I cannot say enough about my nomination for Beekeeper of the Year, Greg Willging. He is truly selfless and only interested in bees and the betterment of true beekeeping and not just bee having. He genuinely cares for the bees and also beekeepers of every level. He is a man I greatly respect. Not only for his knowledge of bees but because he is also kind, generous and always willing to help.

Greg is a beekeeper in Pierce County who owns 7 apiaries with about 40 colonies. He devotes most of his time to caring not only for his bees, but to anyone else who needs help with their bees. He values education and is ALWAYS willing to share his knowledge with new and experienced beekeepers alike. When my mentor moved to Montana, I asked Greg to be my mentor. He didn’t hesitate even a moment, even though my philosophy and way of beekeeping was on the opposite spectrum from his. He never pushes his way of beekeeping, but constantly encourages with educational articles, thoughtful suggestions and stories of his experiences. Then he leaves the decisions of my hive management to me. He is that way with everyone he talks with.

I became the president of our local association right out of Covid. The group was essentially dead. Many people have poured hours and hours of time into the rebuilding but Greg ( with his wife Cookie), have gone above and beyond. Not only has he donated financially, he has literally put his plans aside to help with club business. From picking up thousands of pounds of donated sugar to laying ground cover for our new resource apiary. He has been an educational presenter for our meetings as well as our sustainability group and apiary class. He has gone out to catch swarms and spends tons of extra time educating the community on honeybees as well as wasps and yellow jackets. We are now at the State Fair and not only has he volunteered for countless shifts, he comes in at the last minute when there is little to no coverage. We have had several beekeepers from the community who, for medical reasons, needed their hives gone and Greg has jumped in to make it happen quickly. All of this, and so much more, he has done for our association, the community and the bees. He does this and never asks for anything in return.