The Beekeepers of the White Mountains of Arizona was originally formed as an impromptu group of like-minded individuals who wanted to help each other with raising bees in the area. Dennis Chandler, who organized and began leading the group, had taken up the hobby of beekeeping and learned more about his new hobby and shared his knowledge with others.
The Beekeepers of the White Mountains of Arizona has become a more formal organized group and has been working on being recognized as a non-profit organization. One of the missions of the Beekeepers is to educate the public about the importance of bees and beekeeping. The “Beekeepers” tries to maintain a short educational component at each monthly meeting to continue to help others.
Dennis had been providing an annual honey extraction event, which became a hit with the youth who had the opportunity to taste honey and honeycomb. An annual “Bee School” began in 2023 to continue to educate the public about the needs and importance of bees and beekeeping.