Jenny grew up on an Iowa farm where a large family garden was expected. Now a 30 year resident of West Ashley, she has always enjoyed dabbling in small backyard gardening and attracting pollinators. After a season of sending a few too many pics of caterpillars and butterflies to her 3 adult children, they gifted her an 8 frame deep box and set of beginners tools. She had no idea what to do next but a google search quickly told her that beekeeping was not like butterfly watching. Luckily she quickly enrolled in the CABA beginner class where, although overwhelmed with the information, she became fascinated with the honey bees. Still very much a beginner, she looks forward to learning more each season and meeting the local beekeepers. It is true that if you ask 10 beekeepers a question, you will get 11 answers, but that is what makes beekeeping so interesting.

A decade ago, while driving through the mountains of North Carolina, Meg spotted a line of beehives on a hillside and told herself, “One day, I am going to do that.” The idea stuck. For years she said she would buy some land, get some bees, and move away from the crowds—no one believed her until she actually did it. After more than 35 years in Mount Pleasant, she now lives on just under 10 acres on Edisto Island, where her front yard meets a 400-acre nature preserve and her backyard opens onto the South Edisto River and the ACE Basin — a true slice of heaven.

Today, she manages 10 hives, an observation hive, and anywhere from a couple to a dozen nucs. She happily owns the title of “bee nerd”—her entertainment consists of beekeeping podcasts, online lectures, and books. She is working her way through the full catalog at Wicwas Press. One of the joys of learning about honey bees is how easily one rabbit hole leads to another, each more fascinating than the last.

Since moving to Edisto, she has taken up gardening and is captivated by the native pollinators and plants that thrive here. And when she is not in the apiary or the garden, you’ll likely find her in the woodshop, indulging in her other passion: hand-tool woodworking.

Andre is a Journeyman beekeeper, whose interest in bees first began in 2014 when he was gifted a colony and hive of his own. Not knowing anything about bees or beekeeping he never expected to be enthralled by the little Insect. When he's not out in the beeyard, he's watching videos about bees, listening to bee podcasts, reading about bees, chasing bees, helping others with their bees, talking about bees or just thinking about bees. You could say he has bees on the brain.

Dorothy lives on a half-acre of James Island, SC, loves organic vegetable and herb gardening, having chickens, growing citrus trees and flowers for the butterflies, hummingbirds, and her bees. She saves her seeds every year, for future planting, keeps several bird feeders and loves watching them from the patio and kitchen window. She always had all kinds of bees in the yard - even the Carpenter bees that she allows to live in the front porch, slowing eating away her 36-year-old wooden bench. Dorothy started. keeping bees in March 2020, joined CABA, attended the 2020 SCBA Spring conference, and sat right in front taking copious notes, not knowing at all what people were talking about! Covid created a lock-down and there were no in-person bee meetings. Dorothy never wanted a FB account but created one to learn more about bees. She managed to get a mentor and when her bees arrived in the mail, she placed the packages on the dining room table to take pics for the family. She ended up losing both hives to parasitic mites and was devastated that year. After Covid she was able to attend a bee class and later became Certified. Dorothy has attended all CABA meetings, local bee educations and seminars, SC and GA bee conferences, in person or through Zoom, plus she attended the NABE in Ky. In 2025 she became Certified as a SC Journeyman beekeeper. She has lost some hives yet keeps improving her craft. Dorothy enjoys sharing her knowledge and being a mentor for Hives for Heroes, a veteran’s group with PTSD as well as with other new beekeepers. Life as a beekeeper has been wonderful. Beekeepers are really wonderful, earthy people. Enjoy your journey, and your life with bees!

Monika was born in Poland and came to the U.S. to get a Doctorate Degree in Mechanical Engineering at the University of New Orleans, with the unique and unforgettable experience of her last year taking place in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. After a few stops in various states. she has settled in Charleston and worked as an educator and an engineer. In her spare time Monika crafts. She grows and processes indigo, makes beer, mead, kombucha, hot sauce, candles, soap and cosmetics using hive products. She enjoys spending time with her family, two Vizslas, chickens and, of course, honey bees. She also enjoys being surrounded by really exceptional beekeepers and CABA members with interesting personalities, coupled with enthusiasm and different perspectives for the little busy-buzzy insects.

Whoever said that retired people have all the fun was definitely right when it comes to Mickey! He is retired from the US navy and now that leaves him with plenty of time to keep himself busy at his home on Johns Island with beekeeping, building bee equipment and catching swarms. Mickey is an active member of CABA and often joins our CABA outreach event to lead the fun art events with the kids. Above, you can see Mickey helping kids paint our new club bee boxes!

James Craig is a retired clinician, educator, and business owner. He started beekeeping in 2013 without a clue.. He joined CABA in 2014, borrowed a book, found a mentor, and completed Basic Certification.. In 2015, he completed Journeyman Certification, and SC Master Beekeeper Certification in 2017. James now understands how very little he knows about honey bees.

James was a member of the CABA leadership committee from 2015-2022, and currently manages this website. He mentors beekeepers, and wrangles feral honey bees from residential, commercial and natural structures, having thus-far donated more than 600 colonies to local beekeepers and non-profit groups since 2014.

Jean Darling, his wife of 46 years, remains tolerant of his many eccentricities.

My journey into beekeeping is a new one. After taking a beekeeping class, I completely fell in love with the bees. My first hive struggled and largely collapsed this past fall, though not entirely. For reasons known only to them, about 100 bees returned from who-knows-where and began cleaning the frames—thank you, ladies. That experience only deepened my respect for them.

I am 81 years old and still actively working in the Maritime trade. I taught at the New York State University Merchant Marine Academy (where I taught Counter Terrorism and Maritime Investigations) for 18 years before retiring—briefly. Retirement lasted one week; I quickly realized I needed meaningful work. I returned to maritime investigations as a Marine Surveyor. While I enjoyed that work, I missed teaching, so I asked if I could help with a few classes. I am now fully sold—I love teaching and being back in the classroom.

Looking ahead to this spring, I have ordered two packages of bees online, each with a queen. I plan to operate two smaller hives rather than one large hive, which I believe was simply too much for a first attempt, and as cooler weather set in contributed to the collapse.

My wife Ginny and I have been married for 58 years, and we decided to take up a hobby that would help us slow down and enjoy life a bit more. We truly love our bees. We live in a Del Webb community near Summerville. Our bees are officially known as “therapy bees,” which means the community cannot make us remove them. More importantly, our neighbors love them and have all signed a petition in support of keeping them.

A native of the Czech Republic now settled on beautiful James Island, he developed a lifelong fascination with the natural world, eventually earning his Doctorate in Chemistry. When outside of work as a Research Scientist working for a chemical firm in Charleston, SC, he finds many fascinating parallels between chemical systems and the delicate social complexities of a honey bee colony. He joined CABA in 2025 and started his first colony from a nuc the same year. His passion for discovery and commitment to sustainability extends beyond the lab. As a beekeeper, he is humbled by the entangled, self-sustaining chemistry of the hive and the critical role honey bees play in the ecosystem of coastal plains of the Lowcountry. For Petr, beekeeping is more than a hobby; it’s a masterclass in nature’s own intricate engineering.