I am nominating Margo Buckles for the WASBA Beekeeper of the Year award. Margo has worked diligently for both her local club as well as for WASBA for many years. She has been steadfast in her willingness to support beekeepers at all levels, from kids in her local high school 4 H program, local Girl Scout troops, to faculty and students at WSU’s bee program.
Her work at her local club (West Plains Beekeepers Association) has been tireless. She has actively taught both Beginning and Apprentice classes throughout the year both in-person and remotely. She has volunteered at community events to staff the WPBA booth as well as preparing displays to use at these events. She has served as the Vice President multiple times and in that role has spearheaded the education program making sure that there is an informational program on some aspect of beekeeping at each of the monthly meetings, developing some of these herself. She has actively worked to get more people involved in club activities and has hosted the club’s summer potluck at her house. In addition she stepped up to take on the management of the club’s apiary providing a stable environment for the club’s hives and offering Hands-On classes during the season. In addition through her local club, she also maintains two hives at Eastern Washington University in their student union building providing educational information for the students. She has also been a strong supporter of the West Plains Beekeepers’ partnership with the Airway Heights Correctional Center and has been invited to celebrate with the inmates on their successful completion of Journeyman status.
When Covid impacted the club and we had difficulty finding people who were willing to take on the positions of officers, Margo stepped forward and helped keep the club operating throughout that challenging time.
If this isn’t enough, Margo has impressed me with her ongoing willingness to donate her skills and commitment to WASBA. She played an important part in initiating the first annual Pacific Northwest Beekeeping Conference offered by WASBA in many years in 2019 serving on the conference committee, being responsible for the design and layout of the program, as well as involved in all other aspects of successfully putting on a conference. The fact that the day of the conference saw a blizzard hit eastern Washington which definitely impacted the attendance, we still had more people attend than we were expecting. Ever since then Margo has been actively involved in each conference committee and in behind the scenes work that takes place from registration to the auction, in fact it has usually been difficult for her to attend the programs because there is always something that needs doing and she sees that it needs to be done and gets it done.
She is a strong supporter of beekeeping education and was one of the most active editors of the new beekeeping manuals when they were developed, using her skills to make sure the text wasn’t too wordy and the illustrations were appropriate. Whenever she has been asked if she would be willing to help with a project, she (to my knowledge) has never said “No.” Recently she has created the “Checklist for Forming a Nonprofit” which uses the resources created by the State and support organizations to help anyone who is interested in either forming a
nonprofit or updating their club’s information and which is available on the WASBA website for all to use.
When it became obvious that we have underserved areas in the state with no local bee clubs, she immediately volunteered to work on a committee to develop a plan for reaching those individuals. As a result starting this October, WASBA will begin offering Ask a Washington Beekeeper using FaceBook Live to provide an opportunity for people to ask questions and to listen to bee experts in the state provide timely information. She also represents WASBA on the WSU committee that selects students for a WASBA scholarship. I think it is obvious just how committed Margo Buckles is to supporting beekeeper education at all levels.
I am proud to nominate Margo Buckles for WASBA Beekeeper of the Year for all that she has done over many years both at her local club as well as for the Washington State Beekeepers Association.
Ellen Miller