The Lee Heine Good People Award is an extremely special award designed to honor individuals or organizations OUTSIDE the beekeeping industry. Recipients are not beekeepers – they are supporters of the beekeeping industry.
Recipients have fostered a positive relationship with industry members and has taken on the beekeeping industry’s causes, but are not beekeepers or working in the beekeeping industry. Previous recipients are Pam Jahnke, founder of the Wisconsin Farm Report, who has been an advocate for the beekeeping industry through her work in agriculture journalism, and Fran Boyd, a legislative consultant in Washington, DC, who has advocated for the beekeeping industry for decades with Congress and federal agencies, along with training on lobbying for beekeepers on the local, state, and national levels, and Congressman GT Thompson of Pennsylvania, a longtime champion of beekeeping legislation. While not beekeepers themselves, Pam, Fran, and Congressman Thompson have done much to help the beekeeping industry thrive and survive in good times and in challenging times.
The Wisconsin Honey Producers Association is again seeking nominations for this incredible honor. Nominations can be made by and for people or groups nationwide. Consistent with Lee Heine’s influence on the industry nationally and his ability to connect with people across aisles and industries, regardless of background, this honor is one that focuses on relationships and honoring those who have helped our industry but are not beekeepers themselves.
Consider nominating someone who advocates for honeybees and beekeepers – educators, legislators, nonprofit organizations, for-profit companies, municipalities, volunteers, journalists, or anyone who has supported or advocated for the beekeeping industry in a unique way. This award is open to anyone in the United States.
Lee Heine was connector of people. He forged relationships with people who may never have had a connection to beekeeping and found ways to work with them to further the beekeeping industry. Recipients of this award are the types of unlikely individuals who, despite a direct connection keeping bees or owning a beekeeping operation, have been instrumental in sharing our industry’s story or helping address our industry’s issues.
Nominations for the Lee Heine Good People Award are due on October 5. Visit https://wihoney.org/the-lee-heine-good-people-award/ for more information and a nomination form.