Ohio County Virtual Lions Club To Host Honey Tasting Today
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WHEELING -- The Ohio Valley Virtual Lions Club has come up with a sweet way to help military veterans and the Soup Kitchen of Greater Wheeling, and give locals an idea about what the Lions Club contributes to the community.
The group is holding "Almost Honey Heaven," a honey-tasting event from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday at the Wheeling Artisan Center, 1400 Main St. in Wheeling. Admission is free for guests to sample different types of honey brought in by Sugar Bottom Farms of Ovapa, West Virginia, buy honey and honey-themed items and learn about beekeeping from experienced keepers.
A VIP tasting was held Friday evening for event sponsors -- The Health Plan, Perry & Associates CPAs, the Wheeling Lions Club and the Lions Foundation of Ohio County, WV -- as well as invited military veterans and their guests.
Matt Rafa of the Ohio Valley Virtual Lions Club said the group came up with the idea for a honey tasting after meeting Eric Grandon, Sugar Bottom Farms' owner and a 20-year military veteran that completed several tours in the Middle East. Grandon began beekeeping as a way to combat stressors connected to his military service.
"We just thought that was a really interesting story that needed to be told," Rafa said.
Grandon said that his doctor and psychiatrist both marveled at his transformation as he dove deeper into beekeeping. He said that beekeeping promotes mindfulness, which is a key component in combating post traumatic stress disorder.
"When you're with the bees, you're mindful," Grandon said. "That's where they want us to be.. So studying the hive and the frames of it, watching for the queen takes your mind off everything else.
"It started probably in 2014," he continued. "I had bees for about a year and a half before I even went in the box the first time. I was scared. I had no idea what I was doing. But once I got in there and just seen and watched and listened, I noticed that noise going away."
Rafa said the event also is designed to bring a spotlight onto food insecurity, an issue for military veterans and others. Proceeds from the events sponsorships and donations from today's guests will go to the Mountaineer Food Bank Veterans Table and the Soup Kitchen of Greater Wheeling, which provided food for Friday's VIP event.
Tables will be set up around today's tasting event showcasing the different causes the Lions Club focuses on, including sight/hearing, hunger, childhood cancer, diabetes and the environment. Fridays VIP event and today's public event also feature Capt. James L. McCormick II, National Commander of the Military Order of the Purple Heart. McCormick will discuss veterans issues.
Rafa said today's honey tasting will be an effective way to enlighten guests about the issues affecting military veterans, the difficulties they sometimes face and how things like beekeeping can help them work through and overcome those difficulties.
"I think it's a great story for all of us, regardless of what we're facing, that there are ways for us to handle and to manage those things," he said.