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Editor’s note: Lannie Ballard of Natural Bridge is someone many of our readers have known for years as a noted beekeeper.
Now, he’s receiving care from ConnectionsPlus Healthcare + Hospice, formerly Rockbridge Area Hospice, as he battles cancer.
The organization provides more than traditional care for physical needs. A care team works with the patient and family to assure all needs are met. And Lannie and his wife Loretta were thrilled when his care team showed interest in one of his dreams and wrote the following story, which was originally posted on the group’s website.
As Loretta commented, “Not only do hospice workers come into a home and care for a person with serious medical needs, they also have great compassion for the person’s desires.”
Lannie Ballard hopes to see the day when the honey bee is designated as the official State Pollinator of Virginia. Lannie is an 84-year-old gentleman dealing with stage 4 liver cancer. While receiving care from ConnectionsPlus Healthcare + Hospice, he is still actively working to get enough support across the state to make this a reality.
It all started when he was a 16-year-old Boy Scout. “I asked my dad if he’d help me get my beekeeper badge,” Lannie explained. That process cemented a deep respect for honey bees and a dream of becoming a beekeeper.
Lannie became an Eagle Scout in 1956 but had to let go of his bee keeping dream for decades due to military service, career and family duties. When their kids were grown, he and his wife relocated to the countryside in Rockbridge County. His wife, Loretta, continued with a grin, “He told me he wanted to get some beehives, and I said fine, just don’t ask me to get involved with them.”
The honey bees came to Virginia with the earliest settlers and, since then, have been partners in the cultivation of crops. For centuries, Virginians have benefited from the culinary and medicinal purposes of their honey, and the many home and personal uses of their wax.
As Lannie explained, “The honey bee is the only pollinator that humans can work with.
“One-third of everything we put in our mouth relies on the honey bee,” Lannie said, and then with a twinkle in his eye jokingly added, “Food would be really boring without them.”
Lannie joined the Virginia State Beekeeper Association and served as the legislative liaison for nearly 20 years. The association awarded him the L.L. Langsforth Beekeeper of the Year Award in 2006. During this time his beekeeping grew to a high of managing 50 hives in three locations.
As Lannie’s body aged it became more of a challenge to lift a hive by himself, as they can weigh up to 70 pounds. He invented and owns a patent for a “one person hive lifting tool,” which allowed him to continue working with his beloved bees well into his 80s.
Through the association, nominations had been put forth to designate the honey bee as the state insect, but the Eastern Tiger Swallowtail butterfly won out. Now Lannie is hopeful the state will recognize the critical role the honey bee specifically plays as a pollinator in our natural environment and our food chain.
Lannie’s health took a dive about two years ago, forcing him to cut back on his beekeeping. He chokes up a bit as he talks about the process of letting his hives go, and his gratitude of finding a young beekeeper who is eager to care for them. He expressed deep appreciation for the care his hospice team provides his wife and him, and for the care and interest they’ve shown in helping the honey bee campaign.
Part of Lannie’s hospice journey includes continuing the effort toward state designation for the honeybee. If you would like to help Lannie’s wish come true, please consider signing the petition and passing this information on to your friends.
The petition is available at the ConnectionsPlus Healthcare + Hospice office at 315 Myers St., Lexington or online at https://docs.google.com/ forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeMubJAc_ nJA_0xn3abS8wEOq_eQx0HhdiuRrHPSUhYRW3zw/ viewform.
The Ballards also invite area residents to call or write their state representatives and ask them to support a bill that Del. Patrick Hope will be introducing to make the honey bee the official state pollinator during next year’s General Assembly session.
