Bill Elliott • Candidate for ABA President
Building a Stronger ABA—Together
Serving Beekeepers. Connecting Clubs. Getting Things Done.
Whether you arrived here from a campaign card, the conference, an email, or social media, I hope you will take a few minutes to look through my record, the ideas I believe are worth considering, and how I would work with the Board and membership to decide what ABA should tackle first.
I believe the question is not simply what ABA should do next, but whether we can build the organization needed to do those things well and sustain them.
ABA already has good people, strong local clubs, valuable programs, useful partnerships, and meaningful resources. I’m running because I believe we can bring those strengths together more effectively, serve Alabama beekeepers better throughout the year, and build an organization that consistently turns good ideas into sustained results.
Why I’m Running
I believe ABA’s next opportunity is not simply to add more programs. It is to become a stronger institution—one that preserves what volunteers learn, makes responsibility clear, supports the people doing the work, connects local clubs and statewide partners, and follows through on what it decides is important.
Too much organizational knowledge, access, process, and follow-through can depend on individual people or informal practice. When that happens, each new group of volunteers has to rediscover things the Association should already know. Good ideas can stall, and capable volunteers spend time rebuilding instead of building forward.
That is why the issues I have worked on—club-president and ex officio engagement, governance, conference operations, MCBA education and partnerships, AMBP process improvement, membership trends, organizational records, and digital ownership—are connected. They are examples of the same underlying need: create a stronger foundation so ABA’s good people and good ideas can produce sustained results.
How I Lead
My case for President is not that I have every answer. It is that I have a demonstrated way of helping organizations understand problems, bring capable people together, build durable solutions, and create opportunities for others to succeed.
Ask the question.
When something does not make sense, I go back to the governing documents, data, history, and the people actually doing the work. Good decisions usually begin with good questions.
Bring the right people together.
Listen first, identify the objective people share, understand differing views, and bring the people with the knowledge and responsibility into the work.
Build something that lasts.
Define ownership, document the process, provide the tools people need, measure whether it works, and improve it rather than recreating it every year.
Develop people and hand it off.
A successful volunteer organization should not become dependent on the person who solved the last problem. Build capacity, bring others into the work, and let the organization own the result.
What That Looks Like in Practice
These are not campaign promises created for an election. They are examples of the same operating method applied to real ABA and local-association work.
Reconnecting local club presidents with the statewide Association
Need. ABA’s governing documents give local association presidents an ex officio Board role, but presidents were not consistently included and the Association did not have a dependable statewide contact list.
What I did. I returned to the governing documents, confirmed the role, researched and updated club-president contacts, updated club information on the ABA website, established a reliable way to communicate with presidents, invited them to Board meetings, and advocated for meaningful inclusion.
What changed. ABA now has a stronger foundation for two-way communication with local clubs, and recent club-president Zoom discussions have shown interest in continuing that connection.
Where it is now. The opportunity is to make that connection routine—not dependent on a one-time push or one person’s contact list.
Preserving Fall Conference knowledge instead of recreating it
Need. A major annual event should not require future Boards to rediscover responsibilities, schedules, decisions, and lessons learned from scratch.
What I did. Vince Wallace and I have spent many hours developing and refining a draft Fall Conference Leadership and Operations Manual. Vince brought extensive conference and ABA leadership experience; I brought a systems and process perspective focused on responsibilities, timelines, handoffs, decisions, and lessons learned.
What changed. The work is creating a repeatable framework that future Boards can use and improve rather than starting over each year.
Where it is now. The manual should be completed, used, reviewed after each conference, and improved as institutional knowledge grows.
Rebuilding the Huntsville Botanical Garden partnership around education and service
Need. MCBA had an opportunity to create a stronger, continuing relationship with the Huntsville Botanical Garden through visible public education, apiary support, and service.
What I did. I established and have maintained the observation hive in the Butterfly House for the past five years, helped reinvigorate the Garden apiary, and helped create a gift-shop honey revenue stream from honey produced there.
What changed. The work strengthened MCBA’s service relationship with the Garden, created an ongoing public-education presence, and supported our continued use of Garden facilities for club meetings.
Where it is now. The relationship is broader than one project and can continue through multiple volunteers, educators, and beekeepers.
Putting ABA and MCBA’s digital foundations under organizational control
Need. Both organizations were relying on aging websites and important digital assets whose access and ownership depended too heavily on individual volunteers.
What I did. I identified who controlled the domains, hosting, and credentials; built agreement that change was needed; worked with the incumbent webmasters; moved domains toward organizational ownership; rehosted and rebuilt the sites in WordPress; and established organizational email, Drive, Groups, and related tools.
What changed. ABA and MCBA gained modern websites and a stronger technology foundation that now supports communication, membership, registration, payments, records, and other organizational functions.
Where it is now. The next step is succession: the system should not become dependent on me simply because I helped solve the earlier dependency.
Creating the MCBA Teaching Apiary at the Alabama A&M Agribition Center
Need. MCBA needed additional hands-on teaching capacity and a durable place where classes, mentoring, demonstrations, and club activities could be supported over time.
What I did. I initiated and helped develop the Teaching Apiary project at the Alabama A&M Agribition Center, working with other volunteers and relationships already available to the club to turn the opportunity into a shared resource.
What changed. The project expanded MCBA’s practical teaching infrastructure and created another setting where newer beekeepers can learn by doing rather than only by listening.
Where it is now. The important measure of success is that the apiary can be supported and led by a broader group of volunteers rather than depending on the person who initiated it.
Strengthening the Alabama Master Beekeeper Program through process work
Need. Strong educational programs also need clear registration, candidate communication, administration, and repeatable operating processes.
What I did. My AMBP work has included instruction, practical examinations, review and revision of written examination questions, support of the annual testing weekend, analysis of registration and attendance, and participation in the 2026 after-action review.
What changed. The after-action work identified practical opportunities to improve registration, candidate communication, program administration, and future planning.
Where it is now. The objective is to strengthen the processes around the program so instructors, candidates, committee members, and future leaders can succeed together.
Building the UAH Bee Club partnership and a shared teaching apiary
Need. MCBA needed more opportunities to support younger beekeepers, provide hands-on education, and create a centrally located place where members could learn together.
What I did. I initiated and helped develop a working relationship with the University of Alabama in Huntsville Bee Club and helped establish a shared apiary that supports UAH students, MCBA teaching, mentoring, and Open Hive events.
What changed. The partnership created a continuing educational resource rather than a one-time event and connected MCBA with a new group of developing beekeepers.
Where it is now. The apiary and relationship can continue to grow through other instructors, mentors, and volunteers, which is exactly the kind of organizational ownership I try to build.
Building mentoring and beginning-beekeeping programs that others can carry forward
Need. New beekeepers need more than a class; they need continuing access to experienced beekeepers, practical help, and a clear path from introductory instruction to confident independent practice.
What I did. At MCBA I have helped plan and support beginning-beekeeping classes, registration and communications, teaching, and mentoring programs designed to connect newer beekeepers with experienced volunteers.
What changed. Those programs give members multiple ways to learn—classroom instruction, hands-on apiary work, mentoring, and follow-up support—rather than treating education as a single event.
Where it is now. The strongest version of these programs is one in which many instructors and mentors participate and the club owns the process, not any one volunteer.
What ABA Needs Next
The point is not to launch every good idea at once. The new Board should agree on a manageable set of priorities, assign responsibility, support the people doing the work, and make progress visible.
Preserve knowledge and continuity.
Important records, decisions, access, responsibilities, and lessons learned should belong to ABA—not depend on one volunteer’s memory.
Support volunteers and local clubs.
Maintain strong two-way communication with club presidents, clarify committee ownership, and give volunteers the information, authority, and support needed to succeed.
Serve beekeepers throughout the year.
Strengthen education, AMBP, club support, youth opportunities, useful partnerships, and appropriate statewide advocacy so ABA provides value beyond the Fall Conference.
Turn priorities into sustained results.
Set realistic milestones, measure progress, report results, and put major activities such as the Fall Conference on repeatable planning and after-action cycles.
Ideas for the Board and Membership to Prioritize Together
I do not believe a new President should arrive with a fixed list of projects and simply announce what the Association will do. I would ask the new Board to review these opportunities, listen to local clubs and members, use an early membership survey to understand what beekeepers value most, and then select a manageable number of priorities we can actually complete well.
Put ABA’s $50,000+ financial resources to deliberate use
ABA has more than $50,000 in the bank. After establishing an appropriate reserve and maintaining sound financial controls, the Board should decide deliberately how available funds can advance the mission—education, club support, youth programs, beekeeper services, outreach, or other priorities selected together.
Create an Alabama Beekeeping & Honey Bee distinctive license plate
A specialty license plate could increase public awareness of honey bees and beekeeping while creating a new recurring revenue stream for ABA. The Board should examine the state requirements, likely demand, startup steps, and how any resulting revenue would be used to support the mission.
Ask members directly what they value most from ABA
Membership declined substantially from 2021 through 2025, and renewals declined even more sharply. An early membership survey can help the Board understand why members join, why they renew or do not renew, which services matter most, and where ABA should focus first.
Build a statewide speaker and educational-resource network
Local clubs have asked for better access to speakers, programs, and useful educational resources. ABA can help maintain a statewide speaker resource, share science-based presentations and materials, and make it easier for clubs to obtain quality programs throughout the year.
Strengthen AMBP as a statewide educational resource
The Alabama Master Beekeeper Program can do more than administer annual testing. Working with the AMBP committee and partners, ABA can strengthen candidate communication and program operations while also expanding high-quality educational content that benefits local clubs and individual beekeepers.
Expand youth beekeeping opportunities
ABA can help local associations and partners create more opportunities for young people to enter beekeeping through youth programs, mentoring, scholarships or equipment support, and connections with schools, universities, and established club programs.
Explore small grants or direct support for local club projects
With appropriate guidelines and financial stewardship, ABA could consider modest support for worthwhile local education, outreach, apiary, or youth projects that directly advance the statewide mission and can be shared as models with other clubs.
Strengthen statewide partnerships with Auburn, ACES, ADAI, ALFA, and others
ABA should connect and amplify work already happening across Alabama. Stronger relationships with Auburn University, ACES, ADAI, ALFA, researchers, educators, and other beekeeping organizations can improve education, research, honey bee health, and practical support for beekeepers.
Address pesticide, herbicide, regulatory, and other statewide beekeeper concerns
Some problems are too large for an individual beekeeper or local club to address effectively. ABA can identify statewide concerns, learn how other states have responded, work with appropriate agencies and researchers, and advocate for practical solutions when appropriate.
Establish stronger budgeting, reporting, reserve, and annual-audit practices
Financial stewardship should be routine and understandable. The Board should have regular financial reporting, an annual budget, a clearly defined reserve approach, and a functioning audit or financial-review process so members can have confidence in how Association resources are managed.
Put the Fall Conference on a repeatable annual planning and after-action cycle
The Fall Conference should not require major processes to be recreated each year. A documented cycle for planning, budgeting, registration, communications, execution, and after-action review will preserve knowledge and make each conference easier for the next team to improve.
Use a simple recurring dashboard to make progress visible
A small set of recurring measures—membership and renewals, financial position, conference performance, committee progress, club participation, and major open actions—would help the Board know where attention is needed and help members see whether agreed priorities are moving forward.
What I would ask the new Board to do first
- Hold an early Board orientation and working session around ABA’s mission, governing documents, roles, and current commitments.
- Agree on a manageable first set of priorities and assign a responsible owner for each one.
- Clarify which standing committees are active, who serves on them, and what each committee is expected to accomplish.
- Maintain an accurate club-president network and involve presidents meaningfully in their ex officio role.
- Establish a simple recurring view of membership and renewals, financial position, conference performance, committee progress, club participation, and major open actions.
- Put the Fall Conference and other recurring work on documented annual planning, budgeting, execution, and after-action cycles.
Leadership Experience
ABA
I currently serve as Region North Director, ABA webmaster and technology support, and as a member and instructor with the Alabama Master Beekeeper Program. My work has also included conference operations, membership and registration systems, communications, historical-record research, governance-related projects, and other Board initiatives.
Local beekeeping leadership
I have served two terms as Vice President and one term as Secretary of the Madison County Beekeepers Association and continue to serve as an instructor, mentor, volunteer, webmaster, and IT resource. Much of that work has involved starting programs, building partnerships, bringing other volunteers into the work, and handing projects off for continued operation.
Professional leadership
I retired from PeopleTec in 2018 as a Senior Vice President after a 32-year career in systems engineering, program management, planning, analysis, and organizational leadership. At PeopleTec I was responsible for more than 100 employees in Huntsville and Colorado Springs and previously led large multidisciplinary teams supporting complex technical programs.
What that experience taught me
Successful organizations require more than good ideas. They need clear objectives, capable people, defined responsibility, honest communication, measurable results, and consistent follow-through. Leadership means creating the conditions in which capable people can do their best work.
Candidate Information
I am a sideliner beekeeper managing approximately 80 colonies, with an emphasis on honey production, queen and nuc production, education, mentoring, and honey bee health.
You can review my complete submitted ABA candidate questionnaire here.
My official three-minute candidate statement video will not be posted here before it is presented at the ABA annual meeting.
I respectfully ask for your vote.
If this is the kind of leadership you want for ABA—leadership that listens, brings people together, builds durable systems, supports volunteers, measures progress, and follows through—I would be honored to serve as your President.
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