President's Message: The Shoulders of Giants
Monday, March 01, 2010
By George B. Schramm, AIA, CSI, CCS, CCCA
In 1159, John of Salisbury, Bishop of Chartres, wrote: "Dicebat Bernardus Carnotensis nos esse quasi nanos, gigantium humeris insidentes, ut possimus plura eis et remotiora videre, non utique proprii visus acumine, aut eminentia corporis, sed quia in altum subvenimur et extollimur magnitudine gigantean."
Translated from the Latin: "Bernard of Chartres used to say that we are like dwarfs on the shoulders of giants, so that we can see more than they, and things at a greater distance, not by virtue of any sharpness of sight on our part, or any physical distinction, but because we are carried high and raised up by their giant size."
Given the long and pansophic history of our organization, as the new president of the Long Island Beekeepers Club, I too, feel like a dwarf carried high on the shoulders of giants. The shoulders immediately below me belong to our past president Joanne Thomas Fischer.
Every volunteer organization has its peaks and valleys, and Joanne came along at the right time to push the club toward the next hilltop. Our record levels of participation and increased membership are testimony to her efforts. And beneath us stand tall the giants of our club whose knowledge, contributions, and long involvement have created a long-lived and respected union of beekeepers.
To name only a few of these giants: Cliff Baynon, Peter Bizzoso, Rich Blohm, James Fischer, Harry Gaulke, Ray Lackey, John Moloney, Fred Munzer, Max Riedener, Clifford Still, Conni Still, Miguel Valentin. I know there are many more and I fully expect to be gently chastised for my omissions at our next meeting.
And rightly so, because beekeeping is a collaborative effort; a shared experience between honey bees and their kin, honey bees and beekeepers, and beekeepers and their kin. To forget our kinfolk is to stand alone among 50,000 angry bees on a hot summer day. Without a veil.
Managing our club is also a collaborative effort, and I would like to congratulate and thank my fellow officers for pledging their time and talents:
Wayne Vitale, Vice President
Dave Alexander, Corresponding Secretary
Marianne Sangesland, Recording Secretary
Harry Gaulke, Treasurer
And our chairpersons: Conni Still, Membership and Beeline Editor, and Joan Mahoney, Hospitality.
I look forward to seeing all of you at our next meeting on Sunday, March 21st, 2:30 PM, when our guest speaker, Frederique Keller, President of the American Apitherapy Society, will be discussing "Holistic Medicine."
In 1159, John of Salisbury, Bishop of Chartres, wrote: "Dicebat Bernardus Carnotensis nos esse quasi nanos, gigantium humeris insidentes, ut possimus plura eis et remotiora videre, non utique proprii visus acumine, aut eminentia corporis, sed quia in altum subvenimur et extollimur magnitudine gigantean."
Translated from the Latin: "Bernard of Chartres used to say that we are like dwarfs on the shoulders of giants, so that we can see more than they, and things at a greater distance, not by virtue of any sharpness of sight on our part, or any physical distinction, but because we are carried high and raised up by their giant size."
Given the long and pansophic history of our organization, as the new president of the Long Island Beekeepers Club, I too, feel like a dwarf carried high on the shoulders of giants. The shoulders immediately below me belong to our past president Joanne Thomas Fischer.
Every volunteer organization has its peaks and valleys, and Joanne came along at the right time to push the club toward the next hilltop. Our record levels of participation and increased membership are testimony to her efforts. And beneath us stand tall the giants of our club whose knowledge, contributions, and long involvement have created a long-lived and respected union of beekeepers.
To name only a few of these giants: Cliff Baynon, Peter Bizzoso, Rich Blohm, James Fischer, Harry Gaulke, Ray Lackey, John Moloney, Fred Munzer, Max Riedener, Clifford Still, Conni Still, Miguel Valentin. I know there are many more and I fully expect to be gently chastised for my omissions at our next meeting.
And rightly so, because beekeeping is a collaborative effort; a shared experience between honey bees and their kin, honey bees and beekeepers, and beekeepers and their kin. To forget our kinfolk is to stand alone among 50,000 angry bees on a hot summer day. Without a veil.
Managing our club is also a collaborative effort, and I would like to congratulate and thank my fellow officers for pledging their time and talents:
Wayne Vitale, Vice President
Dave Alexander, Corresponding Secretary
Marianne Sangesland, Recording Secretary
Harry Gaulke, Treasurer
And our chairpersons: Conni Still, Membership and Beeline Editor, and Joan Mahoney, Hospitality.
I look forward to seeing all of you at our next meeting on Sunday, March 21st, 2:30 PM, when our guest speaker, Frederique Keller, President of the American Apitherapy Society, will be discussing "Holistic Medicine."