Kentucky Department of Agriculture

FRANKFORT, Ky. — Agriculture Commissioner James Comer has appointed Sean Burgess of Grayson County to the position of Kentucky state apiarist, also known as the “state beekeeper.”

Burgess worked for the Walter T. Kelley Company of Clarkson before taking the state post. In addition to teaching classes at the beekeeping supply company, Burgess helped beekeepers diagnose and resolve beekeeping issues and wrote articles about the industry while keeping as many as 70 hives himself.

“Sean has worked closely with Kentucky beekeepers and is very active in this unique community,” Commissioner Comer said. “He has helped develop new beekeeping products and has the requisite experience to serve in this capacity.”

A native of Evanston, Ill., Burgess graduated from John Hersey High School in Arlington Heights, Ill., and attended William Rainey Harper College of Palatine, Ill. He and his wife, Jane, have two children and two grandchildren.

“I look forward to working to educate the public, foster new beekeepers, and help identify many of the problems that honey bees and the people who keep them are facing,” Burgess said. “I will work with the Kentucky State Beekeepers Association and other related groups to enhance Kentucky’s beekeeping industry.”