Bring your pocketbook for shopping with our vendors and your tastebuds for a honey sensory bar!

Our Venue is The Taylor County Expo Center
1700 Hwy 36, Abilene, TX 79602
there is plenty of parking

Hotel partners for those traveling in:

Hampton by Hilton
Here is the booking link to access our discounted room block
to get our room rate of $249 (normal rate is $344)
https://group.hamptoninn.com/1qg75t
Use discount code: West Texas Beekeepers

3526 Westlake Rd. 
Abilene, TX 79601
325.673.4400 

Pre-Conference Activities
Join us for an optional Drone Hunt ($35) and/or optional Dinner with the Speakers Friday night at 6pm ($85 per person). Email Tiff@TiffanyHarelik.com with reservations or any questions.
Meet the Speakers
  • Bob Binnie
    Blue Ridge Honey Company
    Check out Bob's YouTube Channel

    Bob Binnie, along with his wife Suzette, owns Blue Ridge Honey Co. in Lakemont, Georgia, operating 2000 colonies along with a sizable honey packing operation. Voted "Beekeeper Of The Year" by the Georgia Beekeepers Association in 2003 Bob has been involved in commercial beekeeping for nearly four decades.
  • Charlie Agar
    TV's own! From Charlie Bee Company
  • The Felcman Family
    Beekeepers / honey producers in San Angelo: Saint Abigail
  • Dodie Stillman
    Drone Hunter
  • Tiffany Harelik
    Best selling author and honey production specialist in Buffalo Gap: Hacienda Harelik
  • Instructor 6
    Bee health expert
Preconference activities: October 9, 2026
6pm-7pm: Dinner at Perini Ranch with our Speakers
Limited to the 25 people, our annual dinner at Perini's is a great opportunity to sit shoulder to shoulder with our presenters and enjoy a West Texas meal. Tickets are $90 and include a pre-set menu of Tenderloin, shrimp, and catfish, plus a ranch salad, premium side, iced tea and dessert.


West Bee School Tentative Schedule
Saturday October 10, 2026
Schedule subject to change.
Texas Master Beekeeper Testing will be onsite: stay tuned for details.

8:00 AM – 9:00 AM: Check-In + Beekeepers Coffee
Courtesy of Dadant and Savannah Bee

9:00 AM – 9:50 AM: Speaker 1

10:00 – 10:45 AM: Speaker 2

11:00 – 11:45 AM: Speaker 3

12:00 – 1:00 PM: Lunch & Networking (lunch is a BBQ sandwich, and is included in your ticket price - there are no food vendors onsite, so please plan ahead if alternative food is required)

1:00 – 2:00 PM: Panel

2:15 – 3:00 PM: Speaker 4

3:00 PM – 3:45PM: Demonstrations and shopping

4p-5:30p: Speaker 1
Let's go to Bee School!
Bee School Schedule - See what we did in Fall 2025!
8:00 AM – 9:00 AM: Check-In + Beekeepers Coffee
Courtesy of Dadant and Savannah Bee

9:00 AM – 9:50 AM: Intro to the Wild World of Beekeeping (101) TV's own Charlie Agar, of Charlie Bee Co

10:00 – 10:45 AM: Fall Hive Inspections and Splits: Preparing Colonies for West Texas Winters with Michael & Nikki Felcman of Saint Abigail Honey

11:00 – 11:45 AM: A Seasonal Approach to Honey Production: for home, market, and show with Tiffany Harelik, Hacienda Harelik Honey

12:00 – 1:00 PM: Lunch & Networking (lunch is a BBQ sandwich, and is included)

1:00 – 2:00 PM: Removals Panel: Charlie Agar (Charlie Bee, Michael and Eli Felcman (Saint Abigail), Angela Steinhauer (TAIS)

2:15 – 3:00 PM: Drone Hunting: Dodie Stillman, TBA Past President

3:00 PM – 4PM: Medicinal Beekeeping with Dr. Ferhat Ozturk

(shop, bio break, refill water bottles)

4:30p-5:30p "Ask a Texas Master Beekeeper" with Omar Martinez, Apiculture Program Specialist with Texas A&M AgriLife Extension
Location: The Taylor County Expo Center in Abilene, Texas

Coffee bar, BBQ sandwich Lunch, and Honey Tasting is included in your ticket.
There will also be vendors with beekeeping supplies and honey available for purchase on site. There is plenty of parking.

Questions? Email Tiff@TiffanyHarelik.com
Photo courtesy of Daniel X. O'Neil / flickr.com

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