About Florida Tupelo Honey and Smiley Apiaries

Hello and welcome to my website!  I am Donald Smiley, owner of Smiley Apiaries.  On January 1, 1999, my wife Paula and I were married.  Between us we have four children-Lisa, Melissa, Keely, and Cody.  Before I began beekeeping, I was a commercial oysterman, harvesting oysters from the Apalachicola Bay, and a corrections officer.  Before that I worked several years as an air conditioning mechanic.  In 1988, I became interested in honey bees while talking to a friend who was a part-time beekeeper.  I began researching bees by reading books and talking to other beekeepers.  After all my research was done, I puchased eight colonies of bees from a man in Ponta Vedra Beach, Florida.  I soon realized, in spite of all my reseach, I lacked practical experience. This led me to Mr. Broward Mixon, a local beekeeper who needed someone to help with his operation.  A great friendship was born, and over the next two years I gained the experience needed to begin a commercial beekeeping business.  By 1996, my initial eight colonies had grown to several hundred.  I then decided to commit myself full-time to the business of keeping bees and Tupelo Honey production.

Today we specialize in Tupelo Honey production from the white tupelo trees that grow in the Apalachicola river basin in North West Florida.