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!
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.”
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.
As we begin a new Grange Year, it seems fitting that we revisit a few critical points regarding posting news and events.
We respect copyrights! We can only post or include information that has not been copyrighted by someone else. Listing the copyright owner is not sufficient. Written permission of the owner is required. As a writer, I can make this complicated because it’s a potentially complicated topic. It may suffice to say that where the website and Bulletin are concerned, we will maintain a conservative policy. Violations can get expensive! This applies to articles, photos, and artwork. For example, if the local newspaper writes an article about your Grange, we cannot simply repost it on the website. We can, however, report it and post a link to it. The rule of thumb we apply is “When in doubt, don’t.”
Photographs have implications as well. A general rule of thumb is that the photographer may use a photo taken at a public event, but this, too, can get complicated when we try to define a “public event.” (I’ve had some interesting discussions with folks “in the know” who suggest that a Grange meeting might not be considered a public event.) As many know, I am particularly obsessive on this point when it comes to minors. The Communications Department will not accept photos of children (under 18 years of age) without written permission of a parent or guardian. Again, this can get complicated. There is some additional information in the MSG Communications Handbook.
For example, quite a few years ago, a mom submitted a photo of her daughter accepting an award, asking if we would publish it, and we did, identifying the child. Shortly after that, I received an email from the estranged child’s father, objecting to the photograph primarily because the Mom had used her maiden name as the child’s last name, which was incorrect. I resolved the issue by removing the post because I gently refused to get dragged into the argument.
Much of this can be avoided with common sense and common courtesy, but that’s not always enough. Thanks to my work in schools, I have an appreciation for the fact that common sense may not be sufficient. I occasionally hear, “Oh, they’re Grangers, so it’s okay.” Grangers deserve the same treatment we give non-Grangers!
With all this said, it is certainly not my intention to discourage the submission of news, events, etc. Quite the contrary! Approximately 400 people visit the website every week. Those visitors to our site most often use “resources pages”—the program books and information page is consistently near the top of the pages visited. But directories are used, and the Grange Events Page is popular. These pages are very dependent on Granges submitting the information. We can’t post what we don’t know! Remember, we offer statewide publicity at no cost to you! It’s extremely easy to share event posts on social media from the site. It doesn’t work the other way around! Tell us what you’re doing and keep information about your Grange current and accurate!
By the way, we increasingly depend on “AI” (artificial intelligence) for proofreading and editing, but it is far from perfect! One thing it doesn’t handle well is the word “Grange.” As a reminder, the word should always be capitalized! Note, too, that many visitors to our site are not Grangers, so we want to beware of using Grange speak—terms that non-members might not recognize. I remember a Dictionary Day with third-graders. I accidentally mentioned Grange deputies, and the hands went up with questions. “Do they carry a gun? What does their badge look like?” It did capture their interest, but I don’t think I’ll make that mistake again. Try to explain what a Grange Deputy is to a nine-year-old.
You know, that’s not bad advice. More than half (54%) of Americans between the ages of 16 and 74 read below the equivalent of a sixth-grade level, according to a piece published in 2022 by APM Research Lab. Keep it simple, and make sure it’s complete. Some years ago, I was accosted by someone who insisted, “Everyone knows where the Grange Hall is…” I’m reasonably sure she wasn’t right, but I replied, “Well, it still doesn’t hurt to remind them!”
► FACT: The most frequently visited page in the last twelve months was the Directory of Granges. People are looking for Granges!
Find the button representing how and where you want to share a post.
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.
By Sherry Harriman, Maine State Grange President/Master 207 490-1029
Fellow Grangers, I would like to strongly encourage our Granges and Grangers to do whatever they can to help our southern Grange families and friends. The note below is from National Grange President Chris Hamp.
Brothers and Sisters,
In the past few days, I have received many emails, texts, and phone calls asking how Granges can help with recovery in North Carolina following the devastation left behind in the wake of Hurricane Helene over the weekend.
I encourage Granges at all levels to support your Brothers and Sisters in their time of need, as they, in turn, help their communities recover.
In addition to North Carolina, we have also heard that Goodwill Grange, Virginia, and the surrounding communities received damage and are also in recovery. Goodwill Grange is known by its community for being an internet center, a vital need in rural southwestern Virginia.
We are working with the Virginia State Grange and will disseminate information on how to help Goodwill Grange as soon as it is available.
Please support these Granges and their communities in whatever ways you can.
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.
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!
Oops! It seems a bit ironic that I accidentally sent last month’s column about communication instead of thus month’s!
The Communications and Website Annual Report is posted on the site. For this month’s column, it seems appropriate to include a few important excerpts from it. I certainly encourage you to read the full report and welcome your comments and questions!
There have been 17,985 site views from September 1, 2023, through August 31, 2024—an average of nearly 1,500 monthly. However, these visits do not include subscribers receiving the posts without visiting the site. While this represents a significant decrease from the previous year, the number of actual visitors hasn’t changed much. One could rightly conclude that a similar number of visitors are viewing fewer pages and posts.
Considering the decline in Granges and Grange membership, the site is doing well. Some of that success can be attributed to the site design and content. The site is resource-rich and appeals to both members and non-members. The top pages visited are the information pages, such as the directory of Granges, program books and information, etc. This year, the Grange Event Calendar received the third most visits.
During this past year, I have continued to add resource documents and tools to our collection of communication resources available on the site. There is value in our website.
Several significant accomplishments this year include:
Added additional resources for Grangers, including timely posts that seem to be of interest to them on a variety of subjects.
Completed interviews with media representatives and researchers. One example is a favorable feature article in the Bangor Daily News and Piscataquis Observer.
Completed another significant purge of the website’s oldest posts and images. This makes the site much more manageable and saves server space and remains an ongoing focus.
Continued to work with an editorial calendar to ensure regular, consistent posting. This includes Grange Heirlooms and Why I Love the Grange.
Continued to make “under the hood” improvements to the site.
Continued posting of “special events” being sponsored or hosted by Granges. These events have also been added to the MSG Calendar Page.
Continued to facilitate an email service that allows information to be sent directly to officers, directors, and deputies on short notice.
Looking ahead to 2024-2025, some objectives include:
Continue researching options for a site subscription. The current process is time-consuming, and more automation is needed.
Continuing to keep communication positive, helpful, and engaging.
Investigate the feasibility of sponsoring at least one virtual roundtable discussion. Due to time limitations, this was not achieved last year. I am upgrading my computer system and hope this becomes more feasible soon.
Continue to research further connections between the MSG website and social media.
Continue searching for resources, including additional guest columnists and regular topical information that can be reposted with attribution.
I believe the primary role of any state position or function is to support Subordinate and Pomona Granges and their members. But communication is not a “one-person job.” Individuals, Community/Subordinate, and Pomona Granges can best support our communications efforts by providing positive news and information.
I will continue encouraging open communication throughout our Order and with the public. We must generate interest and excitement among our communities, prospective members, and ourselves.
Please let me know if there is anything I can do to help you and your Grange.
Thank you for your continued confidence and support.
► FACT: The events page on the website continues to be one of the most frequently visited pages on the site! Are you submitting your programs and events?
Find the button representing how and where you want to share a post.
