The President promotes and supports HBKA and its members in achieving the aims and objectives of beekeeping. The President also judges Honey Show classes and presents the awards and prizes.
The role of the Chairperson includes:
- Acting as the representative of HBKA both within the Association and externally and to be its spokesperson, for example, at functions or meetings.
- Promoting the aims and objectives of HBKA and beekeeping in general.
- Chairing committee meetings – ensuring that meetings are planned and conducted effectively in accordance with the constitution.
- Liaising with the Secretary to plan meetings locations and dates, collate and decide order and timing of agenda items and review and finalise minutes. Ensure relevant documents/papers are sent out beforehand. Ensure that decisions are taken in the context of HBKAs strategy and that they are recorded, together with who is going to implement them.
- Providing support and supervision to members of the committee regarding their tasks and address issues as they may arise.
- Delegating tasks to committee members and organise additional working groups as needed.
- Co-ordinating with the committee to ensure that appropriate procedures and policies are in place.
- Finding and recruiting new committee members as required.
- Chairing the AGM and providing a Chair’s Report summarising the key highlights of the year and future plans.
- Formulating and reviewing the strategic plan for HBKA with the Committee.
- Regularly engaging with members to identify their concerns or interests.
- Responding to complaints and queries from HBKA members and members of the public.
- Jointly acting as named bank account holder with Treasurer to provide resilience.
- Ensuring required insurances are in place and acting as the named individual to contact on insurance policies and other policy documents.
- Jointly checking and responding to the HBKA contact email inbox.
- Having joint access to the HBKA Facebook page, e2R membership system, website administration and other systems as required, providing resilience and backup.
The role of the Secretary is to give support to the Chairperson by:
- Liaising and agreeing with the Chairperson the agenda for committee and general annual meetings;
- Circulate, by email, the minutes of all meetings to committee members;
- Inform all committee members of the date and venue of meetings and inform the Chairperson of any apologies received;
- Attend all meetings and record the minutes either by hand or as a recording. If the meeting is digitally recorded, permission has to be obtained by all committee members prior to the commencement of the meeting;
- If it is not possible to attend the meeting, inform the Chairperson and find another committee member to take the minutes for that meeting;
- Submit the minutes to the chairperson for final checking before sending, by email, to all committee members;
- It is the responsibility of the Secretary to arrange an appropriate venue taking into consideration the distance some committee members have to travel for the meeting. The date and time of the meeting is usually agreed at the committee meeting;
- Upload all minutes to the appropriate folder on the HKBA website.
General financial oversight
- Oversee and present budgets, accounts and financial statements to the committee
- Liaise with designated staff about financial matters
- Ensure that appropriate financial systems and controls are in place
- Ensure that record-keeping and accounts meet the required condition.
- Ensure compliance with relevant legislation.
Income and expenditure
- Ensure invoices are paid and out of pocket members are reimbursed for purchases on behalf of HBKA
- Receive and process payments to HBKA
- Liaise with the Membership Secretary on who has paid for membership to ensure only paid up members have access to membership benefits.
- Ensure use of funds complies with relevant legislation and is bound by effective financial systems and controls
Financial reporting
- Present regular reports on HBKA’s financial position
- Prepare accounts for audit and liaise with the auditor, as required
- Present accounts at the AGM
- Advise on the HBKA’s reserves
Banking, book-keeping and record-keeping
- Manage bank accounts
- Set up appropriate systems for book-keeping, payments, lodgements & petty cash
- Ensure everyone handling money keeps proper records and documentation
- Ensure proper records are kept of and fixed assets
The Membership Secretary shall be responsible for:
New Members:
- processing requests for HBKA membership from members of the public, normally made via the HBKA website,
- liaising with the Treasurer to ensure that the new member has paid their initial membership subscriptions, in line with the HBKA constitution,
- providing the new member with confirmation of their membership and details of what benefits their membership provides them, and
- liaising with the webmaster to ensure that the new member is given access to the members only area of the HBKA website.
Existing members:
- maintaining an up-to-date list of members details and of their membership preferences, particularly of their willingness to participate in HBKA activities such as School Visits, Weekend shows, or helping in the Apiary,
- managing the annual membership renewal process which involves communicating with members during the process and ensuring that annual subscriptions are paid,
- sending mailshots to existing members as requested by other members of the committee, and processing any direct responses to that mailshot, and
- assisting members who need to make a claim to BDI as a result of losses incurred because their colonies are found to be suffering from a notifiable disease under FERA legislation.
BDI
Returns are required to be made to BDI (Bee Diseases Insurance Ltd.) on a twice-yearly basis (the ‘Spring Return’ and the ‘Autumn Return’) listing all of the ‘Full’ members requiring BDI cover and the number of colonies for which they require BDI cover.
The Membership Secretary shall be responsible for;
- generating the half-yearly BDI return and for submitting this to the Treasurer for payment.
- Represent HBKA with HDC
- Organise school visits and presenter volunteers
- Provide talks to local organisations where applicable
- Conduct annual inventory of equipment
- Update annual HDC health and safety risk assessment
- Provide weekly apiary updates, including pictures, for Facebook and website
- Organise volunteers and lead beginner practical sessions
- Advertise, Organise and run bee taster sessions and adopt a hive sponsors
- Complete grant applications and organise updates for funding completion
- Provide quarterly apiary updates for Friends of the Park
- Lead and organise hives for Sunday openings for demonstrations
- Provide advice and guidance to beekeepers
- Work with other beekeeping organisations where applicable
- Store all honey and wax products and stock cafe regularly
- Monthly invoicing for honey sales to Huntingdonshire District Council
- Attend local fairs to sell honey and take display boards
- Conduct Weekly apiary visits increasing to twice weekly during summer
- Oversee and make decisions on beehives and colonies to include varroa treatment, mending and repairing bee equipment, cleaning and repairing frames, safe storage of all equipment (at home often) ordering new equipment including foundation, fondant, frames, honey jars, labels, and order queens when required
- Organise the delivery and collection of frames to be made up to volunteers
- Create and sell nucs to HBKA members
- Organise and lead honey extraction 2 to 3 times per year.
- Arrange for honey to be safely jarred, and correctly labelled
Work with the Treasurer to order and pay for all supplies for above tasks ensuring receipts and audit trail - Arrange equipment loans to members, e.g. extractors
- Work with swarm co-ordinator to house swarms at apiary
- Ensure stock of bee suits are clean and usable and repair or replace
- Keep viewing gallery and paths cleared and clean and ensure displays are professional
The role of the auditor is to provide support to the Treasurer and to review the HBKA accounts to ensure the financial records are correct and comply with current legislation.
- Liaise with members to draw up a rota of volunteers to open hives and narrate the process to the public at the apiary every Sunday between April and August.
- To email the volunteers each week with a reminder of their attendance and to provide any information relating to that week.
- To organise and publicise the social bee tea events three times a year during the summer.
- To organise and publicise the annual barbecue.
- To organise a rota of volunteers to run the association stall giving information to the public and selling honey at the annual honey show and any other shows the association attends.
- Liaise with the membership about any additional social events they would like to see happen.
The role involves running the HBKA Facebook page, managing, posting & monitoring messages etc.
The role of the swarm co-ordinator is:
- To receive calls from members of the public who report a swarm and to put one of our swarm collectors in contact with them so that they can collect the swarm provided it is still collectable and not already in the roof etc.
- To obtain and maintain an up to date list of members who have volunteered to collect swarms; this list has their phone numbers and their location so that they are only contacted if the swarm is near them.
- To obtain and maintain an up to date list of members who have requested a swarm and paid their £25.00; this list also to have their phone numbers and their location. Priority is given to those who have joined the beginners’ course and who are therefore entitled to a free swarm. To put them in touch with the swarm collector when a swarm is found.
- To keep a record of where the swarm was found, and where it has been taken, and by whom.
- To liaise with members regarding workshops and talks they would be interested in attending
- To source speakers and presenters for talks and workshops
- To organise and publicise talks and workshop events for members to be delivered in-person, online or as a blended approach as appropriate.
Social Media