select a 1st, 2nd and 3rd place winner. 

  • Judging will stop when any honey container is emptied.

  • 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place prizes will be awarded based on total points (3 points for every 1st place vote, 2 for every 2nd and 1 for every 3rd place vote).

  • Honey not consumed can be reclaimed at the end of the meeting.

 

Even if you do not have a jar of honey to enter, we need a few volunteers to run the contest.  Use this link to sign up to enter your jar of honey, or to help with the contest:  https://www.signupgenius.com/go/508094AAAA723A5FD0-black