1. ELECTIONS - VOTING IS OPEN UNTIL November 11th

All MCBA members in good standing should vote! Deadline is November 11th. The link to the ballot, plus information on the candidates, is at

ELECTIONS

It's interesting to read the bios and learn things about fellow beekeepers.

2. Preparing the MCBA Apiary for Winter - Sunday, November 8

Join fellow beeks to put the apiary to bed - cleaning and sorting equipment and winterizing the hives. This year we will be experimenting with an amino acid spray for stored frames. It's always fun to work in a group. Sign up is on the Club website.

3. MCBA November 11 Annual Meeting

Wednesday, October 14, 2026 (in person only)

Faith United Methodist Church, 6810 Montrose Road, Rockville MD

6:30 pm - Socializing and submitting honey for the tasting contest, donating equipment

7:00 pm - Club announcements, purchasing donated equipment

7:30 pm - Annual Meeting

It's all happening on November 11th. Enjoy a programming and financial recap of 2026. Greet the new Board and thank outgoing members. Bring 8 oz. of your best honey (bottles will be anonymized) for the tasting contest - maybe get your name on the perpetual trophy. Applaud the members who have reached 100 hours of volunteering. And check your beekeeping equipment stash for items in good condition that you may no longer use (or have never used). Donate them for other members to claim. Sales benefit the Bee Impact Fund.

4. Maryland State Beekeepers Association Fall meeting - Saturday, November 14th

Montgomery Community College in Germantown MD

8:30 am to 3:00 pm

Speakers include Zac Lamas of the Lamas Lab at University of Maryland Baltimore Campus, Jason Wolf, Maryland Youth Beekeepers (winner of Best Tasting Honey 2024 AND 2025, Montgomery County Beekeepers Association), Daniel and Lexi Boback of ThermaHive, and others. Details and schedule are at https://www.mdbeekeepers.org/2026-november-14-meeting/

5. Update - Bee Impact Fund - We are closing in on our $15,000 goal!

Thanks to everyone who has already contributed to the 2026 Bee Impact Fund. There is less than $3,000 to go. Awardee Claudia Roller is a researcher in the Apiculture Laboratory at North Carolina State University, where she works with Dr. David Tarpy. Claudia has developed a method of rescuing laying worker colonies. Her research seeks to confirm that method and identify the underlying biology, so that beekeepers will have success in recovering laying worker colonies. Donations accepted through December 31st.

Donation link: https://montgomerycountybeekeepers.com/2026-bee-impact-fund/

6. Holiday Potluck Party and Gift Swap on Wednesday, December 9th

Location TBA

MCBA Members and guests will gather for great food (main dishes provided by the Club), fun stories of beekeeping disasters/triumphs, and a gift swap.

7. Staying in Touch

a. MCBA website - updated information is constantly posted, plus there are links to Members-only resources and public resources. https://montgomerycountybeekeepers.com/

b. The Forum - our online "news" source. Sign up to get notices from other beekeepers, add your own ideas, join the swarm catcher contact list, or be an outreach volunteer at https://montgomerycountybeekeepers.com/forum-2/

c. The REAL Beekeepers of Montgomery County, a private (no weird ads) Facebook group for the serious, the ridiculous, and everything else about beekeeping. We post pictures, Club apiary reports, research, cartoons, and member news. All beekeeping all the time. Sign up and join us at

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1340951959905751

MCBA Leadership

Jim Fraser, President

Rick Wallace, Vice President

Rick Nidel, Treasurer

Paola Domenge, Secretary

Garrett Davis, Director at Large

Eric Eicher, Director at Large

Malin Haugwitz, Director at Large

Bill Lawler, Director at Large

John Mahaffie, Director at Large

Amina Manguera, Director at Large, Community Outreach

Judy Treible, Director at Large

Phil Frank, Webmaster, LIstServ & Swam Alert Monitor