Communication – Page 11 – Maine State Grange

Fraud Watch- Stronger Protections for Older Adults

Reprinted with permission from AARP’s Fraud Watch Network.

In August, AARP testified before the U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging to spotlight a growing threat to Americans: fraud carried out by transnational organized crime groups. Operating openly abroad, these networks are draining billions of dollars from victims, local communities and economies every year. Older adults are navigating a minefield of increasingly sophisticated scams that threaten not only their lifetime savings but even their homes, independence, and health. Money that was saved for retirement is instead supporting illicit activity around the world.

AARP is urging lawmakers to step up and strengthen fraud prevention through legislation. With AARP’s support, several states have taken action, drafting or passing laws that target real estate and romance scams, cryptocurrency kiosk fraud, suspicious financial transactions and gift card theft.

But it’s not just about changing laws – it’s about changing the culture around fraud. AARP continues its work to change how we talk about and think about fraud victims; see aarp.org/saythis. Across the country, our state offices and volunteers are leading or joining local efforts to create task forces bringing together law enforcement, attorneys general, regulatory agencies, bank tellers and nonprofits to work together on addressing fraud. If you’re interested in joining over 1,000 AARP fraud fighter volunteers engaged in these and other activities to fight fraud, email us at fwn@aarp.org.

AARP Fraud Watch Network

Need a scam prevention speaker for your group? Click the link to fill out the AARP online form or email me@aarp.org.

Communication Shorts 10-29-2025

By Walter Boomsma,
MSG Communications Director
207 343-1842

Communication Shorts are brief (short) but important items posted for your information and use. Please send us your ideas and thoughts!

November Bulletin

Deadline for the November Bulletin is November 14th. Recent issues of the Bulletin can be found on the Program Books and Information Page in the communications section.

Belated Greetings from the National President

Through what might be seen as a comedy of errors, we missed posting a Maine-specific video of greetings to our State Session from National President Chris Hamp. We’ve now added it to the 151st Session page — you can watch it there or on YouTube by clicking this link.

Bangor Savings Bank PB&J Drive

If you or your Grange were proud participants in the Bangor Savings recent drive collecting PB&J for food banks, you should know! BSB announced that this year’s collection resulted in over 39,000 jars! They estimate that since the program began in 2012, they’ve collected and distributed more than 185,000 jars. That’s enough to make over 3 million PB&J Sandwiches!

Craft Shows

It’s that time of year! In case you missed it, we’ve created a Grange Craft Show Logo or Icon. It will be beneficial when we receive announcements of craft shows that do not include a photo or flyer and help create a sense of “branding” of Grange Craft shows. Feel free to use it! And remember to get your craft show listed on the website, where it will be seen across the state and beyond.

Website Subscribers Sought and Found!

We added 14 website subscribers during the State Session. “Inquiring minds want to know!” We’ve also been getting more since then. Here’s a form you can print (there are two per page) to post and hand out to your members and guests to help keep them in the know! 2025 FOMO Subscriber Form.

Don’t Shoot the Piano Player!

He’s playing as fast as he can! We’re still catching up with results and information from State Session.

Think About This! CHANGE

“Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow.”

Melody Beattie

An Idea for Your Grange

Before you get overwhelmed with the holidays, it’s a great time to review the status of your future projects, such as Words for Thirds and your Book Exchange Box.

Subscribe!

Remember, we don’t share your email address with anyone, and you get a weekly summary of what’s been posted. Subscribe here! Share that link with your members and Grange friends!

Online Directories Available 24-7

Thanks to those who help us keep these directories current by letting us know of changes! The officer portion of the ODD Directory should now be accurate. Deputies and Directors are being updated.

The Directory of Granges features all Granges in the state with a contact person. Please make sure your listing is correct! Visitors to the site frequently consult these directories.
The ODD Directory features all state officers, directors, and deputies, along with their contact information.

Grange Today! 10-24-2025

The Newsletter of the National Grange

Articles in this edition include:

National Grange President to Join National Panel on Rural Women’s Health
Prepare to celebrate National Rural Health Day
Save the Date: National Grange Honors Night
National Ag in the Classroom Grants and Scholarships Cycle Open
Grange Member Benefit: SingleCare / GoodRx
View from the Hill
Home Fire Prevention Tips
We need Red, White, and YOU!
Recipes from the Heartland
Grange Store: #GrangeStrong Socks & 60-year membership pin

Click the button below to read and/or subscribe to Grange Today!

Read THE Current Issue

Note that all recent issues are available on the National Grange Website. To save server space, we only post the table of contents on the MSG Website.

Fraud Watch- Social Media “Cloning” Scams

Reprinted with permission from AARP’s Fraud Watch Network.

Nearly all of us use social media to stay connected with friends and family. Unfortunately, scammers use social media to connect with us, too. Before accepting a friend request on your social media platforms, keep these tips in mind to protect yourself from scams.

Fraud criminals are adept at copying people’s social media profiles to impersonate them. Indeed, Facebook reportedly shut down more than one billion fake accounts in the third quarter of 2024 alone. Criminals use cloned accounts to reach out to the actual person’s friend list for nefarious reasons: to fake a problem they need help with, to access sensitive information, or send out malicious links to the real person’s friends. To make sure you are hearing from the person and not a clone of that person’s profile, double-check that you are not already friends with them. If not, reach out if you can to the person by phone, email, or text to confirm that the request is real.

Finally, adjust the privacy settings of your account to limit who can see your posts and your profile details. Information like your workplace, school, or hometown can all be used by scammers to build convincing cloned accounts and target your network.

AARP Fraud Watch Network

Need a scam prevention speaker for your group? Click the link to fill out the AARP online form or email me@aarp.org.

Shaking Hands with FFA

The Grange and FFA share many things in common and that means we have an opportunity to help each other. FFA member Delaney McKeen joined us to explore!

An interview with FFA member Delaney McKeen exploring some comparisons between it and the Grange. It’s not trite to say that “this is not your grandparents’ FFA.” You’ll be surprised at how and why the FFA continues to grow and develop–and in some ways, Granges and other organizations can both benefit and help.

Due to a bit of a snafu, this video truly features Delaney–my portions were not captured visually. I assure you I was there virtually! For more information, visit the FFA website or send us an email, and we’ll give you a hand.

Valley Grange Dictionary Day Schedule

Valley Grange #144 of Guilford recently announced the schedule for its 2025 Words for Thirds Dictionary Project. The local Grange’s program is in its 21st year and has provided over 4,000 dictionaries to third-grade students in four area school districts. The presentations include some Grange history and an introduction to some basic dictionary skills.

Valley Grange Program Director Walter Boomsma notes, “In this age of technology, it’s inspiring to see the kids’ enthusiasm when getting their very own paper dictionary.” He also noted that a recent newsletter from the Dictionary Project reported that Sweden has shifted its emphasis from electronics back to “real” books, after seeing its fourth-grade reading scores tank.

“We’ve always said that third grade marks a critical difference. In earlier grades, students are learning to read. In third grade, they start reading to learn.”

Grange teams will be visiting SeDoMoCha Elementary in Dover Foxcroft on November 3rd, Ridgeview Elementary on November 5th, Brownville Elementary on November 10th, Harmony Elementary on November 12th, and Piscataquis Community Elementary on November 13th.

Boomsma notes that he particularly enjoys introducing the students to the word “steward” because it emphasizes the importance of making good use of resources, as well as the title of an officer in every Grange. “We challenge them to make good use of their new dictionaries and love hearing their ideas for how they will do that.”

Valley Grange President Jim Annis says, “For many kids, getting their dictionary is a rite of passage.” He loves telling the story of meeting two third graders who explained to him that this is the year they get their dictionaries. Last year, a student at Ridgeview expressed surprise that he was receiving a gift, even though it wasn’t his birthday.

Happy Dictionary Day!

State Officer Elections

Delegates to the 151st Annual Maine State Grange Convention had a busy few days and a lot of work to do! We’ll be sharing a few highlights. For some, even more work starts now. We’ll be updating directories, but we can at least share this list of officers elected.

Master/President, Sherry Harriman
Overseer, Adrian Mike Griffin
Lecturer, Melissa Baldwin
Steward, Ben Edgerly
Assistant Steward, Rick Grotton
Last Assistant Steward, Roberta Meserve
Chaplain, Christine Hebert
Treasurer, Laurie McBurnie
Secretary, Sharon Morton
Gatekeeper, Peter Ivers
Ceres, Judy Meserve
Pomona, Tracey Small
Flora, Debra Ivers
Executive Committee, Dale Holst (3 year term)

Appointments will be updated and shared as they are made and confirmed.

151st State Convention Opens Today

This year’s convention opens at 11 am! Since most officers, directors, and deputies will be in attendance, communication may be challenging. In website terms, we’ll be checking email as time permits, and you can expect a reply within 24 hours. That’s always our goal, and we usually beat it!

Thanks for your patience and understanding! For information about the convention, check this page.

Fraud Watch- Aspenm Institute Fraud Task Force

Reprinted with permission from AARP’s Fraud Watch Network.

Fraud today is largely run by sophisticated, large-scale operations led by transnational crime groups, stealing an estimated $158 billion from Americans in a single year. This is not just a consumer education issue — it’s a national security threat that demands urgent attention.

That’s why AARP has joined the Aspen Institute Financial Security Program’s National Task Force on Fraud and Scam Prevention. Alongside more than 80 organizations — including financial institutions, technology companies, law enforcement, federal agencies and consumer advocates — we helped launch a proposal for the first ever national fraud strategy that lays out a blueprint for stronger, coordinated action to combat fraud.

This strategy marks a shift from fragmented efforts to a coordinated defense and is a critical step forward with clear pathways for government and industry to work together to establish a whole-of-society response to the fraud threat.

AARP is proud to be part of this effort, and we look forward to working with partners and policymakers to improve collaboration, modernize information sharing and reporting, and enhance law enforcement capabilities in the fight against fraud that harm millions of Americans.

AARP Fraud Watch Network

Need a scam prevention speaker for your group? Click the link to fill out the AARP online form or email me@aarp.org.

Grange Libraries Take Different Forms

By Walter Boomsma, MSG Communications Director

Did you know that for many years, Granges often maintained a library of books available to members? I suspect some still do! Well, here are some ideas that will drive traffic to your Grange Hall and, more importantly, make your Grange more relevant to your community.

Little Fee Libraries (LFL)

The first is inspired by Caroline Heck, Junior Granger from Mill Stream Grange #574. Caroline is working on her Girl Scout Silver Award to raise awareness of the importance of childhood literacy. Her project includes building and placing a Little Fee Library™ (LFL) at the Grange and informing the community of the importance of access to books in early childhood. Master Jill Sampson is her Project Advisor. She has already collected 203 books, a mix of board books, picture books, early chapter books, and middle-grade novels, all donated by the local community. She’s scouted a location at the hall for placement: out front at the edge of the flower bed where it meets the parking lot, so it will be safe from the plow but always accessible.

Book Exchange Boxes (BEB)

Ocean View Grange’s “Book Exchange Box” is ready for action.

Ocean View Grange in Port Clyde went from an idea to completion quickly. The idea came from someone who has a bit of a hobby of filling area libraries, and she suggested the Grange would make a great location! The idea truly took on a life of its own. Interestingly, much of the work that went into the project was completed by folks who are not Grange members. Yet. The entire project was accomplished from start to finish in a matter of weeks!

(Just to clarify, an outside library cannot be considered an LFL until registered and assigned someone–a steward–to monitor and maintain the box.)

Granges in Maine Book Exchange Program

Several other Granges have different programs and approaches, and the MSG Communications Department wants to help! We’re pleased to announce that we’ve created a BEB Resource Section on the website for Granges who are interested in or operating a Book Exchange Program.

The section includes more information on creating a Little Fee Library™ or Book Exchange Box, a comprehensive list of potential sources of free books, document templates… it will always be under construction, so please share your ideas and experiences. And let us know how we can help!

Category: Communication

Fraud Watch- Stronger Protections for Older Adults

AARP Fraud Watch Network

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