Holliston’s Tony Lulek has been named 2016 Beekeeper of the Year for the Massachusetts Beekeepers Association. Lulek was nominated by the Norfolk County Beekeeper’s Associaton’s Board of Directors.
Tony has been an active member of the Norfolk County Beekeepers Association for over 11 years and is both past president (2009-2014), past director and lead instructor for the Norfolk County Beekeeper’s Association’s bee school.
Tony organized a committee to modernize the bee school foundation and developed it into a consistent program with a respected reputation and comprehensive information to provide any new beekeeper a solid base from which to raise honeybees. This is evident with the growth of bee school students consistently topping 100 students the last four years. Tony also established was the Mentor Guidelines, so all mentors had the same general understanding for guidance to their students.
Tony also helped to establish a scholarship program to the Norfolk Agricultural School, helped to establish the NCBA Hall of Fame award to worthy club recipients, reinvigorated the annual family picnic - from a gathering at a local restaurant to a full NCBA family get-together at the Stony Brook Wildlife Sanctuary. During Tony’s NCBA officer tenure, he became active with the Massachusetts Bee Association.
Lulek has given beekeeping presentations to the Holliston Garden Club, Stony Brook Wildlife Sanctuary, Massachusetts Horticultural and Massachusetts Master Gardeners events. He also speaks annually to the
Elmwood Elementary School on bees.
Tony has recently been involved with the “Ag Day on the Hill” in Boston - sponsored by the Mass Bee Association. He is also passionately involved with the hot button issues of pesticide usage in the state. Tony was a member of the Mass Farm Bureau Apiary Advisory committee for Bee Pollinator Stewardship and collaborative effort on the impact of pesticides on the honeybees. Additionally, he was involved with “People Protecting Pollinators,” a program set up by likeminded individuals to advocate for stopping the use of pesticide impacting all pollinating insects. To this end, Tony was actively pursuing the Norfolk County Mosquito Control to create test sites for the effects of pesticide usage and the impact to the honeybees. The program consists of various bee hive sites, pesticide usage, blind test locations, and neutral locations. This effort is currently pending state approval and financing in the State Reclamation and Mosquito Dept.
Tony is also one of the key drivers working to establish the capability within the NCBA to raise queens that are locally adapted to the severe winters and other climatic conditions commonly experienced here in the Northeast.
Tony lives in Holliston, Mass. and raised 4 children, who are now grown. His last name, Lulek, in Polish means “Little Bee Hive,” the name of his cottage business that produces and sells the products made from/with the honey, beeswax, and propolis of his bees.
Issue Date:
May, 2017
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