Category: Communication

By Walter Boomsma
207 343-1842
Communications Director

Doing is communicating…

As I worked on the program for Valley Grange’s Community Celebration, I was reminded of the old platitude that, “what you’re doing shouts so loud, I can’t hear what you’re saying.” Often attributed to kids when we think they’re not listening, it reminds us that perhaps they are listening to what we are doing and perhaps what we are doing (or not doing) is more telling than what we’re saying.

Like many Granges this time of year, we’ll honor a local “Citizen of the Year” for her “boots on the ground” efforts to build strength in our communities. As is often the case, I learned more about what she does after we’d selected her. I knew we’d made a good choice when people stopped me in the grocery store to ask about her honor and our Community Night Celebration.

Another aspect of that celebration is a short two-part presentation entitled “Just Five Minutes.” It looks at the value of volunteering with photo examples and some basic math showing the dollar value of those efforts. (Both will ultimately be available on the MSG website and YouTube Channel.)

As I worked on the photo examples portion, a light bulb went off. Historically, the photo examples have been from our Grange Programs like Words for Thirds, Blanketeering, and the Blistered Finger Knitters. These programs are well-known in our area because we say (publicize) them well. It is common for them to be covered by local television stations and newspapers. I like to think of it as a marriage between saying and doing. You might even hear me say, “It’s easier to make news than it is to write press releases.”

But there’s more, and I was inspired by the number of different things our Community Citizen is involved in and does. It started me thinking about individual Grangers and the possibility that we aren’t saying enough about their actions.

After a discussion with Valley Grange’s community service chair, we agreed that we aren’t “saying” enough about the individual members’ efforts that aren’t necessarily directly connected or part of a formal Grange program. Those efforts and that time count, and they do represent Grange values. Examples are endless—many times we don’t even know about them. One of our members has served as president of her community’s historical society for years. Another member supports her local volunteer fire department in several ways. I volunteer with 4-H and FFA and participate in a group cleaning headstones in our local cemetery. Valley Grange is anything but unique. I recently added an event to the MSG website calendar. Members of Ocean View Grange will be joining their local Legionnaires to help place flags on veterans’ graves. If you can stand another platitude, “You’re known by the company you keep.”

But someone who keeps an eye on a neighbor serves their community equally well. I live on a dead-end gravel road, and we joke that we have an informal road association that keeps us tuned into what is happening with each other. We never have meetings.

Community service is not just a program. And it goes beyond “doing” to a state of mind. We may not always make the connection consciously, but we often say a patron “has faith in God, nurtures hope, dispenses charity, and is noted for fidelity.” We’re about a lot more than ritual and meetings. The Grange is people. We shout it by the way we live. We come together to strengthen our efforts and find support for the things we do.

► FACT: Year to date, the Directory of Granges is the most viewed page on the website. People are looking for you!

By Walter Boomsma
207 343-1842
Communications Director

Whazup?

Ironically, our Grange fiscal year starts in the fall but for many Granges, their program year starts in the spring! If you attend this year’s Degree Day, you’ll also discover that conferring the First Degree takes place on a farm in the springtime. April is traditionally celebrated as Grange Month. So maybe it does all start here.

One way we find out is by answering the question “Whazup?” For those uninitiated in contemporary contractions and lingo, the question facing us is “What’s up in your Grange?” We could further complicate it by creating a series of questions:

• What has happened (projects, programs, celebrations) in your Grange recently?
• What is going to happen (projects, programs, celebrations) in your Grange in the future?

“Inquiring minds want to know…” is a phrase attributed to the tabloid newspaper “The National Enquirer” in the 1970s. In its original form, it was spelled enquiring, making it a catchy slogan that reflects the value of a curious mind that wants to know as much as possible.

Some of you will remember when the Maine State Grange published a bit of a print tabloid newspaper. Most Granges had a correspondent who submitted a version of whazup in their Grange. Sometimes the results were a bit “gossipy” but generally included short summaries of recent meetings and activities. It worked because it was informal and simple. It worked because it kept members around the state feeling connected.

As we spring into a new year, it’s tempting to suggest every Grange needs a correspondent—someone who is at least informally interested in proactively answering those whazup questions. The MSG Website is committed to serving, sharing, and connecting local Granges. That also means local Granges need to connect with us! Inquiring minds DO want to know (including mine!). We don’t need to formalize a program, we just need a few people who are willing to share whazup in our Granges.

There are many ways to do this. You can, for example, submit basic information about your events using the submit tab on the website. The advantage of this route is that the form will ensure you provide all the required information. (How many times have I seen events listed on social media with no location given?) Submitting to the site accomplishes a lot of things! If the event is in the future, it gets listed on the MSG Events Calendar. We’ll also create a post for you. Those posts stay on the site, get emailed to our website subscribers, and are easily shared on social media by anyone who subscribes to or visits the site. If you have a flyer for your event, attach it to an email and send it to webmaster@mainestategrange.org. We’ll take it from there!

If you volunteer to do this for your Grange, you might find the MSG Communications Handbook helpful! That handbook includes information that will help you communicate, publicize, and advertise your Grange. There are tips submitted by Granges and lists of major and weekly newspapers. Lots of helpful information!

We still have close to one hundred Granges in Maine. There should be (and probably are) more events than those listed on the calendar. That’s a great place to start—easy peasy! At least send the basics! We don’t list “regular” meetings—with the exception of Pomona Meetings—but if your regular meeting includes a special program, that qualifies! When in doubt, share it! The more advanced notice you give, the more we can help.

Inquiring minds do want to know. When we recently promoted Valley Grange’s Blanketeering event, we had people come from miles away and produce a record number of blankets. It works. Help us prove it by sharing whazup at your Grange.

The News Is Where You Find It. If you wonder how the Amish (who tend to shun technology and the Internet) stay connected around the country, check out this article.

► FACT: Did you know that the MSG Communications Handbook includes a list of daily and weekly newspapers in Maine with contact information?