“Fire & Ice,” Diane Haug

Announcements:

1. Team in Transition:

As we noted in the last email update, Shannon Newby has stepped down as head leader of the BEE Team. In case you didn’t catch it, read this blog post to hear more about her future involvement and what this means for our team.

2. Introducing a NEW website feature!

Starting in October, we will be unrolling a new feature to the website: guest blogging! Any member will have the chance to contribute content once a week for four weeks in a row to the blog. Next month, Beth Billups of tangledskystudio will be contributing articles. If you are interested in blogging for the BEE Team, hit reply to this email to let me know. (Note: bloggers will be given guidelines/ideas for blog topics as well as how-to instructions for those new to the blogging world.)

3. Monthly meetings:

As mentioned previously, we will now have monthly “meetings” (i.e. chat sessions) to brainstorm ideas and events for the BEE Team. Anyone and everyone is welcome to attend! The more members who participate, the more successful this team can be. The next meeting will take place mid-October. Be on the lookout in our next email update for a date and time.

Buzzzzzing into fall,

Kathryn and Melissa

Hello, BEEs!

We announced some big changes for the team last week in our email newsletter, one of which was that Shannon Newby is stepping down as leader of the BEE Team. I’m sure this has many of you wondering where the team is headed in the near future. To hopefully answer some of these questions, we have interviewed Shannon about her transition.

Shannon, are you leaving us forever? Could you explain a bit about why you are stepping down?

I’m transitioning out of the leadership role of the BEE team because I’m now a full time student at a grad school in Vancouver, BC.  It’s a very exciting and busy time for me, and I knew I couldn’t juggle both responsibilities and do either one to the best of my ability.  The biggest change, perhaps, is that I will no longer be the point person for the team, and (at least for now) am not going to be able to do any more podcasts.  It’s been a hard decision and one that I definitely haven’t taken lightly, but I think for the time being, my academic studies have to take priority.   I still want to be very active (when time allows), stay involved in brainstorming sessions, and overall, be an overly enthusiastic active member, and of course, I’m still available to chat with anyone about all things wax!  :)

What does this mean for the future of the team?

The team is still growing and getting stronger each week, and I’m excited about the future of the BEE team!  Leadership wise, we’re moving more towards a group effort and will rely more on volunteers and member input.  Both Kathryn and Melissa are amazingly talented and resourceful, and they’ll be the ones formally co-leading the team, but I think we’ll start to see more of a group effort in terms of keeping our team strong.  My husband, Erik, will still continue to upkeep the website, and now rather than me being the point person (to answer questions, hear concerns, etc) Kathryn will assume that role.

Can you elaborate on how the team will be directed by the group?

Sure.  Kathryn and Melissa have said they’d like to host monthly meetings, where anyone on the team is encouraged to come to the chat room and dialogue with them about ways to make our team stronger and more active.  If you’re interested in being a part of those meetings, Kathryn and Melissa will send out reminders, but you can also email info@beeswaxteam.com to hear more about them.  There’s lots of things that need to happen to make a team run smoothly, so Kathryn and Melissa will also be looking to delegate tasks, and certainly rely on lots of input from everyone!

Is there anything else you’d like to share with the team?

It’s been a wonderful run serving the BEE team for the last year!  This thing only got started in August 2008, and since its inception has really taken off.  I never thought it would even get this far, but now that the ball is rolling – I’m looking forward to seeing how it develops from here.  I am passing the torch on with full confidence in both the awesomeness of Kathryn and Melissa, and the awesomeness of the rest of our team.  :)

This article recently directed me toward a new documentary about bees and beekeeping, called The Last Beekeeper. Directed by Jeremy Simmons, the film follows the lives of three beekeepers, exposing the phenomenon of Colony Collapse Disorder and its effect on the beekeeping profession, as well as our dependency upon bees for pollination. Hopefully this film will educate and bring more awareness to the issues facing our bees.

View the trailer below, and if you still want more, treehugger.com has a forum going for people who wish to discuss the film and beekeeping issues.

It has been some time since I have been able to blog here, but I hope you have enjoyed what I’ve reported on so far. If you have any suggestions for articles, or would like to contribute one yourself, do not hesitate to let me know. We would love your input!

And now, I give you a gallery of wonderful etsy items that celebrate our wonderful buzzy friend.