The form listed above contains a cover sheet for candidates to list the public service activities as well as the form to document each individual public service credit.
Candidates for the Advanced Beekeeper rank and higher must document a certain number of public service credits. Public service is defined as volunteer service or educational activity oriented around bees and beekeeping and conducted for the benefit of the general public. Educational activities in conjunction with commercial ventures or monetary benefits do not qualify.
In order to receive credit for a public service, the event must be documented. Primary documentation is represented by completion of the public service documentation form or by original media: conference programs, testimonial letters from third parties, newspaper clippings, photographs, or video recordings. Secondary documentation may lack material evidence of the activity, but must at least include a written statement with the title of the event, date, place, time topic, target clientele group and number attended, description of the activity, and its outcome. In general, documentation must be material evidence, in writing, and more detail is better than less. Program directors reserve the right to accept or reject documentation during program audits. Candidates for Advanced, Master, and Master Craftsman Beekeeper ranks must present documentation to the Master Beekeeper Program board prior to taking the written examination. The following activities are pre-approved for satisfying public service credit requirements. Other activities may be considered, but candidates are advised to contact program board members about specific cases.
Please watch this video on how to submit your Public Service Credits for review:
Pre-approved public service activities (please diversify and limit repetitions of credit types):
- Present a bee-related lecture or workshop to a non-beekeeping group (youth or adult).
- Hold an office in a local beekeeping association.
- Appointment by a local County Extension office or other municipal agency as an expert contact on bee-related questions or issues.
- Assist members of youth organizations (4-H, Scouts, FFA, etc.) with project work.
- Mentor a new beekeeper through at least one complete year.
- Give a public demonstration on a beekeeping topic at a fair, festival, or similar public event.
- Provide a hive of bees to pollinate a public garden.
- Establish and maintain an observation hive for a school, civic group, museum, etc.
Additional Public Service Credit opportunities:
A candidate may count presentations focused towards beekeeping audiences (regional/state/national levels) as Public Service Credits, but the events must abide by the following stipulations:
- For Advanced level candidates:
- Each presentation to a beekeeping audience will count for ½ a Public Service Credit.
- The presentation must be a minimum of 45 minutes.
- The candidate is only allowed to conduct a maximum of 2 presentations equaling a total of 1 Public Service Credit.
- Each presentation topic must have an educational focus on honey bees or beekeeping. The Texas Master Beekeeper board may refuse credit if the topic is not relevant to the industry.
- Acquiring Public Service Credits for Texas Beekeepers Association events:
- Candidate must volunteer to be on a committee and apply significant effort towards organizing the event.
- Only applies to the TBA Summer Clinic and the TBA Fall Convention.
- Each event the candidate volunteers for will count for ½ a Public Service Credit.