Friday, May 19, 2023
Community Potluck 5:30 pm, Program 7:00 pm
Valley Grange Community Celebration
Category: Communication
You’ll Miss Us!
a “webatorial” by MSG Communications Director
Walter Boomsma
Seth Godin recently wrote an interesting post suggesting that when people move away, cards and cake should read, “You’ll miss us” instead of “We’ll miss you.” He points out that the community remains.
One of the more powerful sentences in the short post was, “When a marketer serves a community, they create the conditions where they’d be missed–because the ideas or products or services they bring are important, not simply tolerated.“
With apologies to Seth, I changed a word or two. “When a Grange serves a community, they create the conditions where they’d be missed–because the ideas or services they bring are important, not simply tolerated.“
My revision raises a question for Granges. Would your communities miss you if you were gone? Would they even notice? Are you important or simply tolerated?
One of the challenges we face as an organization is relevance in communities that are loosely defined and increasingly diverse. If our vision is narrow and our goals are limited, we will be missed an ever-diminishing number of people. For example, not everyone likes potluck suppers.
Seth’s short message is that marketers should see that as a worthwhile goal, creating ideas, products, or services that the community would miss.
Maybe it’s time for Granges to figure out what they can create and offer that their communities would miss.
Communication Shorts 5-1-2023
By Walter Boomsma,
MSG Communications Director
207 343-1842
Communication Shorts are brief (short) but important items posted for your information and use. Send us your ideas and thoughts!
May Bulletin
The deadline for the May Bulletin is May 14, 2023. Remember, you can always find recent issues of the Bulletin on the Program Books and Information Page.
Submitting Events and News
We’ve recently been receiving requests to post information with a reference to Facebook. While we are anxious to support Granges, this is not practical–primarily because it requires additional steps and time to find, copy, and process information from Facebook. Please email your news and events or use the submission tab on the website. We will, of course, be happy to include a link to the Facebook post “for more information” as long as you provide that link with your submission.
Once your event or news is posted, it’s quite easy to post it to Facebook by using the share links at the bottom of the post! Or you can copy the link (right-click on the title or headline) and simply paste it into Facebook.
Also, when submitting events, please plan ahead! Posting events at the last minute is not good stewardship. For one thing, it can take 24-48 hours for it to be posted, then another 24 hours for the post to be sent to subscribers. You should plan to have your event submitted at least one week prior to it happening!
Grange Month Happiness
Don’t forget to tell us what happiness you experienced during Grange Month at your Grange. Use the Submissions Tab or send an email!
Ideas for Granges
The Freedom, NH, Public Library recently hosted a Fun Friday event that included After-School Activities (3:45-4:45 PM – Students are welcome to come directly after school for crafting with perler beads), Pizza Time (4:45-5:15 PM), and Family Movie Night (5:15-7:00 PM – showing Puss In Boots: The Last Wish).
Thought for You…
“The bad news is time flies. The good news is you’re the pilot.”
Michael Altshuler
Do You Love the Grange?
The world wants to hear about it! Fill out the simple I Love the Grange Form… it only takes a couple of minutes! Thanks to all who have shared so far!
Online Directories Available 24-7
- The ODD Directory features all state officers, directors, and deputies with contact information.
- The Directory of Granges features all Granges in the state with a contact person. Please make sure your listing is correct!
Do You Have FOMO?
“FOMO” is, of course, a Fear Of Missing Out. One strongly recommended treatment is to subscribe to the Maine State Grange Website. We’ll send you a daily summary whenever news and columns are posted, and we won’t share your email address with anyone!
Jonesboro Grange Crush Cancer 5K
Sunday, June 25, 2023
8:30 am Kids Run
9:00 am 5k Walk/Run
Why should you participate?
🦞 Proceeds donated to help area non-profits serve those who are battling cancer
🦞 Racecourse is on a quiet, scenic, ocean-view road far from traffic
🦞 A Professional Chip Timing service will be timing our race this year
🦞 Unique lobster 5k t-shirts for sale
🦞 Mostly flat out and back course
🦞 Water Station at the turnaround point
🦞 Handmade lobster-themed awards
🦞 Photo booth with lobster-themed props
🦞 Fun race atmosphere
🦞 An AMAZING finish line view
🦞 FREE cupcakes and post-race treats
🦞 Lucky number
🦞 And MORE – We will share soon!!
Sign up today! $30 Online registration closes June 18. $35 Day of registration.
Can’t join us in person? Register as a virtual participant! Join folks from Colorado, Florida, New York, Indiana, Ohio, and Maine. Walk or run when and where it is convenient for you!
Valley Grange to Clean Up!
We are looking for helping hands…
Friday, May 12, 2023
starting at 2:00 pm
for a wide variety of tasks and projects… all designed to prepare our hall for our big community celebration coming soon! Inside tasks will include sweeping, dusting, wiping, rearranging, and setting up chairs… outside tasks will include raking and pruning… maybe some painting if the weather’s right!
Bring your favorite tools and labor-saving devices. Come any time after 2:00 pm… or before if you can see what needs doing and don’t mind working alone! Better yet, bring a friend! Many hands make work light.
For more information call Walter at 207 343-1842 or Mary at 207 564-0820.
In Other News
We were busy at our April Meeting! Get your calendars out and mark these dates:
- May 12, 2023, is our Spring Cleaning Day!
- May 19, 2023, is our big Community Celebration – Potluck Supper starts at 5:30 pm, and the Program kicks off at 7:00 pm.
- May 20, 2023, Services for Roger Ricker at the Mainstream Cemetery at 1 pm, followed by a celebration of his life at the Harmony Community Center.
- June 1, 2023, Is the Piscataquis Pomona Meeting at Wayside Grange at 7 pm.
- June 9, 2023, is our Valley Grange Meeting—Potluck Supper starts at 6 pm, and the meeting and elections are at 7:00 pm. Note this is a date change from our usual third Friday!
- July 29, 2023, we will participate in the River Festival in Guilford.
- August 15, 2023, Valley Grange Fun and Fund Raiser Picnic at the Boomsma’s, 5 pm until the marshmallows are roasted! (This replaces the former Piscataquis Pomona Picnic.)
- August 24-27, 2023, Piscataquis Valley Fair
We need your input and suggestions! As part of our Community Celebration, we will recognize individuals and organizations supporting Valley Grange and their communities! We’ve started a pretty good list, but we welcome suggestions! We also need members and guests to “fill the chairs” during our Community Celebration on May 19, 2023. Please RSVP if you can help us by filling a role during this meeting—there are some easy ones! We also need your help with the potluck—please plan to make larger dishes than usual!
The CWA Committee raised some funds with a cake raffle and recommended donations to the House in the Woods and Home for Little Wanderers. “All in favor!”
We will kick off a “Meat or Heat” Raffle with the Guilford River Festival. Details to follow!
Communication Shorts 4-18-2023
By Walter Boomsma,
MSG Communications Director
207 343-1842
Communication Shorts are brief (short) but important items posted for your information and use. Send us your ideas and thoughts!
April Bulletin
The April Bulletin is now available for downloading and printing. Remember, you can always find recent issues of the Bulletin on the Program Books and Information Page.
Have You Started on Your May Baskets?
It’s often called a “forgotten tradition.” If you need reminding, check this out!
Grange Month Happiness
Don’t forget to tell us what happiness you experienced during Grange Month at your Grange. Use the Submissions Tab or send an email!
Ideas for Granges
Celebrate something crazy! There’s a fairly successful and long-standing “Black Fly Festival” that started as an effort to Save the Black Flies. Find a reason to have a party.
Thought for You…
“Good leaders make people feel that they’re at the very heart of things, not at the periphery. Everyone feels that he or she makes a difference to the success of the organization. When that happens, people feel centered and that gives their work meaning “
Warren Bennis
Do You Love the Grange?
The world wants to hear about it! Fill out the simple I Love the Grange Form… it only takes a couple of minutes! Thanks to all who have shared so far!
Online Directories Available 24-7
- The ODD Directory features all state officers, directors, and deputies with contact information.
- The Directory of Granges features all Granges in the state with a contact person. Please make sure your listing is correct!
Do You Have FOMO?
“FOMO” is, of course, a Fear Of Missing Out. One strongly recommended treatment is to subscribe to the Maine State Grange Website. We’ll send you a daily summary whenever news and columns are posted, and we won’t share your email address with anyone!
Patriot’s Day
Only a handful of states recognize an upcoming state holiday that many others around the country know little about. Patriot’s Day is on Monday, April 17, and is celebrated officially only in Maine, Massachusetts, Wisconsin, Connecticut, and North Dakota. The latter two recently adopted the holiday in 2018 and 2019, respectively.
With origins stemming from Fast Day, a holiday tied to a time when Maine was still a Massachusetts territory before achieving statehood in 1820, Patriot’s Day (spelled Patriots’ Day outside of Maine) was officially adopted long after statehood in 1907 and originally celebrated on April 19. It was moved to the third Monday of April in 1969.
The holiday commemorates the battles of colonists against British soldiers in Lexington, Concord and Menotomy in Massachusetts on April 19, 1775, which officially began hostilities in the American Revolutionary War. In fact, it was the day referenced in Ralph Waldo Emerson’s “Concord Hymn,” in which he describes the first shot fired at Concord’s North Bridge as the “shot heard round the world.” Today, the holiday is also marked by the Boston Marathon, which has been held on Patriot’s Day nearly every year since 1897. Click here for more historical information about what the day celebrates.
Reprinted with permission from an e-newsletter published by Senator Stacey Guerin, Maine District 4.
Communications Column – April 2023
Let’s Have a Grand Grange Gathering
By Walter Boomsma
207 343-1842
Communications Director
“Train With Hazardous Materials Derails in Rural Maine “ was a recent headline in a mainstream media outlet. Since a small forest fire developed, the Maine Forest Service was involved. A subsequent report by the Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation, and Forestry included this statement, “Additional rail cars transporting hazardous materials did not derail.”
There might be a lesson in communication here. Or at least in journalism. The media headline is not inaccurate and will pass the fact-checkers. Is it a “good” headline?
A headline is, according to Wikipedia, “the text indicating the content or nature of the article below it.” There’s actually a bit of science involved that includes grammatical rules. No, we’re not going down that path, interesting as it might be.
Headlines became commonly used in the late 19th Century as competition between newspapers increased. Thus, they became “attention-getting devices.” When people stood at the newsstand, they picked up the paper with the most interesting headline. As readers paged through the purchased copy, they often decided which articles to read based on the headline.
In the electronic world, we use the term “click-bait” to describe a headline that captures interest to the point we click a link, often to be disappointed. As a writer, I find it disappointing that we aren’t having more conversations about the ethics of headline writing. I’m willing to concede that there’s a difference between writing a headline for an advertisement versus a news story. An online ad recently offered “Save a Life—Free CPR training.” To their credit, in the fine print, they disclosed a fee for the certificate or completion. Much like the news example, the headline was not inaccurate. A number of folks took them to task for what they considered “misleading.” It might be a shame that we aren’t taking the media to task for some of the headlines they write. “The Training Is Free. The Certificate Is Not,” might have been more accurate, but a lot less attention-getting.
I’ve been tempted to create a lecturer’s program that would involve critiquing current headlines using some sort of accuracy scale. The program might be more about critical thinking than headlines.
When we send Grange news and program information to media outlets, we certainly don’t want to be misleading. But I think most would agree we can and should be more “attention-getting.” It may not be easy because you’re forced to really think about why someone should read your story or come to your event. A good day for a reporter includes a report where the headline just writes itself, but it rarely happens. One of my memorable ones happened when I was writing a press release announcing a local school concert. “Kids Raise Voices and Lift Spirits.”
One way to improve our headlining ability is to read other headlines critically. Be especially alert to headlines that might be adaptable to the news and events you are trying to promote. I love alliterations—they tend to “stick” in people’s minds. Let’s have a Grand Grange Gathering!
► FACT: Your MSG website was viewed over 1,500 times during March 2023–if you aren’t submitting your events and news, you are missing an opportunity!
Sagadahoc Fifth Degree
Wednesday, April 26, 2023
Special Guest for Sagadahoc Pomona Fifth Degree will be Gerry Simmons, Past Master of Minuteman Pomona and Past Steward of Massachusetts State Grange. Other special guests filling chairs include Rick Grotton, Sharon Morton, and Henry Morton.
Sagadahoc Pomona will hold its annual Fifth Degree at Enterprise Grange #48, 15 Alexander Reed Road, Richmond, on Wednesday, April 26, 2023. From Main Street in Richmond, take the street across from the library and fire department, and pass two houses and the ballfield.
A potluck supper at 6:00 with a meeting at 7:00.
Other Pomonas are welcome to take their candidates. Please be sure the candidates have their applications signed by their Subordinate Master or Secretary. Contact Ben Edgerly or Marilyn Stinson for more info.
Parkman Grange Seeks Scholars
The Parkman Grange is announcing plans to award 2023 Minnie Welts Bridge Memorial Scholarships to one or more deserving SAD 4 residents continuing their education beyond high school. The Grange last awarded $500 scholarships to Eben Cooley of Parkman and Mercy Harper of Sangerville in 2022.
This is a call for qualified applicants for the 2023 Minnie Welts Bridge Memorial Scholarships. Applicants must be SAD 4 residents, must have successfully completed at least one term of post-high school education, and must be enrolled for the upcoming term. Application packages may be picked up at any of the Parkman, Guilford, and Sangerville Town Offices, as well as the Guilford Library. Completed applications must be submitted by July 14, 2023, with no exceptions. Winners will be announced in August.
Minnie Bridge (1909-2011) was a lifelong resident of Parkman, a retired schoolteacher, and a life member of the Parkman Grange. In her memory, the Grange established the Minnie Welts Bridge Memorial Scholarship Fund, originally to benefit deserving Parkman students continuing their education beyond high school. Due to a lack of Parkman applicants in 2021, the Grange expanded eligibility to include all SAD 4 residents.
The Grange annually awards one or more Scholarships funded through donations and the proceeds from an annual supper in Minnie’s honor. To date, the Grange has awarded $13,000 in scholarships. For more information, contact Sue Manchester at 277-3942.