How To Get Started With Bees - The Series Collective

While in 6th grade, Jeff’s interest in all things flying and crawling turned to honeybees. He enlisted his father’s help to buy an A.I. Root observation hive. Jeff’s honeybees resided on his second-floor bedroom desk in Lakewood, Ohio. He spent much of that boyhood summer enjoying the sights, sounds, and smells of the observation hive. After buying his own home Hinckley, Ohio as an adult, he picked up on his interest in beekeeping. He purchased three colonies from a retiring beekeeper and his interest continued to grow.

Jeff grew his operation from a hobbyist into a small sideliner business selling honey and beeswax and providing local pollination services. He joined the Medina County Beekeepers Association and the Ohio State Beekeeper’s Association so he could continue to learn from others in the business. Jeff was president of the Medina organization and was a director of the Ohio association. He also created Medina County’s first newsletter: The Bee Herder.

While active with the Ohio beekeepers’ organizations, Jeff met the editor of Bee Culture magazine, Kim Flottum. Kim recruited Jeff and they created a regular column called the Weekender. The column provided practical advice for hobbyist beekeepers. Kim invited Jeff to attend the annual American Beekeeping Federation conference in Kansas City. While there, Kim introduced Jeff to Sherry Jennings, an executive with the National Honey Board in Longmont, Colorado. Sherry and Jeff are married.

Jeff relocated to Colorado to be with Sherry. He reestablished his beekeeping operation there and kept… Read More