Blake Shook has his eyes on becoming one of the next generation’s beekeepers -- Staff photo by Kramer

MARCH 29, 2007 – Blake Shook is a beekeeper. Ask his colleagues, and they’ll say he’s got the potential to be one of the best.

The Collin County beekeeper has devoted a portion of every day for the last four years to caring for nearly 100 hives and thousands of bees. He builds hive crates, conducts business with growers in states as far away as California, he is the vice president of the Collin County Hobby Beekeepers Association (CCHBA), he teaches beekeeping classes and seminars, and is the operator of Desert Creek Honey.

Still, there is one thing Shook has yet to do - graduate high school. After all, he’s only 17 years old.

Shook began his beekeeping career four years ago after receiving the CCHBA’s Youth Beekeeping Scholarship. John Talbert, former president of CCHBA and the Texas Beekeepers Association, said the scholarship program is designed as a recruitment tool.

“The idea is to get as many young people involved in beekeeping as possible,” he said. “We are actively trying to get young people into the industry. Without young people, the industry is going to fade away.”

Students, ages 12 to 17, are eligible to apply for the scholarship. They must live in, or in a county near, Collin County. After the initial review, program applicants are invited to interview with the program committee. The winners are awarded each January at the CCHBA meeting. Upon receiving the scholarship winners are awarded a one-year membership to the CCHBA, information and textbook, wooden materials for a hive, bees to stock the hive, beekeeping gear, and guidance from a CCHBA member.

“We give them everything they need to get started,” said Shook. “Once they get into it, we rarely have kids that don’t go through the entire program.”

After receiving one hive through the scholarship program, Shook said his interest grew, and before long, he had more than 10 hives, then 25, and later 100 at his family’s farm near Blue Ridge.

“The program showed me what I wanted my career to be,” Shook said. “It introduced me to the world of bees.”

Shook took what the scholarship program offered and quickly expanded. He sends bees to other parts of Texas to work crops (like cotton), and also sends bees to California to pollinate almonds. During the off-seasons, he spends time making sure the bees are healthy and have plenty to eat before sending them off for more work. In addition, he assembles and paints wooden boxes that are used as hives in a shop located on his family’s farm. And, just a few years after becoming involved with the beekeepers, Shook teaches some of the chapter’s classes.

“I had no clue that two to three years later I’d be teaching the same class I was in,” he said. “I wasn’t expecting to get what I got out of the experience.”

“He put a lot more into the experience than he expected,” added Talbert, who offered Shook a job at his farm, Sabine Creek Honey Farm, after Shook completed the scholarship program. “We’re all real proud of the way Blake is progressing and we look forward to him becoming a person to know in the bee industry.

My hope for him is to have a distinguished career in beekeeping. And, I think he has the talents, ability, drive, and initiative to do it.”

Shook said he owes his success to people like Talbert, Ted Vance (the president of CCHBA), and his parents. In addition, he said the entire Collin County club has always been very helpful.

With support behind him, he said he plans to continue his work with bees.

“I hope to further my education and I hope to learn more about bees on a scientific level,”  Shook explained.

He said the scholarship program led to several opportunities and expects that many more will come in the future.

“Once you get into it, beekeeping is something you can do your entire life,” Shook said. “It’s an extremely exciting business to be in.”

For more information about CCHBA and their scholarship program, visit www.northtexasbeekeepers.org.