A Creston beekeeper is creating a buzz in the food and beverage industry, earning a 2024 BC Food & Beverage Rise Award nomination for his leadership and passion for his craft.
Jeff Lee, Master Beekeeper and Co-Owner of Honey Bee Zen Apiaries Ltd. and Swan Valley Honey Ltd., has been announced as a Leadership Award finalist, which celebrates a seasoned leader in the food and beverage sector who inspires, mentors, and promotes diversity while embodying integrity and respect.
Lee was nominated as an award-winning honey producer, passionate advocate for BC’s honey industry and food producers, devoted activist to resettle Ukrainian beekeepers in BC, and influential former political reporter for The Vancouver Sun.
“I’ve never thought of myself as a leader. I’ve always thought of myself as someone who motivates, mentors, inspires, or chips in where you need help, and so I suppose that, by definition, is leadership,” said Lee.
Lee and his wife Amanda co-own Honey Bee Zen Apiaries Ltd. and Swan Valley Honey Ltd., the largest producers of local, raw honey in southeastern British Columbia.
They manage the entire spectrum of bringing honey from hive to home, from beekeeping to operating their CFIA-licensed food processing facility in Creston, to marketing and distribution.
About two years ago, Lee took on the mission of resettling Ukrainian beekeepers in BC, both for humanitarian reasons and to support the local labour force.
This work is the reason he was nominated for the award.
“We wanted to try and encourage a Ukrainian beekeeping family to come here because, for us, it was important to help people. We also wanted to change a dynamic that I think is not very healthy in the agriculture industry, which is that we depend upon temporary foreign labour,” he said.
“If someone is capable and good enough to come here to work for us, they should also have the right to live here permanently and be paid good wages.”
Lee and his wife have helped five Ukrainian families move into the Creston Valley since 2022. He said their skill sets have brought significant value to his business, including stability and innovation.
“For us, our products have improved, the cost of production has gone down, and everything in farming is an issue of price, so hiring these people has really made a difference to our business. I also think that it has helped to build our community.
Creston is an absolute breadbasket in terms of all the things that we grow here. Our disadvantage is that we are far away from major markets. I don’t take this just as a win for our company—I take it as a recognition that Creston’s agricultural community has some great benefits.”
Lee is one of three Leadership Award finalists. He said while winning the award would be an honour, he asks that the public vote for the most deserving candidate, whether it’s him or not.
“I would encourage everyone to read the biographies of the three people nominated for the leadership award. If you think that I am worthy of your vote, then, OK, please vote for me. But if you think that one of the other candidates is more deserving, then I think you should vote for them.”
Online voting for the 2024 Food & Beverage Rise Awards opened on September 9th. The winner will be announced on November 28th at the Anvil Centre in New Westminster, BC.
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