Welcome to the
Iowa Honey Producers Association
Helping fellow Beekeepers since 1912
Be a part of IHPA
There are many ways one can be a part of this fantastic organization. We need officers, volunteers, donations, unique skills and trades, simple word of mouth, and the list goes on.
1st
Auction Donations
Have you ever considered making a donation of some type? Even if you just have 1 hive and it's your 1st year, maybe you have a craft or hobby that produces something unique. Take for instance my wife, Shannon, does 1800's broom
making as a hobby. We often times will make up a couple baskets of our honey, soaps, and toss in a whisk and cake tester broom. This makes for a lovely item people can bid on to help raise funds for various programs IHPA puts on. Maybe you don't do something that would turn out an item that fits in a basket, but could create a unique experience people would love to try. That same hobby I mentioned allows us to bring in a a person or groups of people to get a live demo of broom making and then give it a try themselves. At the end they get to take home what they have created. It's immensely popular with parents wanting to give their kids a hands-on-experience. I'm betting if you think about it, there are unique ways you can do this same thing!
2nd
Business Donations
If you own a business and are looking for ways of giving back to the community while getting free advertising and tax write-offs for your business, you have come to the right place. What better way than to help out a state wide organization that is
working to create the next generation of beekeepers? Tell us what program you want to help out, or make it a general donation and we'll put it to work on the programs that need the most assistance. IHPA funds research grants, youth education for new beekeepers, general educational events, the state & national queen programs, and a number of other things.
3rd
Become a Board Member
Get your hands dirty and become a board member. Make a donation of your time and energy by serving on our board. You'll help shape the future growth of the organization and get to work at a ton of fun venues and events. How can you do this? Every year at annual
conference we have half the director positions up for election. You could run to be your district's new director or take up the mantle of one of the general positions. We also have positions within the organization that aren't elected that maybe you would be the perfect fit for. IHPA is always growing and changing to fit the times, so if you have a unique skill or idea for our organization, reach out to us and maybe you can help to make us that much better!
4th
Simply Become a Member
It's a very simple thing, but membership of you and any family that is interested in bees has a huge impact on our organization. Membership is just a small yearly fee and as a benefit you will receive access to our Buzz News Letter. The Buzz
is a great monthly mailer that keeps you informed on apiary news across the state, recipe ideas, a look back at the history of beekeeping in the Midwest, letters and stories from individuals, beekeeping auctions, classified ads, beekeeping company advertising, and about anything else bee related you can think of. Click on the link if you would like to become/renew your membership today.
5th
Spread the Word
The power of social media is incredible these days. The simple act of sharing a post to another group that you are part of, creating a link to an event, blogging about your interest in a program, or simply tagging a buddy that you think might
be interested in our event has a dramatic cascade effect. So please, if you see an upcoming event noted on Facebook - Like and share it to others! If you see something talked about in the Buzz or on our website - start discussions about it, blog about it, tweet - snap - message, heck shout it out in any way you can. You never know when a few shares will suddenly go viral and end up getting the word out to half the country.