Shown left is a snapshot of a typical meeting of
the Sand Mountain Beekeepers Association.   This picture was taken at the February 2009 meeting.


Our current officers are:

 

President: Dennis Lambert

EMAIL: dlambert1029@outlook.com

Phone: 256 931 5406


Vice President: Chris Gautney

EMAIL: chris.gautney@gmail.com

Phone: Pending


Secretary-Treasurer: Bob Cole

EMAIL: honeyandbees@charter.net

Phone: 256 894 4449

The Sand Mountain Beekeepers Association meets at the GUNTERSVILLE Public Library on the third Thursday of every even numbered month at 6:30 pm. The library is located at 1240 O'Brig Ave. Guntersville Al 35976. Enter from the back of the building.

Driving Directions

On 431 coming from Huntsville, turn right on highway 69, as going to Arab. 1st light turn right 1 block turn left library is on the corner on your right. Park behind the library.


All beekeepers in DeKalb, Marshall and other counties in north east Alabama, are welcome to come by and visit the next meeting are/or invited to join our group.


The only requirement to join is that you have an interest in honeybees and or beekeeping.


If you would like to be added to our EMAIL distribution list to be notified of future SMBA beekeeping news and program schedule please click here.


NOTES FROM THE PRESIDENT

MEETING REMINDER

The April meeting will be held at 6:30 pm on April 18th in the Gilbreath-McCain Audio-Visual Center of the Guntersville Library. Our speaker will be our very own Barton Calvert, who is working on becoming a Master Beekeeper. He will be speaking on what is happening now with bees and a little on bee politics.

Hope to see you there!

 

Our Founder

T (Thomas) Uclid Raines

This picture was taken a few months before Euclid died at the dedication ceremony where Euclid turned over his last "Honey Bee Book Section" to a library. Euclid is on the left and Bob Fanning (President of the Alabama Beekeepers Association) is on the right. Displayed on the table between the two is the assortment of books and videos all on the subject of honey bees and or beekeeping that Euclid and the SMBA donated. Also in attendance at the dedication was a representative from the state Department of Agriculture and several TV and news personnel.

We owe a great debt of thanks to Mr. T. (Thomas) Euclid Raines who was the founder of our organization and a significant contributor to the advancement of beekeeping in the Sand Mountain area of north Alabama.

 

Euclid Rains was a third generation Alabama beekeeper and a remarkable man. He lost his sight in both eyes in an accident as a young boy yet he went on to work his way through college, operate a very successful manufacturing business and become a member of Alabama state house of representatives where he represented the 26th District from 1979 to 1991. We lost Euclid in an automobile accident, when the car in which he was a passenger went off a bridge in heavy rain, near Geraldine, Marshall County, Ala., August 27, 2000.

 

After retiring from the House of Representatives Euclid became concerned about the relative lack of honey bees and beekeepers in the Sand Mountain area of north Alabama so he set out to rectify that situation. He started by organizing the Sand Mountain Beekeepers Association (SMBA) in 1998. Within one year, the SMBA had grown under his direction to become high among the top beekeeping organizations in the state of Alabama.

 

Euclid was also concerned that the art and craft of beekeeping in general had dropped to a point of relative insignificance in the area so he set out to rectify that situation. To that end he and the SMBA started a drive to stock the Sand Mountain area public libraries with a complete set of books and videos on beekeeping. This program proved to be a really big success by stocking 7 different area libraries with a complete section on honeybees and beekeeping.

THANKS EUCLID - WE STILL MISS YOU!

Last Update (entire page) 4/8/2024 brf