3000 Ironbound Rd,
P.O. Box 5053
Williamsburg, VA 23185
wabava.org
This month we will learn how to design a pollinator garden with guest speaker Peggy Krapf of Heart’s Ease Landscaping & Garden Design. She shared amazing tips and helpful resources on how to choose the right native plants for your garden. Did you know that there are over 4,400 species of native bees that pollinate wildflowers and crops in North America.
Congratulations to Jackie Russio on winning the monthly WAB Raffel.
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This month we were joined by guest speaker Keith Tignor from the …
Read moreWAB Apr 24 MeetingFunding for the FY 2025 Beehive Distribution Program has been approved by the General Assembly. Applications for the program will be accepted from
Del Kirkland is an Army veteran with over twenty years of service to the nation. Del grew up in Alabama and had a fascination for honeybees since he was a child. He is a graduate of the Michigan State University Heroes to Hives program and has been an active beekeeper since the spring of 2023. Del is a local transportation and Logistics business owner and an active volunteer in the Williamsburg/James City County area.
A Virginia native, Chelsea was steeped in nature growing up in Amherst and visiting family in Virginia Beach. She and her husband Patrick recently settled in Williamsburg after living in Texas and Missouri for his Air Force duty assignments. Chelsea is a lifelong beelover, so Patrick gave her the gift of 20,000 honeybees for Christmas in 2022. With the packages arriving the following March, Chelsea immediately joined WAB and completed the Williamsburg Area Beekeeping 101 Class in spring of 2023, and she has been a happy beekeeper since.
She received her Bachelor’s in Communications from Virginia Tech (Go Hokies!) and her Master’s in Political Science from The University of Texas at San Antonio. Today, she is the Media Relations Manager for The Nature Conservancy’s Virginia Chapter. Chelsea dedicates her knack for relations, communications, and planning to WAB as an event volunteer. Beyond beekeeping, she enjoys hiking, trail running, and kayaking, teaches yoga, and sings to her chickens.
Michael Garvin is a retired US Army Chief Warrant Officer 3, Vessel Master, who has literally sailed around the world. Prior to joining the Army, he was a US Navy deep sea diver for 10 years. After the military, he became a Federal Civil Servant, teaching officers how to navigate the oceans and vessel operations for the Army. Michael holds a master’s degree in education and has designed training programs that have improved the Army’s instructor teaching across the entire Army. Michael started beekeeping in 2017 after watching a documentary on the plight of honeybees at home while recovering from shoulder surgery. He attended the very first class offered by the newly established Williamsburg Area Beekeepers Association in 2018. He quickly learned that beekeeping can be a challenge and he lost all of his hives during his first year. He was determined not to give up and began reading everything he could to increase his knowledge of beekeeping. Eventually, he became a better beekeeper and was voted the second Williamsburg Area Beekeepers President after Ms. Judy Beuhler, the founder of WAB. Michael quickly became a certified Virginia State Beekeeping Journeyman, and he has devoted countless hours to WAB. He designed the currently used Basic Beekeeping for Beginners course used by WAB and continues to teach many classes in the community. Michael plans to become a Master Beekeeper.
Jackie Kennedy-Russo is originally from New Jersey. She settled with her husband just north of Williamsburg in 2022. After many years of moving, including several international moves, she began beekeeper in 2023. Jackie studied the history of beekeeping for several years and has completed the Intro to Beekeeping course in Australia in 2021 as well as the Williamsburg Area Beekeeping 101 Class in 2022. She enjoys the challenges of life and therefore has chosen to use top-bar hives to keep her bees! Jackie works in the tennis industry and is an avid tennis player. Additionally, she enjoys her dogs, boating on the Chesapeake Bay, and spending time with her family. She looks forward to the day she can open the hives with one of her three granddaughters.
Alexandra Muhly is originally from Rochester, New York. She settled in Williamsburg, VA after a 30-year military career serving in the United Stated Coast Guard. With the kids grown and on their own, Alexandra found time to explore her interests of gardening and beekeeping. After completing several courses, Alexandra became a James City County/Williamsburg Master Gardener and a hobbyist Beekeeper. In addition to gardening and maintaining her seven beehives, Alexandra works as a seasonal Apiary Inspector for the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (VDACS).
Carol Ladouceur is originally from Washington DC. In 2012 she moved from Williamsburg to Panama City Florida to marry her high school sweetheart. While in Florida she was the Chapter Leader with the National Organization, The Compassionate Friends. She designed and organized the building of a community children’s memorial garden, in memory of her daughter. When her husband retired from the fire department in 2020, they moved back to Williamsburg to be close to her daughter, SIL and grandchildren. She began her journey as a beekeeper in 2021 and became the club treasurer later that year.
Scott McCoy has been a beekeeper since the spring of 2016. After having attended the 12-hour/3-day course Beekeeper’s Introductory course presented by the Beekeepers Guild of Southeast Virginia in Virginia Beach. Since that time Scott (with the help of his wife and friends) has continued to manage and raise Honeybees with up to 36 colonies. Scott and his wife Patty, relocated to Williamsburg in 2019 from Chesapeake, with their 7 hives, and have been an active member of the Williamsburg Area Beekeepers Association since that time. Scott has served as Vice President, and President of the club and supports the club’s training for new beekeepers by volunteering as one of the club’s training coordinators, teaching Beekeeping 101. In 2020 Scott and his wife founded a local sideline beekeeping business (Bodhi Bee Farms LLC). They operate at local festivals and vendor markets in the Virginia Tidewater area, with a local presence in the greater Williamsburg area.
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