LEWIS COUNTY BEEKEEPERS' ASSOCIATION                                                          

LCBA members shared fun & fellowship at our 5th (!) Annual Summer Potluck.  Once again Bob & Sharon Harris shared their beautiful Rose of Sharon Farm with us. 

We held a raffle to benefit former member Wilma Sofranko's nonprofit group, KiReeCo, a farming cooperative in Kenya ~ Wilma is gearing up to train 350+ new beekeepers, whose bees will help pollinate their crops and raise honey that the new beekeepers can sell to help fund their children's schooling.

Scroll down for photos!

Above, Gordon Bellevue won a new hive tool sporting cutouts for removing nails, screws, etc. - kind of a beekeepers' Leatherman.  Below, Dahlia won one of Tomme Trikosko's hand-painted bee visors:

Below, Herb Keeling displays his case of canning jars - or maybe honey jars?  Maggie Keeling won twice and took home LCBA mugs for the both of them. 

Above, Norm extols the virtues of a bee escape board to member Mel Grigorich . . . who went with a bouquet from Terrie Phillips' lavender farm instead, below:

But not to worry: the bee escape went to a good home when Pres. Norm's ticket came up:

Above, LCBA President Norm Switzler (wearing the Hat of Beekeeping Authority) & helper Michaela ran the KiReeCo fundraising raffle.  Below, members relax . . .

 Below, Rob Jenkins, one of LCBA's Bee Team swarm & colony removal leaders, shows the design member Jennifer Taylor made to spiff up his windbreaker:

 Above, Michaela watches a few evening foragers straggle home to one of Bob's hives; below, Michaela and mom Terrie (who won the bee visor for Michaela):

 Below, Treasurer Jon Wade with his new LCBA coffee mug in one hand and raffle tix in the other:

Above, Norm displays a haz-mat suit that can double as beekeeping protective gear (Norm wore one for two years of removals before buying a "regulation" bee suit); bees can't hang onto the fabric and so can't sting through it. Below, that's member Roy Schaafsma behind the suit: