Sevier County Beekeepers

09/29/2026

Mark your calendars—SCBA meeting night is coming up, and you don’t want to miss this one!

Join the Sevier County Beekeepers Association on Monday, October 5, at 6:30 PM at King Family Library.

New beekeepers, this is your night! Our new beekeeper hive giveaway is happening, and we’re excited to help someone get their beekeeping journey started!

Robert Dominique will be our speaker, so come ready for an enjoyable evening. We’ll also have a question-and-answer session about keeping bees here in Sevier County and the surrounding area. Bring those questions you’ve been saving up!

Whether you’re just getting started or have been keeping bees for years, come spend an evening talking bees with us. Bring a friend, pull up a chair, and join the fun!

See you Monday, October 5!

09/29/2026

Bringing the world of beekeeping to the classroom!

Donna Patroni and Dean took part in Career Day at Catlettsburg Elementary on Friday, giving students a look at the tools and equipment used by beekeepers.

Days like these are a wonderful opportunity to spark curiosity about honey bees and introduce students to the people who care for them.

Thank you, Donna and Dean, for sharing your time and knowledge, and thank you to Catlettsburg Elementary for welcoming beekeeping into Career Day!

09/09/2026

A heartfelt thank-you to Dean Shultz for getting the Sevier County Beekeepers Association booth up and running at the Sevier County Fair!

We’re also grateful to all the new and longtime beekeepers who volunteered at the booth and entered their honey, frames, beeswax products, and photographs in the fair. A special thank-you goes to Linda Rizzardi for being there from start to finish and helping with the honey judging and taste testing.

We’re excited to report that all of the honey from the SCBA Learning Apiary sold!

Thank you to every volunteer who gave their time and helped make the booth such a success. We truly appreciate each of you and the wonderful support shown for SCBA and beekeeping in our community!

08/28/2026

📢 Sevier County Beekeepers Association Update

There will be no September meeting because we’ll be busy at the fair! 🐝🎡

Below are the member sign-ups for the fair. If you missed our last meeting and didn’t get a chance to sign up, please stop by one afternoon and spend some time with Dean and the other volunteers.

Come talk bees, meet visitors, and help represent our association—the more, the merrier! We hope to see you there! 🍯🐝

08/24/2026

🐝 A Day in the “B” Yard! 🐝

On August 22, 2026, we spent some quality time in the Sevier County Beekeepers Association’s B Yard—looking for queens, checking colony health, and making adjustments to help keep the hives strong and productive.

We also worked on straightening out the resource hives. These smaller colonies play an important role by providing extra brood, bees, queens, or resources when another hive needs a little help. Keeping them organized and healthy gives us more options when managing the apiary.

Finding a queen can sometimes feel like searching for a moving needle in a buzzing haystack—but careful inspections teach us a lot, even when she stays hidden. Brood patterns, eggs, larvae, food stores, population, and temperament all help tell the colony’s story.

Every inspection is a chance to learn, make thoughtful adjustments, and give the bees what they need to succeed. That is what a learning apiary is all about: hands-on experience, teamwork, and better beekeeping—one frame at a time! 🐝🍯

08/02/2026

🐝 You’re Invited to Our August Meeting! 🐝

Join us for an informative evening as we welcome two outstanding guest speakers, Monica Hackett and Trish Curtis, who will be presenting on “Making Bee Products.”

Whether you’re a new beekeeper looking to expand your knowledge or an experienced beekeeper interested in adding value to your apiary, this presentation will be packed with practical information, real-world experience, and inspiration.

🌼 Featured Speaker: Monica Hackett

Monica’s beekeeping journey began with a few hives to help pollinate her garden, but it quickly grew into a lifelong passion. For the past 12 years, she has worked alongside her partner and mentor, Ivan Lee, building a successful beekeeping business on the Cumberland Plateau.

Together, they produce premium strained honey, comb honey, and infused creamed honey from their certified honey house. Their operation has expanded to include an impressive line of handcrafted beeswax products, including lip balms, lotions, face creams, lotion bars, wood polish, and candles. Most recently, they have begun grafting queens and will soon offer locally raised queens and honey bees to area beekeepers.

Monica will share her knowledge and experience on creating high-quality bee products that can be enjoyed personally or marketed successfully.

🍯 Featured Speaker: Trish Curtis

Many of you already know Trish as one of our own club members. Trish and her husband, Rusty, have been keeping honey bees since 2006. After experiencing the challenges of colony collapse and taking a break from beekeeping, their passion for honey bees led them back to the craft.

Over the past four years, Trish has developed a passion for creating bee products and is excited to share what she has learned. Her presentation will provide practical tips, ideas, and encouragement for anyone interested in making products from their own hive.

📅 Date: Monday, August 3, 2026
🕡 Time: 6:30 PM
📍 Location: King Family Library, Sevierville, Tennessee

Bring your questions, invite a friend, and join us for an evening of education, fellowship, and learning. We look forward to seeing everyone there!

07/06/2026

🐝 Sevier County Beekeepers Association – July Meeting & Summer Picnic! 🐝

Mark your calendars! Our July SCBA meeting will be held on Monday, July 6, 2026, at 6:30 PM at the pavilion on Railroad Street.

🎤 Guest Speaker: Linda Rizzardi
East Tennessee Honey Show Judge, Linda Rizzardi, will be sharing valuable information on preparing and presenting honey for judging. Whether you’re entering your first honey show or looking to improve your entries, this is a presentation you won’t want to miss!

🌭 Summer Picnic
The club will be firing up the grill and providing:
• Burgers and hot dogs
• Buns and condiments
• Utensils
• Tea, soda, and water

🥗 Please bring a side dish or dessert to share!

📋 Important:
If you were not at the June club meeting, please sign up by texting Michelle at (770) 584-1294. When you text, include:
• Your first name
• Approximately how many people will be attending with you
• The side dish or dessert you plan to bring

📸 And here’s a helpful tip: After you text Michelle, take a screenshot or picture to remind yourself what you’re bringing!

We look forward to seeing everyone for a great evening of fellowship, food, and beekeeping education. Bring your appetite and your bee questions! BRING YOUR OWN CHAIR AS WELL!

🐝 See you July 6th!

06/25/2026

🐝🐝🐝 REMINDER WE HAVE A SPECIAL EVENT COMING! 🐝🐝🐝🐝

🐝 Sevier County Beekeepers Association – July Meeting & Summer Picnic! 🐝

Mark your calendars! Our July SCBA meeting will be held on Monday, July 6, 2026, at 6:30 PM at the pavilion on Railroad Street.

🎤 Guest Speaker: Linda Rizzardi
East Tennessee Honey Show Judge, Linda Rizzardi, will be sharing valuable information on preparing and presenting honey for judging. Whether you’re entering your first honey show or looking to improve your entries, this is a presentation you won’t want to miss!

🌭 Summer Picnic
The club will be firing up the grill and providing:
• Burgers and hot dogs
• Buns and condiments
• Utensils
• Tea, soda, and water

🥗 Please bring a side dish or dessert to share!

📋 Important:
If you were not at the June club meeting, please sign up by texting Michelle at (770) 584-1294. When you text, include:
• Your first name
• Approximately how many people will be attending with you
• The side dish or dessert you plan to bring

📸 And here’s a helpful tip: After you text Michelle, take a screenshot or picture to remind yourself what you’re bringing!

We look forward to seeing everyone for a great evening of fellowship, food, and beekeeping education. Bring your appetite and your bee questions! BRING YOUR OWN CHAIR AS WELL!

🐝 See you July 6th!

06/14/2026

🐝 June 13, 2026 – Apiary Day with the Sevier County Beekeepers Association 🐝

Another productive morning at the SCBA apiary as we continue preparing for the upcoming honey harvest!

One of today’s projects was installing bee escapes. Bee escapes are a simple but effective tool that allow worker bees to leave the honey supers while preventing them from returning. This helps reduce the number of bees in the supers before harvest, making honey collection less stressful for both the beekeeper and the colony.

We were also excited to confirm that the new queen introduced a few weeks ago has been accepted and is doing well. Dean located her during the inspection, which is always great news. Finding a healthy, productive queen is one of the best indicators that a colony is on the right track for continued growth and success.

Meanwhile, the horizontal hive was inspected and fresh comb was located. Comb construction is an important sign that bees are actively investing energy into their home. Watching bees build new comb provides valuable insight into colony development and the unique management style of horizontal hives.

Days like these remind us that beekeeping is a continual learning experience. Every inspection provides an opportunity to better understand honey bee biology, colony behavior, and seasonal management practices.

Thank you to everyone who came out to help and learn. We look forward to seeing the fruits of the bees’ hard work during the upcoming honey harvest!