Northeastern Kansas Beekeepers
AssOCIATIOn
NEKBA.ORG
nekba Scholarship program & military/veteran's apprentice program
How to Apply and Make Contact
To be eligible for a consideration, download & complete the application found below.
To submit a scholarship application, follow these three steps.
1. Download, print, read, and complete the NEKBA Bee Youth Scholarship Application for consideration.
2. Print and sign the Declaration Waiver.
3. Send the documents either as a scanned.pdf via email or USPS mail a hard-copy to:
Northeastern Kansas Beekeepers
Attn: Mr. Jim Putnam (Youth Scholarship Chairman)
308 Stetson Cr, Lawrence, KS 66049
Please email (preferred) with any questions Email: Jim Putnam (email)
Interested in our Military/Veteran's Apprentice Program?
To submit an application, follow these three steps.
1. Download, print, read, and complete the NEKBA Bee Military/Veteran Apprentice Application for consideration.
2. Print and sign the Declaration Waiver.
3. Send the documents either as a scanned.pdf via email or USPS mail a hard-copy to:
Our contact is:
NEKBA Military/Veteran Appr. Liaison
Mr. Buck Bradley, 11 E 900 Rd., Baldwin City, KS
Please email (preferred) with any questions. Thank you. (Email)
Northeastern Kansas Beekeepers' Association
Scholarship Programs for 2027
The progam's intent is to promote beekeeping opportunities for a young person and involve families in beekeeping that otherwise might not have an opportunity. NEKBA Youth Scholarship to inspire potential beekeepers and their families due by October 31, 2026! (e-mail or postmarked).
Please, only • (1) application per family or organization for consideration.
Submit application (postmarked) to NEKBA no later than October 31st of the current year.
We are always looking for mentors for our scholarship kids.
What should be on this mentor expectations list?
For a good relationship both student and teacher should have a compatible style of beekeeping. Secondly, a mentor should be able to teach well. Location and convenience are also important.
Requirements for the person expecting to be mentored:
Be a member of the association. We don't want you to go it alone. Also, we want you to come to the meetings to learn. There's valuable information in our sessions. We need you to take a class. It is an Investment in your own education. Assist your mentor. The Beekeeping mentorship is an apprenticeship model and you are trading labor for learning. It's not going to be hard labor but it will be an opportunity to learn by doing. Getting the right mentor means finding a one whose philosophy and situation matches yours. If you need to ask for help on how to deal with your urban neighbors, you might not want a mentor whose experience is strictly rural. Or if you have fundamental differences on the role of pesticides, it might not be a good fit.
It also means finding someone within a reasonable travel distance. It's hard to drop in for a quick session when your mentor's bees are halfway across the county or state.
Remember that your mentor is an un-paid volunteer. Please keep expectations reasonable.
Requirements for the person expecting to be a mentor:
Be a member in good standing of NEKBA and regularly attend meetings, field days (class Bee Funday) and other events.
Keep yourself educated on changes in bees, bee diseases and beekeeping by subscribing to a major bee journal (BeeCulture or American Bee Journal).
Your task is to teach not just what you do personally and believe but about other beekeeping theories.
Present the facts. It's okay to share your opinions but make clear which are which.
Open your beeyard to the mentee. Adults learn by doing. And while they can learn some in their own apiary, they can generally learn more in yours - you have more bees and more diverse situations to see.
You have a right to some of their help while you're working the bees but it's not slave labor, either.
Set reasonable expectations for yourself and your student. If you're not the right mentor, help the new beekeeper find someone who might be a better fit.
Beekeeping scholarship
The NEKBA Scholarship Fund was established by the NEKBA Board in 2003 with the goal of providing material assistance, defraying costs, and promoting interest in helping young people discover the wonderful world of beekeeping. Through this program of providing beekeeping scholarships, we have uncovered an additional objective by bringing families together --through beekeeping!
The fund is generously replenished each year since program inception by donations, silent auction of items at our annual Bee Funday in June, and a regular auction at the November or December meeting.
Thank you to our members and team who directly or indirectly have been committed to helping families and others join in what started as a grassroots endeavor!