Category: Grange News

Notes from National – October 2024

Notes from National are gleaned from an email provided by Phil Vonada, National Grange Communications Director.
  • There is still time to register for the 158th National Grange Convention in Bettendorf, Iowa, November 12-16, 2024. Information and registration links can be found at http://www.nationalgrange.org/158thconvention.
  • Subscribe to the National Grange’s Good Day! magazine. Only $16 a year gives you access to our print or digital subscription. Learn more about the magazine at http://www.nationalgrange.org/goodday or the digital issue at http://www.issuu.com/grangegoodday. The October issue is hitting mailboxes this week.
  • Subscribe to Grange Today! at http://www.nationalgrange.org/subscribe. Grange Today! is released on the 2nd and 4th Fridays of every month, full of news and information from Granges around the country. Through this newsletter, we hope to engage and inspire Grange members from coast to coast.
  • We are also looking for people to submit their Grange’s news so we can feature them in the newsletters or in Good Day! magazine.
  • The National Grange’s biweekly podcast “The Grange Hall,” is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, or iHeartRadio. You can also listen on PodBean, the National Grange website, or watch on YouTube! Be sure to like and subscribe! If you have comments or questions, or if you’d like to recommend a member of YOUR Grange to be featured, you can contact us at grangehallpod@gmail.com.
  • The National Grange Social Media Calendar is available. This is intended to be a guide for State and Community Granges of topics/events that may be used to enhance social media. By no means is it a suggestion to post ALL of these things, but if you’re looking to get out of a rut or expand your social media reach. This could also be a great resource for Grange Lecturers/Program Directors who are looking for new programming ideas.
  • Many National Grange events are recorded and archived. If you missed an online event and would like to view it, please visit the National Grange YouTube channel at http://www.youtube.com/nationalgrange. 
  • Follow National Grange on Social Media! We’re on Facebook, Instagram, X (Twitter), LinkedIn, TikTok, and YouTube! This is generally the quickest and most up-to-date location to find out what’s happening at the National Grange.
  • I hope you’ve seen that the National Grange announced that registration is open for the 2025 National Grange Convention. The 159th Annual Convention will cruise from Miami to Aruba, Bonaire, and Curacao from November 8-16, 2025. I know there are a lot of questions about this, so we’ve created one-sheets on registration and a simple FAQ that are available on the National Grange’s website. More information, including how to book your cabin, is now available, and other details will be released soon, but it’s not too early to begin planning!

Notes from National are gleaned from an email provided by Phil Vonada, National Grange Communications Director.

Communication Shorts 10-15-2024

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!

October Bulletin Available

Recent issues of the Bulletin can be found on the Program Books and Information Page.

State Session Is Happening VERY Soon

Remember, complete information is available right here on the website!

Scholarship Information Reminder

We’ve seen a recent uptick in visits to the Scholarship Information Page. If your Grange offers scholarships, please visit this page and make sure the information is current and correct!

Holiday Craft Fairs?

Many Granges offer holiday craft fairs or “makers markets.” Please submit information about yours! We offer statewide publicity and make it easy for you to share information on Social Media. If you submit it before November 15, it will be included in the November Bulletin!

Annual Reports and Program Books

Those we’ve received are listed on the 2024 State Session page and have been added to the Program Books and Information Page.

Consider this Idea!

Plan some sort of simple gathering during the holidays. I wrote a “Special Report” last year about a community event we attended last year on Christmas Day. I was surprised at how many were there and what a great time it was.

Think about this

“Voting is the expression of our commitment to ourselves, one another, this country, and this world.”

Sharon Salzberg

Submit Dates

We’ve opened the 2025 Website Event Calendar. Don’t forget to submit your dates!

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! Visitors to the site consult these directories often.

Fifth Degree Recipients

L-R Brenda Foss of Androscoggin Grange #8 of Greene Kathleen Meade of Harraseeket Grange # 9

Photo by David Colby Young

Brenda Foss and Kathleen Mead took their Fifth Degree Court of Pomona @ the monthly meeting of Androscoggin Pomona Grange #1 held at Danville Junction Grange #65 of Auburn, Maine. They both plan on taking their Sixth Degree next week to be held in Auburn, Maine, and Kathleen plans on going to National Grange in Nov to take her Seventh Degree.

Communication Shorts 10-5-2024

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!

October Bulletin Deadline

October Bulletin columns and information are due by October 14th. Recent issues of the Bulletin can be found on the Program Books and Information Page.

Fifth Degree Reminder

On October 9, 2024, the Fifth Degree will be offered at Danville Junction Grange at 7:00 p.m. Contact Maynard Chapman at 207 312-5591 for information or to join.

State Session Is Happening Soon

Remember, complete information is available right here on the website!

Have You Ordered Dictionaries?

For most Granges, it’s “Words for Thirds” season! Look for some exciting news about this program here in Maine!

Annual Reports and Program Books

Those we’ve received are listed on the 2024 State Session page. We’ll be adding them to the Program Books and Information Page soon.

Consider this Idea!

Always have some kind of handout available at every event–even if it’s just a simple business card listing your meeting schedule.

Think about this

“I would rather sit on a pumpkin, and have it all to myself, than be crowded on a velvet cushion.” 

Henry David Thoreau

Submit Dates

We’re opening the 2025 Website Event Calendar. Don’t forget to submit your dates!

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!

Androscoggin Grange Hunters’ Breakfast

Androscoggin Grange #8 Food Drive and Dinner

Communication Shorts 09-15-2024

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!

September Bulletin Available

The September Bulletin is available. Recent issues of the Bulletin can be found on the Program Books and Information Page.

Vaccinations at Big E

Our undercover reporter tells us that 200 COVID and/or flu vaccinations were administered at the booth in front of the New England Grage Building. The program continues through September 29th. For more information see this post.

Monroe Grange Store Reminder

As noted in this month’s Exploring Traditions Column, flags and holders are available from the Monroe Grange Store. Many Grange-related products available—even the hard-to-find stuff! They can help with fundraising programs, custom-printed apparel, promotional items, awards, signs, and banners. Check out the Grange Store!

State Session Page Updated

A page dedicated to the 2024 State Session has a “packet of information” that includes the forms necessary to reserve meals. It even includes deadlines for reserving and submitting information! This page is currently getting lots of visits!

Officers and Directors Note!

Annual reports and program books are coming due.

Consider this Idea!

Think about “rebranding” your potluck into a community event. Encourage residents to meet and greet each other and build the community. Welcome, children so it’s a family event. Request participants bring food, hot or cold, to share. Make available bottled water, paper goods, cups, tables, games, and music. Include activities like face painting, corn hole, drawing, and dancing.

Think about this!

Doing things is not the same as getting things done!”

Jared Silver

Submit News! Be “famous”

Submitting news can be as simple as a photo and “cutline.” A cutline is a brief description–longer than a caption–to accompany the photo. Let’s prove that the Grange is alive and well in Maine! (Photos should be submitted as an attachment to an email.) We get inquiries from people looking for active Granges!

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!

Parkman Grange Scholarship Supper Celebrates Students

The Parkman Grange awarded six MSAD#4-area college students Minnie Welts Bridge Scholarships of $500 each for the 2024-25 school year. Winners this year include Anna Zimmerman, Guilford, a Psychology major at the University of Maine at Farmington; Cadence Clukey, Abbot, a Counseling major at Grand Canyon University; Emma Calnan, Parkman, a Nursing major at Husson University; Elizabeth Kendall, Guilford, an Education major at the University of Maine at Farmington; Kendall Kimball, Parkman, an Interdisciplinary Global Studies major at the University of South Florida; and, Hannah Dow, Guilford, an Education major at University of the University of Maine at Presque Isle. 

Parkman Grange Master Susan Manchester was joined by recipients Emma Calnan and Hannah Dow (l-r) took a break from their studies to share their career plans.

The six 2024 recipients were celebrated at a Minnie Welts Bridge Scholarship Supper on Saturday, September 14, 2024, from 4:30 to 6:00 p.m. Attendees enjoyed pork loin, potatoes, salads, and assorted desserts. All proceeds will go to the Scholarship Fund for future awards. Donations may be made to Parkman Grange at PO Box 114, Guilford, ME 04443. Note Scholarship Fund on the memo line.

Minnie Welts Bridge was a lifelong Parkman resident, a teacher, and a Grange member. She passed away in 2011 at the age of 102. Since then, the Parkman Grange has awarded a total of $18,000 in scholarships in her memory.

National Grange Arranges Vaccinations at the New England Grange Building

National Grange is excited to invite you to visit the National Grange’s FREE vaccination clinic at the Big E in Springfield, Massachusetts, hosted with the support of our New England State Granges!

If you are heading to the Big E this year, be sure to stop by our booth in front of the New England Grange building to receive free, updated flu and COVID-19 vaccines. Professional pharmacists from PharMerica will be there to assist you and answer any questions.

For more information: https://www.grangevaccinationeffort.com/

Communication Shorts 09-03-2024

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!

September Bulletin Deadline

The September Bulletin Deadline is September 14, 2024. Recent issues of the Bulletin can be found on the Program Books and Information Page.

Danville Junction Grange Bingo Postponed

Danville Junction Grange will resume Bingo at the Grange Hall on Saturday, December 7, instead of in September, as previously mentioned. We are sorry for any inconvenience this has caused.

Monroe Grange Store Reminder

This is just a reminder that the Monroe Grange Store has many Grange-related products available—even the hard-to-find stuff! They can help with fundraising programs, custom-printed apparel, promotional items, awards, signs, and banners. Check out their Grange Store!

State Session Page Is Updated

A page dedicated to the 2024 State Session now has a “packet of information” that includes the forms necessary to reserve meals. We’ve recently posted a copy of the 2023 Journal of Proceedings, a record of last year’s convention.

Many Contest Deadlines Are Coming Up

Get your entries in! Officers and directors note that annual reports and program books are coming due.

Consider this Idea!

Where’s your Grange’s Cornucopia? What’s it look like? It just might be time for rehabbing your “horn of plenty” and having it prominently displayed somewhere in the hall. H-O-P-E!

Think about this!

“Be a good listener. Your ears will never get you into trouble.”

Frank Tyger

Submit News! Be “famous”

Submitting news can be as simple as a photo and “cutline.” A cutline is a brief description–longer than a caption–to accompany the photo. Let’s prove that the Grange is alive and well in Maine! (Photos should be submitted as an attachment to an email.) We get inquiries from people looking for active Granges!

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!