Black Hills Area Beekeeping Club — Rapid City, SD local clubs

Category: Local clubs Also called: BHABC; BH Area Beekeeping; Black Hills Area Beekeeping Club (Rapid City, South Dakota); blackhillsbeeclub.org

What it is

The Black Hills Area Beekeeping Club (BHABC; also styled BH Area Beekeeping on some page titles) is a local beekeeping club for South Dakota’s Black Hills, based in Rapid City. Its About page says the club began in 2020 as a small group united by a love for bees and educational outreach, and has grown into a supportive club “with around 80 members” (the home page also prints a 100+ Active Members stat; treat the count as unconfirmed and use the live pages). The home page describes monthly meetings, hands-on summer sessions, and educational courses, and the membership page lists perks such as guest speakers, bulk purchase orders, a conference discount, mentoring, and a members-only Facebook page. Membership is posted at $20 per year per household. This listing is for the local club, not the club’s beekeeping courses as a standalone class and not the Buzz in the Black Hills conference.

Official URL

Official site: https://www.blackhillsbeeclub.org/

About Us: https://www.blackhillsbeeclub.org/about-us/

Meeting Information: https://www.blackhillsbeeclub.org/meeting-information/

Club Membership: https://www.blackhillsbeeclub.org/meeting-information/club-membership/

Meet the Officers: https://www.blackhillsbeeclub.org/about-us/meet-the-officers/

Found a Swarm?: https://www.blackhillsbeeclub.org/found-a-swarm/

Beekeeping Courses: https://www.blackhillsbeeclub.org/beekeeping-courses/

Buzz in the Black Hills ’27: https://www.blackhillsbeeclub.org/buzz-in-the-black-hills-27/

Last checked

2026-11-11. All URLs above returned HTTP 200 with a desktop Chrome user agent on that date.

FAQ

Q: When and where does the club meet?
A: The Meeting Information page says winter meetings are on the third Tuesday of each month, October–March, at 6 pm, at Western Dakota Technical College in Rapid City, and that April–September meetings are apiary visits on the third Saturday, with times and locations that vary. The home page’s shorter rule is slightly different (indoor sessions October–April, then April–September apiaries). The same Meeting Information page listed a next meeting of Tuesday, November 17, at 6 pm, and this dated schedule: November 17, December 15, January 19, February 16 and March 16 at 6 pm at WDT; April 17, an apiary visit with Darrell Crandall in Hot Springs (time TBD); May 22, an apiary visit with Lew Papendick in Rapid City (time TBD); June 19 and August 21 and September 18, apiary TBD; and July 17, an apiary day with Tara Darby in Rapid City at 5:30 pm. Treat November and December dates as 2026, and January–September dates as 2027, relative to the check date. Two room numbers are printed for the indoor meetings: the home page and the “Next Meeting” line say Room W243, while the winter rule and the dated November–March list say Room W242. May 22 also does not match a strict “third Saturday” reading for May 2027 (that would be May 15). Confirm the live calendar, room and year before going. The site footer and Contact page list a club address of 800 Mickelson Dr., Rapid City, South Dakota; the meeting pages name the college and room but do not reprint that street on the same block.

Q: Can non-members attend?
A: The home page invites people to “come meet us” at the winter meetings and to join. Formal membership benefits, including the members-only Facebook page, mentoring, bulk orders and the conference discount, are described on the Club Membership page as perks of joining. The pages do not print a separate visitor fee. Confirm with the club before attending; no contact was made for this listing.

Q: How much is membership and how do I join?
A: The Club Membership page says annual dues are $20 per year per household, and asks you to include your name, email address, phone number and mailing address. It tells interested people to email Frank, the club treasurer, for more information. There is no public online dues cart on that page. No email or signup was submitted for this listing.

Q: Does the club help with swarms, teach a class, or host a conference?
A: Yes, as club services, not as this listing’s focus. The Found a Swarm page offers a contact path. The Beekeeping Courses page lists 2027 Basic and Advanced courses as weekend sessions (Basic: March 6–7, July 17–18 and September 25–26, 9 am–5 pm; Advanced: April 24–25, printed as 9 pm–4 pm, and October 23–24, 9 am–4 pm), with a minimum of 6 and a maximum of 16 students, and a “To Register or Learn More” button. No public tuition was printed on the opened courses page. The Buzz in the Black Hills ’27 page and home page advertise the club’s annual conference on February 12–13, 2027 at The Box Event Center; that conference is not listed separately here.

Q: How do I contact the club?
A: The home footer lists bhabc.president.td@gmail.com, bhabc.secretary@gmail.com and bhabc.treasurer@gmail.com. The Contact Us page lists bhabc.media@gmail.com or bhabc.treasurer@gmail.com, plus bhabc.secretary@gmail.com in its legal block, and the address 800 Mickelson Dr., Rapid City, South Dakota. It also names the club as a domestic nonprofit, business ID NS187765. Officer names do not agree across pages: Meet the Officers lists President Tara Darby, Vice President Erica Proefrock, Treasurer Frank DeMilia, Secretary Brandy Anderson, and advisory members Julie Dean-Pelikan and Dorothy Vincent; the Contact Us legal block lists President Garry Black and Vice President Aaron Carr, with the same treasurer, secretary, media coordinator and advisory names. Use the live pages and the printed emails; this listing does not resolve the officer titles.

Q: Is this an official or affiliated listing?
A: Neither. Beekeeping Plaza is not affiliated with the Black Hills Area Beekeeping Club or Western Dakota Technical College. No contact, form or membership signup was made. South Dakota already has a Premier Bee Products Equipment entry (Sioux Falls); this is a separate Rapid City club. The club’s 2027 courses and Buzz in the Black Hills conference are mentioned only as club activities, not as their own Learning listings.