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Valley Grange Honors Two

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May 202013

Valley Grange celebrated community with a potluck supper and program on Friday night that seemed to be all about time. The program included some thoughts on the value of five minutes of community service every day. Noting that if every citizen in Piscataquis County between the ages of 20 and 80 gave 5 minutes per day to his or her community, Lecturer Walter Boomsma pointed out ”this would equate to 188 people working full time in our communities–an average of ten per town. Using the median income from 2011, the value of those five minutes would be the equivalent of an annual payroll of over six and a half million dollars per year.” Boomsma also noted “but there’s more than just dollar value, explaining how his association with Valley Grange has allowed him to discover his passion for working with kids–a passion that sees him now substitute teaching at the elementary school level and having his book Small People –Big Brains published recently. “Were it not for my association with Valley Grange, I might not be where I am today,” he admitted.

Mark Putnam, editor of the Observer, “a successful and effective community newspaper is a direct reflection of its community.”

The Grange recognized two news organizations for their community service: local newspaper The Piscataquis Observer, and Bangor-based WABI - TV 5. Both organizations were praised for their “boots on the ground” involvement in local communities and their willingness to work with local organizations such as the Grange. Dover Foxcroft Historical Society President Mary Annis offered testimony and an additional award in acknowledgement of both organizations’ contributions. Representatives from UMaine Extension, Kiwanis, Center Theatre, and other Granges in the area added accolades for both organizations’ local emphasis and their responsiveness to individuals and organizations. Piscataquis Community Elementary School Principal Julie Orton noted that the school genuinely appreciates the recognition students receive for their accomplishments and the kids value that recognition and find it rewarding and motivating.

In his response thanking Valley Grange for the honor, Observer Editor Mark Putnam spoke about how the digital age is changing media, but also noted that “our paper truly belongs to the community” adding “there’s no way we’d be celebrating our 175th Anniversary if that were not true… Much like the Grange, our newspaper wants to be relevant and essential in what will be known as the Digital Age.”

WABI News Anchor Terry Stackhouse noted that there was a certain irony to the fact that he is a “six month employee accepting the award on behalf of a sixty year station.” In reporting the story later, he noted that “everyone was very kind and even sent me home with leftover food.” (You can see his report on the WABI Website. )

As part of the celebration of community, Valley Grange also honored members Herb Dunham for 55 years of Grange Membership and Carolyn Campbell for 65 years of membership.

Observer Staff Mark Putnam, Stu Hedstrom, Jeanette Hughes, Linda Kain, and Keri Foster

Valley Grange is currently conducting a membership drive with the theme, If you’ve got some passion, we’ve got a place…. Membership Chair Janice Boomsma notes “We’re trying to give opportunities for people who want to build community and experience the rewards that come with doing so. We’ll take those five minutes if that’s all someone can spare, but we also have the structure and facilities to assist anyone who want to somehow improve our communities in some way.”

Webmaster’s Report — May 2013

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May 122013

www: Webmaster Walter Writes

I have several pieces of big news this month… that might at first seem a bit self-serving. The first is that my book–Small People – Big Brains– is published and has been released! (There’s more information on my “brain leaks” blog and it’s available from Amazon and Barnes & Noble.) My other big news is that I learned some powerful lessons during the course of the publishing experience.

Getting the book to market included a very stark reminder I faced of how easy it is to focus on all the wrong things. I’m a fairly detail-oriented person and have learned that “the devil is in the details” in more ways than one. The common interpretation of the quote is that it’s often easy to come up with an idea, but getting the idea implemented requires details–what seems easy at first glance, becomes difficult in the doing. My experience was ultimately something of the opposite. I found myself often getting bogged down in the details–sometimes to the point of procrastinating over some minor point, making things harder than necessary, dreading the details and the decisions.

One memorable example was getting drawn into a friendly debate with several author colleagues over the “best” font to use in the book. Fortunately, I didn’t invest a lot of time in that particular topic, but I could have. I ended up observing to my colleagues that “a published book with a less than perfect font choice (which is ultimately a matter of opinion anyway) will probably outsell an unpublished book with a perfect font choice.”

Fortunately I remembered that my goal was to get my book finished, published and on the market. My goal was not to become a typesetting or publishing expert. Once I focused on the goal, the details became fairly easy.

I’ve occasionally joked that one thing technology accomplishes is allowing us to do the wrong things faster. If anything, technology can encourage a loss of focus simply because there are seemingly endless opportunities to explore, learn, discuss, and create. Pick just about any idea you have and enter a few words in Google or the search engine of your choice. I guarantee you won’t find it difficult to spend hours doing just that. In the meantime, you’ll forget what you set out to do in the first place. And, if you’re not careful, you’ll end up getting discouraged and distracted. The devil is in the details.

And it’s not just about technology. How many times have you (or your Grange) thought of something–an idea for a program, an improvement to your hall, a way to gain members or recognition by the community–only to find yourself thinking, “Wait, what about…” One of my favorite sayings is, “Jet pilots don’t use rear view mirrors.” When you’re travelling that fast, you probably don’t want to spend much time looking at what’s going on behind you. Keep your eye on the prize and your hand on the controls!

Our website is about communication, news and events. If you find yourself delaying sending information because it’s not complete or perfect, consider that you may be yielding to the devil of the details. While it’s important to be accurate and as complete as possible, some communication is better than none.

Last month this site had nearly 1900 views–representing people looking for information–and that doesn’t include those who are getting the information by subscribing to the site. In looking at recent activity, nearly half the searches centered on events. Have you submitted yours?

Let’s get this plane–and the Grange–moving!

Facebook Pages…

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Apr 282013

WWW – Webmaster Walter Writes

I will willingly acknowledge that I am not a huge fan of Facebook… that said, I’m also willing to acknowledge that a number of Granges have created pages and a number of members are “on” Facebook. One of my major issues with Facebook is the lack of privacy that results… I recently discovered, for example, that at least two of my “friends” are involved with an online dating service. (I thought one of them was married!)

Anyway, before we talk about Facebook Pages you may be creating for your Grange, let me just remind you that your behavior on Facebook may well reflect on your Grange. You are a Grange Ambassador! Please think before you post!

In February 2011 National Grange recognized the growth of social media and the National Grange Executive Committee adopted a website and social media “code of conduct.” The code is part of the Maine State Grange Web Policy, but let me share a few points from it with a few editorial comments.

All websites, Facebook groups or pages, and all other internet based social media platforms representing the Grange must be under the jurisdiction of a Subordinate/Community, Pomona, or State Grange.

In short, an individual should not just decide to start a Facebook page on behalf of his or her Grange. There are many good reasons for this, but let’s focus on the fact that the page is representing the Grange–not an individual. As such, members should be engaged and involved in order to assure the page is monitored and posts and comments are appropriate. This also helps if the original member loses interest because there will be others ensuring the page/group is kept up-to-date.

No partisan or sectarian comments, opinions, statements, or endorsements may be posted on the website or page.

For reasons sociologists are still exploring, many people feel very free to make bold, sometimes outlandish statements on social media. If your Grange has a Facebook page or group, members should be monitoring themselves and the page to make certain inappropriate comments are not being posted. If the page is identified as a “Grange page,” one person’s opinion should not be represented as Grange thinking.

Note that these guidelines apply to websites as well. Regardless of the venue, we need to keep our Grange Face smiling and positive. That’s not to say there is no room for “healthy debate”–in fact (lecturers note!) I’ve had one or two folks suggest we might consider more debates as part of our programming.

One additional thought: The National Grange Style Book includes the statement, “For external purposes, you may refer to the Subordinate Grange as a Community Grange or pluralized as local Granges.” We truly do have our own language in the Grange… but we might well consider the impact our language has on others. Step outside tradition and habit and ask yourself if most people would be more inclined to be involved in a “Subordinate Grange” or a “Community Grange.”

I thought so! Want to take it one step further? I actually had someone (not a Granger) recently explain that she thought “Grange Meeting” meant members only, but that a “Grange Program” was for everyone. So just maybe instead of Subordinate Grange Meetings we ought to be promoting Community Grange Programs!

National Grange Website Temporarily Unavailable

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Apr 172013

WWW–Webmaster Walter Writes!

Update, April 23–All’s well! The National Grange Website is back to full operation.

National Grange has advised that the National Website is currently “down” due to some repeated hacking… Fixing it and getting it back online is a top priority!

You may have seen a recent story in the news about hackers going after a number of WordPress sites with some degree of success and this appears to be related.

Those subordinate/community Granges that have claimed the site offered by National should be aware that this affects your site as well.

Let’s hope the problems are resolved quickly! Thanks for your patience… I know how frustrating it is when a web site doesn’t work! Thankfully, the Maine State Grange site remains unaffected.

Update on Thursday (April 18)… National Site is still not working–some information is being posted on the National Grange Facebook Page. Since not all members use Facebook or spend much time there, here is one note that appeared shortly after the site went down…

…if you need anything from the website, feel free to contact National Grange Program Assistant Austin Miller (amillernationalgrangeorg) or National Grange Communications Director Amanda Brozana (abrozananationalgrangeorg) with your requests, and we will be sure to accommodate you.

Webmaster’s Report – April 2013

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Apr 152013

Webmaster Walter Writes… WWW!

You’d probably prefer that I don’t remind you that today is tax day, so instead we’ll get right to the business of talking about your Maine State Grange website! Before I start nagging, let me share some numbers with you.

If we consider this site something of a virtual Grange Hall, we can note that so far this year we’ve been averaging 60 visits per day! Imagine leaving your Grange Hall unlocked and seeing 60 people drop in during the course of a day. How cool would that be!? Yes, some are members–but not all. There’s really no way of knowing how that breaks down, but based on some of the submitted questions I get (and the search terms that bring people to the site) I can assure you there are a number of people visiting the site for information about the Grange that ranges from historical questions to how to rent (and in one case buy) a Grange Hall to what scholarships are available…

One of the exciting things happening recently is that several Granges have claimed their free website from National… and I congratulate those Granges and the folks in them who’ve “taken the plunge” and are willing to learn a little bit about how to maintain a site. The sites offered by National are very user-friendly–most of the work has already been done, so the challenge is reasonable and the benefits are many. Websites are about communication and anything you can do to improve communication among your members and communities is a big step forward. If you’re interested in getting started, you can contact National Grange or shoot me an email (webmastermainestategrange dot org) and I’ll help you get started.

Of course I’m being a little selfish, because once you have a site, you’ll understand some of the frustrations I face. One is that it’s hard to communicate without information! But you’ll also understand the rewards and I can assure you it’s rewarding when people use the site to learn things and share good news.

If you’ve been following this site, you know we recently underwent a major change in the way events are handled. The “bad” news is event postings are no longer automatically emailed to subscribers. The good news is events are much easier to find and can include a lot more detail… in fact, that visitor who wants to come to the public supper you are having can now have a map to your Grange. Oh, wait–that only works if you’ve submitted the address of your Grange with your event information. And if you have, that only works if you’ve used the 911 address. For example, Valley Grange is located at the corner of Butter Street and Guilford Center Road. But if you are using a GPS or the mapping program on the site to find it, you really want to know that Valley Grange is at 172 Guilford Center Road in Guilford Maine 04443. So if I were submitting an event I’d include that address in every submission, because I know the webmaster can’t possibly remember the address of every Grange in Maine.

The devil is in the details. I’m working on a new submission page that will encourage you to remember to include them. It should be ready in a week or two, but many of you prefer just sending an email and that’s fine. Just make an effort to include all the information. Rudyard Kipling will help you:

I keep six honest serving-men
(They taught me all I knew);
Their names are What and Why and When
And How and Where and Who.

If your Grange has it’s own website, include that address (URL) in the details you submit so those who are interested can find additional information. One other request: if you are emailing information or an article, please turn on your spell-check. Even that doesn’t guarantee everything will be ~~write~~ right. But it will help.

Think spring! It’s a time for growing… let’s not limit that growth to plants! We can grow communication, websites, and our Granges!

Website Updates

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Apr 022013

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Walter writes…

At first it seemed like a cruel April Fool’s Day joke when I found myself unable to maintain the site yesterday. But it turned out to be one of the weirdest situations I’ve yet to experience in my days as a webmaster. I won’t bore you with the details, but the harder we (Hostgator Technical Support and I) worked on it, the worse it became. By the time we “gave up” last night, it appeared the site had all but disappeared from public view. An added oddity was this site was the only one affected. After over two hours online with Kasie (whose patience and persistence must set records) we agreed to turn things over to Hostgator’s special security team. And this morning here we are again! Thanks, Hostgator and apologies to any who were inconvenienced.

You’ll perhaps recall a while back I mentioned an upgrade to our event calendar… I believe that is finished and in place with all events migrated. Unfortunately, one unanticipated impact is that posted events will no longer readily be sent to subscribers, at least for the present. For the time being, I’ll double post any major (meaning state-wide) events, but for subordinate and Pomona meeting information it will be necessary to visit the site.

The tradeoff is that events are now much easier to find and potentially include more detail such as the address of the Grange Hall and name and contact information of the organizer. However, this information only gets included when you submit it! I’m also looking into developing a submission form that will encourage submitters to fill in all the details. Alternatively, you could claim your National Grange website and include that link in your submission! I’ll have some interesting stories for you in my April webmaster’s report that will show some of the ways this and local sites are working.

More Granges Claim Free Websites

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Mar 302013

The websites available through National Grange are free for the taking. If you’re interested, let me know (webmastermainestategrange dot org) and I’ll help get you started.

Congratulations to Riverside Grange #475 of Lebanon! Thanks to Worthy Secretary Christine Corliss they now have their own website. Check it out you’ll love the agricultural theme…!

Also to East Sangerville Grange #177… Erin Callaway has been hard at work and it shows! Check out their special Grange Month Program– Cultivating Community–an agricultural resource exchange.

I’m sure Christine and Erin would admit that it takes a little time to get started, but once you get the hang of WordPress, it’s not so bad–and it’s a great way to share information about your Grange and activities. If your Grange claims your free website, let me know and you’ll get a link to it from the Maine State Grange site!

Granges that have Facebook pages–remember that your information is only available to other Facebook users. With these websites, everyone has access to your information!

Go, Grangers, go!

Wilson Grange Claims Website!

Web Site Information 2 Responses »

Mar 192013

Submitted by Webmaster Walter Boomsma

Here’s a thumbs up to Ed Leahy and Wilson Grange in East Wilton for successfully laying claim to their free website provided by National Grange! We especially like Ed’s note regarding their community garden project which is “giving peas a chance.” He’s also predicting that his page about the master will “disappear” once Master Jim Neuschwanger sees it and figures out how to delete it! A visit to the site will perhaps be a reminder that as an organization, we’d benefit from an increased sense of humor!

Ed says he’s finding working on the page relatively “easy” once he got started. You can check it out (hurry, before the funny stuff disappears) at http://www.grange.org/wilsonme321/.

If you’re interested in claiming your site (every Grange has one!), shoot me an email (webmastermainestategrange dot org) and I’ll give you a link to a short video that will show you how!

Website Announcment — Events

Events, Web Site Information No Responses »

Mar 152013

Words from Walter…

Change is a’comin’! I’ve been delaying a major upgrade to the site in the events section… and today one accidental mouse click means it’s happened–before I was ready. So I need to ask for your patience–and help! The transition will be a bit challenging because fundamentally events will be handled very differently now. The good news is we’ll be able to post a lot more information (if we have it!) and events will be much easier to search on the site. I haven’t figured out what all the “bad” news is yet… But for now, a lot of upcoming events are missing from the calendar, simply because I have to “migrate” them one at a time. I did a few this morning mostly to test the system, but there are many that will appear to be missing until I can move them. So I’ll ask for your patience! If your Grange has an event coming up soon, you might want to resubmit it–that will bring it to my attention as a priority. Otherwise, I am working backwards starting with the most recent events I’ve received. I will not be migrating events that are passed–they will ultimately be deleted. Thanks for your understanding! I’ll share more about the upgrade as we go…

Call for Information!

Web Site Information No Responses »

Mar 152013

Most have probably heard that every community (subordinate) Grange has a free website already set up and ready to go through National Grange. You can check yours by visiting the National Grange Website and using the “find a Grange” section right on the home page.

Unfortunately, if you use the address given for a number of Maine Granges, you’ll end up at the home of a member or officer! You might want to check the location of your Grange and, if it’s incorrect, send an email to swilkinsnationalgrange dot org (swilkinsnationalgrange dot org) with the correct street address. While you’re at it, this might be a good time to check the roster information. With the increasing use of GPS technology it becomes important to give a street address for your Grange. “Behind the post office on Main Street” isn’t going to work in a GPS!

Your site is very user-friendly and actually uses the same WordPress software used for this site. If you think you’re not quite ready to start using it, watch this video prepared by National Grange. You’ll at least learn the basics and be able to get fundamental information on your site. (You cannot make the address change yourself; this requires a change in the National Grange Database.)

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