Meet our Bee Day 2019 Speakers

We are thrilled to have some fantastic presenters lined up for this year's event!

Cathy Misko

Keynote Speaker

Cathy Misko, Mama of 8, beekeeper 30 years, averages 20 colonies, and resides with her physician husband on their hobby farm, Dancing Bees Ranch, in Centerview, MO.
She is Missouri State Beekeepers Assn. Legislative Liaison, Secretary for the recently launched Johnson County MO Beekeepers Assn., Kansas City area's Past President of Midwestern Beekeepers Assn, Implemented and Chaired MBA Youth Scholarship Program, MBA and State Beekeeper of the Year Awards, and founded Heartland Beekeeping Partnership to bring advance beekeeping workshops and national speakers to the western side of the State.
​Known as the "Bee Lady… the older one", Cathy has a passion for education and teaches beekeeping workshops, public outreach presentations, and advance classes. 
She considered it a treat to have testified in Jefferson City for Missouri beekeepers to successfully pass the "Honey Bill / SB 500" and the "Honey Bee Bill / SB 627 via SB 472".

Grant Gillard

Grant F. C. Gillard is a beekeeper and Presbyterian pastor. For twenty-five years, he lived in Jackson, Missouri, and kept around 200 hives selling his honey at three farmer’s markets. In 2018 he moved and relocated his hives to Holden, a small community on the far outskirts of Kansas City, a move placing him closer to family. He raises his own queens and has published several books on his experiences. Though semi-retired, he pastors the New Horizon Presbyterian Church in Odessa, MO. 

Jasmine Bass

Jasmine Bass is the current President of Bees Alive Club and a family herbalist who works from home helping others create healthy lifestyles for themselves. Her natural living spills over into her beekeeping methods as well. She has been an enthusiastic beekeeper from day one and enjoys educating and mentoring new beekeepers.

Dan Barton

Dan Barton is a great mentor and the past president of the Bees Alive Club. As a third generation beekeeper, he brings over 30 years of beekeeping experience to the table with a passion for seeing new beekeepers become successful in their beekeeping ventures. Dan enjoys teaching beginner beekeeping classes in the Nixa area, setting new beekeepers up for success.

Jeff Maddox

Jeff is a wildlife ecologist with over 25 year's experience. He has been a professional beekeeper since 2008 and has been elected 3 times as President of the Beekeepers Association of the Ozarks.  He also served as President of the East Central Indiana Beekeeper's Association.  He has a degree in Wildlife management and Forestry.  He has earned the rank of ISA Certified Arborist. He was a key founder of the Indiana Native Plant Society and served as the founding President. While working for The Nature Conservancy, his work focused on ecological restorations and nature preserve management.  Owner and key contributor also toTheBeeRemover.com

David Panahi

David is the proud owner of P&D Honey Farm, established in 2008 and located in Fair Grove, MO. He and wife, Paula are members of local and State Beekeepers Associations and are proud to provide Pure Local Honey to Friends and Neighbors! P&D Honey Farm also prides itself in the care of Honeybees. Beekeeper David is happy to mentor new beekeepers to help the honeybee population which benefits area farmers and gardeners as well as Honey Lovers!

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Dustin Campbell

Dustin Campbell has been keeping bees for the last 20 years and currently co-owns Beeville Honey with his father, Delbert, located in midwest Illinois.  He also owns High Five Honey, located in Springfield, Missouri.
While serving in the U.S. Army in Hawaii, he attended the University of Hawaii Manoa where he majored in entomology with an emphasis on parasintology under Dr. Michael Kliks, of the Manoa Honey Company.  Together they began to formulate organic methods of varroa, SHB, and wax moth control as well as lobby congress to enforce country of origin labeling.  
Dustin is married to his wife Kellie and together they share a mixed family of four children.

Loretta Klosky

Loretta is Bees Alive Club's original "queen bee". A founding member and past president of this local beekeeping club, she is always the first to share her experiences with other beekeepers. She loves gardening and natural living and when she isn't busy working alongside her husband or being Memaw to her grand babies, you will find her creating balms, salves and trying out recipes using items from her hives and on her homestead.

Kathy McGowan

Master Gardener, Kathy McGowan grew up in Wichita, Ks and has lived in the midwest all of her life, the last 31 years in Joplin, Mo.  Kathy has a passion for education and a desire to learn, especially about things related to gardening and growing. She and her husband, Phil have been beekeepers for many years.  She focuses on flowers and plants that help pollinators in her personal garden and in the gardens she volunteers in the Joplin area. She has 3 children and 2 grandchildren she enjoys spending time with, teaching them how to grow and enjoy gardens of their own.

Thomas Pluth

Thomas is a retired Marine and owner of Purple Gate Farm in Highlandville, Missouri. Thomas has been keeping bees for 6 years and is interested in natural beekeeping methods. Purple Gate Farm has the only U-pick orchard in southwest Missouri and the Pluth’s strive to use organic methods in raising their livestock and produce.

Vickie Giesen

More info coming soon...

Rick Giesen

Rick... Beekeeper / Brewer / Cook / Gardener… Rick has been beekeeping for 5 years, brewing beer, making wine and mead for 20 years, gardening for 10 years and cooking since he was tall enough to reach the stovetop. And those are just his hobbies. Rick is also an Inventory Control Specialist who doubles as a Limo Driver and works for a graphic arts design company.

Lisa Pluth

Lisa is a Master Herbalist, lives at Purple Gate Farm in Highlandville where she and her family endeavor to live an organic, holistic, lifestyle and strive to be self-sufficient; caring for their animals and bees the same way they care for their fruit orchard and garden. As a 3rd generation herbalist, Lisa became a master herbalist and worked in an alternative health care clinic in Orlando, FL before moving to the Ozarks.