From: Carolyn Fluehr-Lobban, RIBA Secretary

Re: Minutes of the November 14, 2010 monthly meeting of RIBA held at the Rocky Hill Grange

1. The meeting was convened at 2:15 PM with about 35 people in atendance. 

2. The Minutes of the October meeting were presented and accepted. The Fall Festival held at "The Pines" on October 17 and featuring guest speaker Dr.Nancy Ostiguy of Penn State University's Department of Entemology, and a fall craft raffle.  

3. No Old Business matters were raised.

4. New Business: Roger Robitaille spoke about the increasing cost of bee packages in advacne of spring order and that the local price of honey and comb honey has remained good at $7-9 per pound/ wholesale and more for retail. President Mark Robar remarked that 2010 was a good year for honey.

5. Suggestions from President Robar and from the floor included:

    a) Get well cards for Celeste Nordwany and John Hope, both of whom recently had surgery.

    b) coopoerating with Worcester Beekeeping Associaiton (WBA) to provide drawn comb on frames for new beekeepers next spring.

    c) Everett Zurlindin recommended that RIBA collaborate with WBA to bring Tom Seely, an excellent speaker who will be avialble in the area in 2011.

    d) Betty Menucci reported on the Bee Schools: continuing at Davies Technical Vocatinal School on Wednesday and the South County school would be on Tuesday nights. The cost to students is $50 and RIBA members might be able to audit depending upon space. She mentioned the possibility of an Intermediate School to take place at the end of the summer and recommended that members monitor the website for further details on all of these activities. 

    e) The idea of asking questions of more experienced beekeepers by new beekeepers was raised and newsletter editor Carolyn Fluehr-Lobban reported that an "Ask an Expert" column  in the Newsletter was beginning with the winter issue.

    f) recommendation that a mass quantity of Fondant be purchsed by RIBA in January for sale to members; Jeff McGuire offered a recipe and Everett pointed out that a recipe was printed in the last issue of the Newsletter.

   g) Carolyn Fluehr-Lobban presented information about a Ugandan Girls Training School initiative in Beekeeping as a form of microbusiness. Shd asked for any help from RIBA and Roger Robitaille offered spare bee veils as a donation. 

   h) there was a general discussion about ways and means to inprove communicaiton between RIBA officers and the membership and the president promised to take this up with the Board.