What Is EAS?
    EAS is an international non-profit 501-C(3) educational organization founded in 1955 for the promotion of bee culture, education of beekeepers, and excellence in bee research. EAS is the largest non-commercial beekeeping organization in the United States and one of the largest in the world.

What is the EAS Annual Conference?
    Every summer EAS conducts its Annual Conference consisting of lectures, workshops, vendor displays, short courses for beginning and advanced beekeepers, and annual business meeting in one of its 26 member states or provinces in the eastern U.S. and Canada. Approximately 400-500 people attend the conference each year. EAS publishes its newsletter, The EAS Journal, four times a year, sponsors awards to deserving bee researches and graduate students, and offers modest research grants for applied research projects.

EAS Membership:
    You must be a member of EAS in order to participate in the Short Course, Conference, or other activities.  Dues may be paid with your registration or may be paid directly to:
Loretta Surprenant, EAS Secretary, Box 300, Essex, NY 12936 (518) 963-7593

    Annual Membership Dues are $10

    Life membership is $150 and may be paid in three $50 annual payments.

Annual Conference and Short Course Registration:
    Registration is required for attending any EAS events.  Registration deadline is June 23, to avoid a late fee.  You may register as a walk-in at the Conference, but we cannot guarantee accomodations.  Short Course Registration must be in advance because space is limited.
    Registration for the Annual Conference or Short Course is made by sending a completed Registration Form and check payable to "EAS 2000", to:
David Morris, EAS 2000 Registrar, 9309 Montpelier Drive, Laurel, MD 20708-2553 tel: (301) 725-6185 evenings

Registration Forms are available in several ways.
    An Adobe Acrobat file was available here.  If you do not already have the Adobe Acrobat Reader, you will need to download a copy of it first.
    If you are an EAS member, fill out a copy of the Registration Form in the Spring EAS Journal on pages 11 & 12 (and give a copy to a friend).
    Additonal copies can be received by request from the EAS Registrar.

Conference Sign-in Procedures:
    When you arrive for either the Short Course or the Main Conference, you will need to register in order to recieve your name tags, meal cards, and dorm keys.  There will be one Registration Desk that will be moved between two locations to make registration easier.  Prior to the Conference, David Morris, the EAS Registrar, can be reached at 301-725-6185, evenings only. During the Conference, from July 30 to August 5 only, the EAS Registrar can be reached at 240-463-7418 (cell phone).

    Short Course Registration: Please arrive promptly. Since Short Course participants should arrive Sunday evening to be in town in time for the beginning of the course at 8:00 AM Monday morning, Registration will begin 3:00 PM Sunday afternoon in the Severn Hall lobby.  The EAS Registrar will be available until 9:00 PM.  After 9:00 PM the SSU staff will sign in late arrival dorm residents and provide dorm keys and meal cards only.   Monday morning the EAS Registrar will take care of late Sunday and early Monday arrivals,  in the Severn Hall lobby, from 7:30 to 9:00 AM.  Thereafter, on Monday and Tuesday afternoons, from 3:00 PM to 2:00 AM, the SSU staff will register late arrivals in the Severn Hall lobby.  Severn Hall, marked SV on the campus map below, is located just off Camden Avenue and faces the large Dorm Parking Lot.

    Conference Registration:  Tuesday early arrivals should report to the Severn Hall lobby, from 1 PM to 9 PM for ; see hours above, to register.  Beginning 9:00 AM Wednesday morning, registration will be held in the main lecture hall, Holloway Hall, marked H  on the campus map below.  Registration will continue throughout the day until 5:00 PM.  After 5:00 PM, report to the Severn Hall Lobby and register with the SSU Staff.

    Vendors: Vendors may register for their meal cards and EAS tags with the EAS Registrar as indicated for Conference attendees above.  For Vendor display setup, please check in Tuesday, after lunch, in the Great Room in Holloway Hall. Report to Jerry Fischer in the Great Room .  Be prepared to open to the public 7:30 AM to 5:30 PM, Wednesday through Friday.
 
 

Check out:
    For attendees who stay in SSU Dorms or purchased a meal plan, you must surrender your Dorm Keys and Meal Card to the SSU staff in the Severn Hall Lobby before departure.  SSU charges $45 for Lost Keys and $10 for Lost Meal Cards.
 

    The city of Salisbury has a metropolitan population of 70,000 with some 6,000 students enrolled at SSU.  Salisbury lies 30 miles west of the resorts at Ocean City, Maryland, and the Assateague Island National Seashore. Salisbury is 115 miles southeast of Baltimore, Maryland, and Washington, DC. The city is 125 miles south of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and 125 miles north of Norfolk, Virginia.
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Meals:
    All meals will be served in the Commons, the brand new Georgian-Style SSU dining facility.  The selection of delicious foods is tremendous, resembling an upscale food court designed with kiosks offering a wide variety of menus including grilled foods (hamburgers, etc), roasted foods (chicken etc), pizza, pasta, Mexican foods, Chinese foods, salad bar, fruit bar, delicatessen, ice cream machines, desserts, and more!  Certainly, the Commons and the all you can eat meals will be a memorable delight; no one will go away hungry!
    EAS 2000 actually has arranged for a meal plan with tickets that will be less expensive than buying all meals individually.  The meals will be at cost!  So buy the meal ticket and save!
    Can you purchase individual meals in the cafeteria if you did not purchase the meal plan?  Yes, you can buy meals without buying the entire package, but let us know to help the cafeteria plan their daily menus.  Individual meals will be higher off the meal plan.  Our meal plan prices are:
        Breakfast      $4.75
        Lunch           $6.25
        Dinner          $9.30
    If you plan on attending the Crab Feast, don't forget that if you buy the meal plan, you only add a $12 surcharge to enjoy the Crab Feast.  If you did not buy the meal plan, then you need to pay the full $22 dinner price.

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On-Campus Lodging
    Lodging is available at very reasonable rates in the fully air conditioned and centrally located dormitory facilities (Choptank and Chester Halls) on the SSU campus. Single rooms are available for $28 per night and double rooms are available for $23 per person per night.  The dormitories are elevator equipped high rise buildings (6 stories tall) arranged in suites with restrooms shared between rooms within the suite.  All towels and bed linens are included in the room rates. Each dormitory has a limited number of handicap access rooms which are available upon request.
 
 

The dormatory floorplan has four, five-room (marked 1-5) clusters.  Each cluster shares one bathroom (marked "B").  The bathrooms will be designated with signs as women's bathrooms on one side of the hallway, men's on the other side.  This arrangement has worked well for three previous beekeeping conferences (EAS 1990, MSBA 1994 & 1996) at Salisbury State University .  Each floor also has a lounge area (marked "L") for socializing, two elevators (marked E), and two stairways at either end of the hallway.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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Campus Map Detail:

EAS Off campus lodging:
     A special discounted EAS rate has been negotiated with the Ramada Inn and Conference Center (410-546-4400, email ramadasalis@aol.com) just north of the SSU campus on Route 13.  The special rate for the Ramada Inn is $65/night for a single and $75/night for double.  EAS has signed a contract for 40 rooms which will be held until July 1st.
    Be advised that hotel reservations should be made no later than early spring since Salisbury hotel rooms fill quickly with beachgoers as summer approaches.
    Additional motels in the area are listed below.
 

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Wednesday
    After the beekeepers social, Dr. Norm Gary will provide an entertaining look at his bee wrangling work with such Hollywood films as the “X-Files”, “Fried Green Tomatoes”, “My Girl, Man of the House”, “Leonard Part VI”, “Candyman”, “Beverly Hillbillies”, “The War”, “Walk in the Clouds”, “The Truth About Cats and Dogs”, “Invasion of the Bee Girls” (an old "cult classic", still popular), “Savage Bees” (made for TV in 1976...one of his best), “Terror Out of the Sky” (made for TV in 1978...still active in the market),”Deadly Invasion: The Killer Bee Nightmare” (aired 3/7/95, Movie of the week, Fox), and MORE!

Thursday
    After the Crab Feast and Barbecue, there will be a Live Auction of donated beekeeping-related items and memorabilia!  This has been a popular and enjoyable event at past conferences.  We are looking for items to auction.  If you have an item that you would like to donate to EAS (fully tax deductible!) for the live auction or a raffle, please contact Carol Johnson by email at Snowdens@mip.net or call (301)-432-6413. Please include a description and approximate value of donated item and we will be certain that you get recognized for your generous donation.

Friday
    At the Friday evening Awards Banquet, Dr. Marion Ellis will provide an entertaining slide show of a beekeeper’s lifelong collection of  honey bee philatelic material including bee stamps, postage, and stationery, including (I’m told) letters from Langstroth himself!

    Your tour bus to this charming town will leave Salisbury State at 9:30 AM. The tour’s first stop will be at Higgin’s Crab House (which is owned by a beekeeper!) for lunch. Many  activities are available following lunch.  History buffs will want to see this breadbasket area of the American Revolution. St. Mary’s Square Museum features a restored colonial home, and the Cannonball House is a testament to the fact that the town fooled the British during the War of 1812.  A small park on Talbot Street is dedicated to Frederick Douglas; and the Chesapeake Bay Museum presents aspects of maritime history and the culture of the Chesapeake Bay region.

    The Chesapeake Bay Museum includes the Hooper Straits lighthouse, which demonstrates the life of a lighthouse keeper 100 years ago and offers a wonderful view of St. Michael’s harbor, home to both working and pleasure boats.  A 90 minute ride on the S.S. Patriot which cruises the Miles River provides a relaxing display of the beauty of the area and insight into the local history.

    Browsers will want to wander through the wide variety of local shops, galleries and boutiques offering both the expected and unexpected for sale. The small town warmth and wonderful buildings alone make for a pleasant and relaxing visit. Your bus returns to Salisbury State University at 5:00 PM.

    The tour will begin by visiting the Ward Museum of Wildfowl Art.  This is a world renowned masterpiece filled with breathtaking wood carvings of wildfowl, which heads the list of museums in the area showcasing life on the Eastern Shore of Maryland.

    The second stop on the tour will be the Salisbury Pewter Company. Salisbury Pewter is the #1 pewter hollowware manufacturer in the United States.  You will be given a tour of this nationally known company, watch craftsmen at work and browse and shop in the factory showroom.  Salisbury Pewter items make  great gifts!  For more information visit their website www.salisburypewter.com.

    The third stop on the tour is historic and beautiful Poplar Hill Mansion, an example of Southern Maryland's architectural style, where we will receive a guided tour of the mansion. Please join us for the tour of these outstanding Maryland sites which you’re sure to enjoy.
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Master Beekeeper Exam:
Thursday, August 3, 8:00 AM - 12:00 Noon
    The EAS Master Beekeeper Certification Exam will be given as usual this year.  There will be a pre-exam review on Wednesday evening, August 2 and the three part exam will be given on Thursday morning.  On Friday August 4th, graded exams will be returned at a review session.  A general meeting of all certified Master Beekeepers will be held during the conference at a time and date to be announced.  Deadline for applications is the same as the EAS conference registration deadline. For more information about, or to register for the exam, contact:
    Loretta Surprenant, EAS Secretary
    Box 300
    Essex, NY 12936
            telephone (518) 963-7593
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