Meet the 2026 CCBA Board Members

	PRESIDENT Sharon McConnell Sharon has lived in Chatham County for over 30 years and is a retired lawyer. She and her family have raised various sorts of livestock over the years and thought about adding honey bees for a long time. In 2018, after becoming empty nesters, she and her husband attended a one-day beekeeping course in Lee County that really ignited a spark for them. Due to weather and a late start, they did not get bees that year, and then Sharon attended the excellent CCBA bee school and bought 2 nucs in 2019. That was a rough year, but starting in 2020 all has gone much better for their bees. She credits the wonderful resources of CCBA with helping her figure out some things and become a Certified level beekeeper. In CCBA, she has been a mentor and worked on the State Fair Committee. Sharon has served as Secretary (two years) and Treasurer (one year).
	VICE PRESIDENT Michael Smith Mike grew up in eastern Kentucky and has lived in North Carolina for 29 years after leaving the military in 1998. He has been in the Information Technology field for over 33 years and started beekeeping in 2023. He has since earned his NC Journeyman Beekeeper certification and has served on the CCBA State Fair Committee for the past two years as well as serving as the CCBA Secretary for one year. Mike currently maintains five bee colonies and enjoys catching swarms.
	TREASURER Elizabeth Ferrin Elizabeth grew up on stories of her great uncle being known as the local swarm guy, and getting pulled over for speeding once but then being quickly released when the officers saw the active swarm in the back of his Buick. Elizabeth fulfilled a long time dream of beekeeping by taking the 2025 CCBA beekeeping course with her husband and daughter. With the help of phenomenal mentors and a lot of luck, they’re preparing 3 happy hives for their first winter. Elizabeth is eager to continue her beekeeping journey and looks forward to lifelong bee learning. While new to beekeeping, Elizabeth thankfully has more experience with finance. She earned her Bachelors degree in International Business Management with an emphasis in Finance, has worked as a Fiscal Services Clerk in a county Superior Courthouse, worked as an Accounts Receivable and Accounts Payable Clerk, created financial projections and budgets for an international company, and most recently managed Southwind Retreat Center in Silk Hope. She’s currently completing her Bookkeeping Certification. She also volunteers as a leader in several 4-H clubs in Chatham County. For the past 13 years her primary focus has been raising & homeschooling her 4 children, and has recently added goats and a dog (aptly named Bear) to the mix, in addition to a few thousand bees.
	SECRETARY Teresa Mikan Teresa purchased her first 2 nucs in 2016 while living in Michigan after spending early spring weekends working with a local beekeeper. In 2018, she retired from her job as a corporate lawyer with plans of moving to Chapel Hill, NC to be near her daughter and family. Teresa gave her bees and all equipment to a neighbor, and was certain her beekeeping days were over. Once established in a new home in Chatham County, the old urge returned, and in January 2023, she attended the CCBA beekeeping class. During the class, she learned about horizontal Langstroth hives, thought that might be a great style hive for her retirement years and ordered a hive from a NC horizontal hive-maker on the west side of the state. Starting with one nuc in 2023, Teresa has learned that beekeeping in North Carolina is very different from that in Michigan, and that one colony is never enough. With the assistance and support of members of CCBA, Teresa currently manages 3 hives (2 standard Langstroth hives and 1 horizontal hive). Her primary reason for beginning and continuing beekeeping is her interest in the survival of bees and the contribution of pollinators to our environment. She’s an enthusiastic gardener, with a primary focus on plants favored by pollinators, and has discovered that North Carolina’s climate and resources provide an ideal spot for pursuing such interests.
	DIRECTOR Scott Stilwell Scott Stilwell has been interested in beekeeping ever since his dad brought home a 5-gallon bucket of comb from a wild bee tree when he was a kid. Finally, as an adult in 2019, he started with a single nuc after building his first beehive. This initial nuc quickly led to catching wild swarms and many splits, allowing Scott to expand his apiary to 80 hives by 2024. After 16 years as a mechanical engineer, he took the plunge in 2024 to become a full-time beekeeper with his venture, “Blue Truck Honey”. Always eager to explore various beekeeping techniques and practices, Scott has gained a deep understanding of bee health management, honey production, and sustainable practices. His goal is to share knowledge with fellow enthusiasts and club members, fostering a community passionate about the vital role of bees.
	DIRECTOR Mark Evans Mark grew up on a farm in Northwest Ohio and combined that experience with his high school interest in math and science to develop a career in Agricultural Engineering. After teaching engineering for 12 years, he made a jump to industry where he designed compact tractors and mowing equipment for 18 years. He got interested in beekeeping after purchasing land in Chatham County and being encouraged by a coworker that kept bees. After retiring in 2018, Mark’s other main hobby of woodworking got in the way as he built and equipped his woodworking shop. Finally, in 2024, after taking the CCBA one-day beekeeping course in February, Mark took the plunge and started two colonies. As a woodworker, he enjoys building all his wooden equipment. One thing Mark learned through his engineering career is that you learn more when things go wrong. Mark learned a lot in 2024. Thanks to Phil Uptmor’s mentorship and donation of bees, he still is in the game. Mark has completed the requirements for the Certified Beekeeper level of the Master Beekeeper Program.
	DIRECTOR Nina Moore Nina lives at Harper’s Crossroads in Bear Creek, North Carolina. She was born in Columbus, Ohio, but she’s so thankful that her parents moved me to North Carolina when she was eight years old. She considers herself to have been raised a southern girl. She never knew that going to see observation hives at county fairs in Ohio with her grandfather would lead to a beloved hobby. Her husband was instrumental in her decision to begin the path toward becoming a beekeeper. When the decision to retire from teaching was put before her, her husband suggested that she “go ahead and retire and become a beekeeper”. He knew that she loved bees and had made sure to teach her students each year about our state insect, the honeybee. She did not take this decision lightly. She wanted to “count the cost” of what it took to be a beekeeper before undertaking it. She spent her first year of retirement learning about beekeeping. Part of that learning was attending the beekeeping school with the Chatham County Beekeeping Association. Then, again at her husband’s suggestion, she spent another year as an apprentice with a former coworker who had become a beekeeper. During this time, she discovered the horizontal hive. This hive has made beekeeping a hobby that she can continue to do as the years go by. Through all of this, her husband was by her side, encouraging her and creating the infrastructure for her to be a beekeeper. Though he never put on a beekeeping suit he was always there. She has finally come to the point where she does consider herself to be a beekeeper, but she will never consider herself to be the Keeper of the Bees. Though we do our best to take care of these beautiful creatures they are always in the hands of their Keeper.