Jim Fraser is a third-generation beekeeper and owner of Maryland Honey Company in Gaithersburg. He learned from his father and now manages about 60 colonies including pollination work for local farms and orchards. Jim has been an Eastern Apiculture Society Certified Master Beekeeper since 2014, a Certified Honey Show judge, and a former President of the Maryland State Beekeepers Association.

Jim would like to serve as President because education and practical support have been central to his connection with MCBA. He enjoys helping members, customers, and community groups learn about bees and believes the club is strongest when it shares knowledge generously.

Jim would bring decades of hands-on beekeeping, experience managing a family honey business, public speaking, honey-show judging, and prior leadership as an MCBA and Maryland State Beekeepers Association president.

Jim hopes to keep MCBA welcoming, educational, and useful to beekeepers at every level. He would continue strengthening classes, member learning, community outreach, and the practical resources that help local beekeepers succeed.

Rick Wallace became interested in bees through his wife’s elementary-school farm visits. After moving to Montgomery County, he took MCBA’s Beekeeping 101 course and began with one nuc and one package. His colonies grew from two to five, and he now keeps both Langstroth and top-bar hives, including one with a window for observation.

Rick would like to serve as Vice President because MCBA helped turn his curiosity into a rewarding conservation hobby. He wants to help other members find the same encouragement, practical learning, and connection with nature.

Rick brings firsthand experience as a developing beekeeper, familiarity with different hive styles, a thoughtful interest in pollinator habitat, and a professional background as a nurse. He also understands the questions newer members bring to the club. Rick has co-hosted Fireside Chats with Ryan Eicher and is one of the MCBA equipment managers. In this role for the last year, Rick has brought in some great speakers on a variety of topics. He hopes to do so again.

Rick hopes to help make MCBA programs friendly, useful, and accessible to both new and experienced beekeepers. He would encourage learning opportunities and the exchange of practical experiences among members. Rick would stay current with beekeeping topics and bring in speakers to help augment learning.

I've been a beekeeper since 2025 and joined the group that January for the beekeeper 101 course. I'm a lifetime member and am really enjoying this hobby. I retired in February and enjoy bees, native plants and traveling. I have 3 children - one graduating from Thomas Jefferson University this year and twins at Walt Whitman.

I enjoy helping out when there is a need and I have prior business experience, so it takes me back to my roots.

In my previous life, I built 3 companies from scratch and successfully took each of them to a sale. My first company we operated on Quickbooks and I did all the book keeping until we were profitable enough to hire an accountant. I also have prior board experience having served for 15 years on a not for profit board, 3 years for a lending company and most recently for a start up foundation.

Hopefully, we can make our sales tax payment process and fair disbursements automated. As the board desires, we may consider switching banks and moving our bills to an on-line payment portal that interfaces with Quickbooks.

John Mahaffie is a Bethesda-born, DC-living beekeeper who started two backyard colonies in 2022 after taking beekeeper training. His interest began with wanting better pollination for a vegetable garden, but beekeeping quickly became the focus. He enjoys helping people distinguish yellow jackets from bees and bee stings. John is allergic to bee stings, but has no thought of stopping his hobby beekeeping.

John would like to serve as a Director at Large because MCBA combines practical learning with a strong community of volunteers. He wants to contribute his experience as a member and help the club explain beekeeping clearly to the public.

John brings experience as a futurist who helps organizations understand emerging change, service on a DC charter-school board, prior MCBA service as Secretary, and a thoughtful communicator’s perspective on public education.

John hopes to help MCBA communicate more clearly, support members’ learning, and keep the organization prepared for the future. He would contribute to outreach that makes accurate bee knowledge easy for neighbors and new beekeepers to understand.

I’m Adam Chaikin, a Montgomery County beekeeper and proud member of MCBA for the past year. Beekeeping has become one of the most meaningful parts of my life, and the club has played a huge role in that journey. I value the community, the shared learning, and the spirit of stewardship that MCBA brings to our county. Over the past year, I’ve enjoyed participating in meetings, connecting with fellow beekeepers, and contributing to the collaborative, supportive environment that makes this association special. I’m excited about the opportunity to serve as a Member at Large and help strengthen the organization that has already given me so much.

I’m interested in serving as a Member at Large because MCBA has already given so much to me as a beekeeper, and I want to give back in a meaningful way. Over the past year, I’ve benefited from the club’s knowledge, camaraderie, and commitment to supporting beekeepers at every stage. As a newer member, I bring fresh eyes, curiosity, and a willingness to share ideas that can help strengthen the organization. I believe MCBA thrives when members contribute diverse perspectives, and I’m eager to support initiatives that build community, expand education, and help beekeepers succeed. Serving on the board would be an opportunity to contribute to a group that has truly enriched my beekeeping journey.

I bring a strong blend of professional, nonprofit, and beekeeping experience to the MCBA board. As a CPA and consultant with more than 30 years of business and financial expertise, I’m comfortable with strategic planning, problem‑solving, and helping organizations operate effectively. I also served for ten years on the Board of Habitat for Humanity of Northern Virginia, where I learned how a highly functional board collaborates, communicates, and supports its mission. That experience taught me the value of clear governance and constructive engagement. As a newer MCBA member, I also offer a fresh set of eyes and an openness to new ideas. I’m eager to contribute perspectives that help the association grow and continue serving beekeepers across the county.

During my term, I hope to help MCBA expand its reach, strengthen its community presence, and support beekeepers across Montgomery County. I’d like to bring fresh ideas for fundraising that can provide the club with more resources to grow its programs and educational offerings. I’m also interested in developing new community outreach initiatives that introduce more residents to beekeeping, pollinator health, and the work MCBA does. As a newer member, I see opportunities to share perspectives that help the club evolve while staying true to its mission. My goal is to contribute energy, creativity, and practical ideas that help MCBA thrive and continue serving both new and experienced beekeepers.

I've been a MCBA member since 2023 and have 5 backyard hives in N. Bethesda. I'm on the swarm listserv and have collected bees from church steeples, trees, and gardens. For the last several years I've provided live bee demos at the Ag Fair gazebo (ga-bee-bo) and shared the observation hive with enthusiastic passersby. I'm currently working with staff at Walter Reed on a large hive hanging from a 3 story building that is shedding large pieces of comb; with any luck we'll get a cherry picker to take us up to remove the remaining pieces. Most rewarding has been the opportunity to present to scouts and other groups both young and old.

I would be honored to serve as Director-at-Large with a focus on continuing and expanding our educational outreach activities as well as helping the club shape and grow the next generation of curious and capable beekeepers.

I bring recent board member perspective and communication skills to make encounters with assisted living residents as well as nursery school children and everyone in between hands-on and memorable. My appreciation for our fuzzy pollinators runs deep and enables me to tap into the existing reverence that the MoCo public generally already has for bees and the life-sustaining work that they do.

I'd like to support the club's ongoing efforts to make beekeeping accessible to "beeks" of all levels, expand our educational presence, and encourage members to share the wonder of our local pollinators.

A naturalist since my teenage years, I became a biology and geology teacher in the French curriculum. I traveled to learn more about nature. I worked with horses for more than thirty years. For the past few years, I have focused on bees, which I find extraordinary animals. I have also met many beekeepers whom I find remarkable. I devoted more than forty years of my life to teaching, and although I am retired, I am still an educator who finds joy in sharing knowledge about bees and beekeeping, and in learning always more about those insects.

Since I got involved in beekeeping, I have received a great deal of help from the MCBA and individual beekeepers, first through the 101 course and then through the sessions at the Brookside apiary led by Maureen and the mentors. Although I have given back some of my time by volunteering at various events (the MoCo Fair, the Brookside apiary, Brookside Nature Center), I know I can do even more to help the club. That is why I am applying.

As I mentioned above, I am an educator, and I can bring my teaching experience to help develop new ways of communicating about beekeeping to the people of the county.

As a former science teacher, I still have a strong taste for experimentation. That is why I would like to set up a drone-rearing program, with drones selected for traits chosen by the people interested in the program. Over time, these drones could saturate our area, so that queen matings become less random and produce better results. It would be a great team effort that would help us build skills and maintain bee colonies that are adapted to our region, productive and healthy. Of course, we would need to take the necessary steps to avoid losing genetic diversity.

Trina Sensenig began backyard beekeeping with MCBA’s 2018 course and two nucleus hives. She has made walk-away splits, earned state awards for first-harvest honey, and pursued sustainable Integrated Pest Management and queen-rearing knowledge. Her career and life have included international development, education, and volunteer service.

Trina would like to serve as a test-election candidate because MCBA gives members a place to synthesize knowledge and share practical experience. She wants to contribute thoughtful service to a club that values learning and the environment.

Trina brings hands-on hive experience, a strong interest in sustainable beekeeping, international-development perspective, teaching experience, and a broad network of community and volunteer connections.

Trina hopes to help members exchange practical lessons about healthy colonies, gardens, and sustainable beekeeping that allows colonies to develop natural resistance to pests and diseases. She would support clear records, shared learning, and programs that connect beekeeping with environmental stewardship.

Bill Lawler began beekeeping in 2019 while helping a friend care for hives. After taking MCBA’s course in 2021, he began caring for his own six hives with his wife, Lisa, in Bethesda. He especially enjoys learning at the Brookeville Garden Apiary and volunteering at MCBA’s county-fair booth.

Bill would like to serve as a Director at Large because MCBA’s programs and people have made his beekeeping journey rewarding. He wants to give back to the club and help preserve the hands-on learning and fellowship he values.

Bill brings practical backyard-apiary experience, a steady interest in observing and learning, and several years of volunteer service at MCBA events. He also brings a collaborative perspective shaped by learning alongside other local beekeepers.

Bill hopes to help MCBA keep its programs welcoming, educational, and connected to members’ real experiences. He would support the apiary, county-fair outreach, and opportunities for members to learn together.

I grew up in rural Western Pennsylvania and was one of 4 boys "living the dream" on a couple hundred acres of woods, streams and fields. My father kept bees, hence my early introduction to beekeeping. I have many fond memories of harvesting honey and extracting it in a 2-frame honey extractor. As an adult, I became reacquainted to beekeeping with my son, Ryan, about 6 years ago. We started with one hive and have expanded to several hundred. The decision to join MCBA was an easy decision when I realized how much I had to learn. I enjoy spending time in nature, working with bees, problem solving and the rewards of a fruitful honey harvest.

I would like to serve as a Director at Large because MCBA connects beekeeping, education, community, and the shared enjoyment of working with bees. I want to help sustain the club's welcoming mix of learning and participation and be part of a dynamic organization.

I feel I bring experience managing businesses and entrepreneurial expertise from having started several different companies during my working career. During of my professional career I have held positions on several boards. I have also had success with growing a beekeeping operation over the past 6 years and have spent time learning about beekeeping in other countries such as Greece, Spain and Tahiti. I feel I have much to offer others with my knowledge of beekeeping and at least as much to learn from others.

I would hope to help MCBA offer engaging programs and practical opportunities for members to learn, volunteer, and share their work. This in turn will help new beekeepers obtain the skills necessary to successfully manage their own beekeeping operations.

Garrett Davis began keeping bees in 2001 after his family encouraged him to find a retirement hobby. He and his family took a beekeeping course and started with two colonies. Over time he reached 20 colonies, all on his three-acre property, while learning from the challenges of swarming and colony care.

Garrett would like to serve as a Director at Large because he enjoys the challenge of beekeeping and talking with people who are curious about bees. He wants to help MCBA remain a useful source of practical knowledge and encouragement.

Garrett brings more than two decades of beekeeping experience, firsthand experience managing many colonies, and a professional background as a recently retired patent and trademark lawyer in Washington, DC. He offers persistence, curiosity, and careful problem-solving.

Garrett hopes to help members learn from one another and feel supported as they work through the season’s challenges. He would contribute a practical, thoughtful voice to programs that strengthen local beekeeping.