The most effective way to learn beekeeping and to stay up-to-date on successful beekeeping methods is to join and be active in a local chapter of the NCSBA, which meets frequently and provides personal advice from beekeepers in the local community. Joining a locally affiliated NCSBA chapter has many benefits:
- Monthly meetings with programs or speakers
- Information exchange with other beekeepers
- Mentoring programs where beekeepers help each other learn about bees
- Annual beekeeping schools of instruction
- Annual picnics and socials
- Opportunity to join the Master Beekeeper Program
Visit… join… and be informed!
Frequently Asked Chapter Questions
How do I get records of NCSBA activities or financial documents? Where are the records kept?
NCSBA-Records-Retention-List.numbers.pdf contains a list of where to find and who is officially in charge of keeping what. The list was accurate as of November, 2018. If you are unsuccessful, contact secretary@ncbeekeepers.org.
If I'm a Chapter contact and have missed emails, what should I do?
Please check with the Membership Secretary to verify that your email address is correct. If it is correct, check your spam folders or for other problems on your end, like filters or other blocks. If you continue to have these or unexplained problems, consider setting up a group email-address to use as the contact so that more than one officer receives these notices as a cross-check. Gmail offers this service for free.
Where can I go if I think I've missed an email communication?
Some Chapters and members have apparently missed getting some of emails in the past. To help correct this, emails sent to the Chapters since July 2017 are posted on the NCSBA website under the NEWS. The essential content is also shared with members on Facebook. This serves not only the members of Chapters that are unable to forward information to its members but also the at-large members who do not have contact with a local Chapter.
What quality-controls are in place to maintain the integrity of the list?
Besides the annual updates, the list administrator gets a notice if emails bounce back from a particular email address, signaling there’s a problem to look into and fix. Chapters are contacted when necessary. Please contact chapterupdates@ncbeekeepers.org with issues.
How is the list updated?
One email address and one phone number is requested from every Chapter during the annual updating period at the end of the year. This email address can be for a person or a group. The responses are tracked. If a response is not received by a stated deadline, the Chapter is contacted by phone. Changes can be made at any time during the year by submitting the information to chapterupdates@ncbeekeepers.org.
When is the Chapter email list updated?
The list is updated annually, usually in December. Most Chapters have had elections by then with new officers taking office in January. The goal is to have the new list ready by the first week of January. Some Chapters hold elections later, in which case they are asked to submit the new contact when available.
How can I determine who is the contact for my Chapter?
Chapter contacts are listed under the Chapter in the “Directory of Chapters” in the Yellow Book membership directory. Chapters are asked to provide updates that occur during the year to chapterupdates@ncbeekeepers.org. The Membership Secretary can check current contact for any given Chapter in the NCSBA database on request. Please check the Yellow Book before contacting gate Membership Secretary.
What is the responsibility of the Chapter contact?
The Chapter contact is asked to share information received through the email list with other officers and members. This responsibility is explained to them during the annual updating procedure. Whether they do or not is beyond the control of the NCSBA.
Does the Chapter contact have to be the Chapter president?
No. The Chapter email list is not intended to be a Presidents’ list. Often the Chapter contact is the Secretary, Webmaster or a non-officer who has time to handle these communications for the Chapter. It can even be a group address that then sends incoming emails to multiple people.
Who is on the Chapter email list and how are they designated?
There is one email address per Chapter on the list. The Chapter president usually decides who will be the designated contact for the Chapter. The NCSBA Regional Directors are not on this list, but they are on a similar NCSBA Committees email list. The authorized posters to the list know to cc: or forward Chapter communications to the Committees list to keep the Regional Directors in the loop.
Who is allowed to send emails through the Chapter email list?
To prevent the overuse of the email list, only the NCSBA President, Membership Secretary, Webmaster, Master Beekeepers Program Chair and Dr. David Tarpy are allowed to post to the list. Dr. Tarpy is the head of the NCSU Apiculture Science Program and sends out infrequent education-related information. Chapters cannot send emails to the Chapters list. The list administrator is notified attempts to post, and the person trying to do this is contacted to explain why they can’t.
What is the primary way that the NCSBA communicates with its Chapters and members?
Besides announcements and articles published in the quarterly NC Bee Buzz newsletter, the NCSBA communicates by sending emails to Chapters through the NCSBA Chapter email list. Chapters are asked to share the information received through this list with its members. Occasionally, an email is sent by the NCSBA directly to members about a very important subject, but does not happened very often.