Imagine a blade of grass. It grows and looks pretty. It can’t move, but it does bend to the prevailing wind. Its function is to be cut down, chewed up, or pulled out. Each blade looks just like the other and can be easily replaced.

Now imagine a bee. It flies freely pollinating across many miles. On its own it creates buzz. When working together as a hive, it can deliver sweet results. Nurture it with a varied diet and you will improve the quality and abundance of its reward. But neglect it, and you will get no honey. Worse still, if you agitate it, you will get stung.

As a beekeeper your role is to harvest high quality honey without destroying your precious bees. You understand that your job is not without risks and you appreciate that you must be cautious to avoid a sting. But you are prepared to handle a few pricks if it means you can keep the rest of the hive focused on its primary task creating superior honey!

You also understand that not all bees are the same. Your ‘worker bees’ are your champions, returning again and again to share most of the load. Your ‘queen bees’ are few, but their power to spread the seed of your ideas is immense. While they are essential to keep the hive buzzing, sometimes they need to be replaced. So, you must always keep your eyes open to prepare the next queen in line.

Your ‘drones’ are lazy one-hit-wonders that contribute little to hive life. But, when the time is right, they can create quite the spectacle before falling back down to earth and their ultimate demise.

A successful hive is scalable, allowing the swarm to grow and adjust during different climates. To keep honey production high, the bees must be provided abundant and varied sources of pollen. To ensure longevity, the honeycomb cannot be over-harvested or the bees may tire, leading to the eventual collapse of the hive.

Predators are also a risk, especially parasites who try to latch on to your bees and feed off their efforts. Therefore, a beekeeper is ever watchful, looking for any small sign that trouble may be brewing. By tackling challenges early, the beekeeper can fend off the pests before major damage is done.

So, what are you, a ‘groundskeeper’ or a ‘beekeeper’?

The formula for a fantastic conference?  After last week’s Public Affairs Council Grassroots Conference, I can safely say it’s a mix of substance and city.  Specifically, two parts Grassroots Advocacy, one part Key West. Attendees from corporations, associations, and nonprofits (and of course, the vendors and consultants like Beekeeper Group that support them!) gathered in Key West, Florida, for four days of education, training, networking, and fun.  Here are our top ten highlights –

1. Beekeeper Group hosts an Australia Day themed BBQ at our rental house on Duval Street.  Attendees enjoy shrimps on the barbie, lobster tail, people watching on Duval Street, and of course, the State of the Union on TV (we can only disconnect so much!).
2. Congressional Management Foundation President Brad Fitch presents the latest Communicating with Congress report findings — including that Congressional staff find consituents more influential than lobbyists!
3. Betsy Ricketts of Chevron and Rikki Amos of Public Affairs Council lead a first-of-its-kind discussion on the challenges and opportunities of embracing transparency in grassroots.
4. Corey Henry of the American Frozen Foods Institute and Douglas Pinkham of Public Affairs Council share stories and strategies on how to best manage grassroots communications in a crisis.
5. Andy Elting of American Beverage Association and Lisa Thorne of Verizon Communications share case studies of how their organization’s successfully used social media (especially Facebook!) on critical issue campaigns.
6. Beekeeper Group’s strategy of using video and animation to explain complex policy inspires many, as numerous conference attendees view the video we produced on the national debt (and our video of the Bee heading to Key West).
7. Conference attendees get their photo opp with the Bee at an evening networking reception!
8. American Heart Association, Portland General Electric, and American Express are selected as the 2010 Grassroots Innovation Award winners!
9. Conference attendees find themselves congregating yet again at Key West institution, Sloppy Joe’s.
10. Former Congressman Bill Paxon shares his perspectives on the impact of the latest Congress on business, finding the three biggest game-changers are the Tea Party, the GOP Freshman Class attack on spending, and the fiscal crisis in the states.

What did we miss??  Leave your 2011 PAC Grassroots Conference highlights in the comment section below!