Ray is a fourth generation beekeeper and has been beekeeping since he was thirteen years old. He got started through working with his grandfather and due to his grandfather's beekeeping practices, the honeybees would always swarm in April of each year — which Ray highly enjoyed as the swarming of bees has always fascinated him. Ray has now been keeping honey bees for over fifty years and currently maintains his largest amount of beehives ever. Ray owns and manages a Russian bee apiary that focuses on breeding Russian honey bee stock. Russian honey bees are considered to some beekeepers to be more resistant to the many pests that cause problems for both honey bees and beekeepers alike. Ray gives various presentations each year that focus on educating people on beekeeping and raising Russian honey bees.