At our October 12 meeting, MABA will welcome Randy McCaffrey (AKA: 628 Dirt Rooster). Randy has 31 years as a contractor and structural claims specialist. At the age of forty he developed a fascination with honey bees. He discovered beekeeping after assisting his brother who is also a beekeeper, with the live removal (cut out) of a bee hive in an old furniture warehouse. In 2010 armed with his knowledge of construction and his newfound fascination with bees he began removing and relocating feral bee colonies from commercial and residential structures along the Mississippi Gulf Coast. As of June of 2022, the number of cut outs he has done total approximately nine hundred and fifty and swarm catches total approximately five hundred.
Randy typically keeps forty to fifty colonies. His family, including himself, his father and his brother, keep approximately two hundred and fifty colonies total. He conducts studies in much of his work such as mite count and disease studies in feral or otherwise chemically untreated bee colonies. He video records much of his work and shares this work through social media platforms such as YouTube, Instagram and TikTok to educate, entertain and inspire current and future beekeepers. His work can be found on most large social media platforms under the channel name 628DirtRooster with the tagline “Where Hobby Beekeeping Is a Way Of Life”.
Randy along with his wife Elizabeth are continuing to grow their beekeeping business by recently adding a subsidiary named Coastal Grove Bee Works which will focus on honey sales and a ladies apparel line.
Our meetings are held at our new Westside Provisions District meeting space (1170 Howell Mill Road, Atlanta, Georgia 30318; corner of Howell Mill Road and 14th Street). Park in the WSPD parking deck (validated parking), and follow the MABA signs. The new meeting space is a former retail space (Unit P12B) located on the ground-floor level of the building three doors down from the Flower Child restaurant, and directly across the street from Shake Shack. MABA meets on the 2nd Monday of each month, except September and December when we hold our annual fall honey show/pot luck and holiday party respectively.
Meetings begin with a mentoring session at 6:30 p.m., followed by a featured speaker at 7 p.m. Topics range from the latest findings in honey bee research to hive management, honey, beeswax, and other hive products.
On arrival, check-in at the welcome table to be entered into our monthly door prize drawing. Enjoy snacks and fellowship in the back of the room. Membership is not required. Everyone interested in honey bees is welcome!