By Rick Grotton, Membership Committee Director 207 582-5915
As a Membership Committee Director, it seems fitting that all of us should be “talking membership.” Columns relating to membership are presented each month. These columns are also intended to answer any membership questions you may have, so please send your questions to me at ricti@aol.com so your answers will appear in these columns. Let’s all cooperate and share what makes your Grange successful in recruiting new members, maintaining them and what your Grange does that attracts them. I will be referring to my own Grange at times to inform you what we have been doing that has been successful.
Membership does not just pertain to getting new members but is much more than that for sure. As an introduction, answer the following questions and make your own assumptions. Is your Grange prepared to accept new members? This means having an active grange, getting along with your brothers and sisters and if the community knows you exist. What does your Grange have to offer a new member? Why would they want to join? Can you explain to a prospective member about Grange and it’s history? Does your Master conduct the meeting smoothly and without incident or confusion? Do your members know the rituals and traditions that you can pass on to new members? Do you regularly meeting in one location (your hall or other place if you do not have a hall)? These are just a few questions to consider. To be prepared is a major step and should not be taken lightly.
Whether your Grange is a large group or a small one, it doesn’t matter. Membership should always be a priority in order to be able to operate efficiently.
Wishing all of you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
Valley Grange is proud to have handed out close to 250 dictionaries to third-graders this year. That puts us well over 4,000 since starting the program several decades ago. Enjoy some photos of this year’s program.
Dictionary Days are fun because learning is fun!
If your Grange is interested in starting a Words for Thirds Dictionary Program, complete the form below. No obligation!
Phew! There could be lots to talk about! We’ve experienced what might be considered a “perfect storm” from a communications standpoint. The aftermath of the State Session always generates a lot of changes and updates, plus this year’s Deputy School resulted in some great resources! There are really too many to list here, but you can explore the Program Books and Information Page and see Master Sherry’s “Presidential Perspective” for a list of some of the available materials.
I hope to release the Words for Thirds Resource Pages soon! Ironically, this year, Valley Grange has had a smashing success media-wise with a feature front page above-the-fold article in our local newspaper and onsite television coverage by WABI-TV 5. This coverage has also generated several new subscribers to our TelaGranger Newsletter. I have maintained for a long time that fundraising is much easier when we are relevant and demonstrating our value to our communities. While publicizing fundraising events is important, it’s important to remember that fundraising events are not community service.
A few years ago, it was fashionable to offer career advice such as, “Do what you love, and the money will follow.” I was also tempted to reply, “Not necessarily.” But there is value and truth in passion. In community terms, passionately serving and supporting our communities will open pocketbooks—but that passion and service must be seen!
When the front-page article appeared, a woman from several hundred miles away called our Valley Grange Secretary and related how important a dictionary was to her growing up. She ended her story by asking how to send a donation to support Valley Grange’s efforts to provide kids with a dictionary.
While watching Alyssa Thurlow interview two third graders who had just received their dictionaries, a member of the school administration team whispered to me that he was one of our first “customers” when we started distributing dictionaries over twenty years ago. I think that’s called “making an impact.”
My goals with the coming soon resource pages include encouraging more Granges in Maine to consider starting a Words for Thirds Program. But perhaps more importantly, I hope to provide ideas and tools that will give your program the maximum impact and put your Grange in people’s minds and hearts.
I first learned this poem many years ago.
The codfish lays ten thousand eggs, The homely hen lays one. The codfish never cackles To tell you what she's done. And so we scorn the codfish, While the humble hen we prize, Which only goes to show you That it pays to advertise.
► 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.
By Rick Grotton, Membership Committee Director 207 582-5915
Please read the membership (and other) columns in the Bulletin at your regular meetings so that all will know what is happening.
Your help is needed to form a strong, viable State Membership Committee with a purpose and goals in mind. Since we are all responsible for increasing our membership in our Granges, I am reaching out to those interested in becoming a State Member-ship Committee member. It cannot be done with a one or two-person committee. Goals need to be set and a structured system set in place. The State Master, the State Membership Director and State Officers are NOT responsible to bring you in new members, they have their own Subordinate and Pomona Granges to work with. The duty of the State Membership Director is to communicate to you when there are degree days or conferences, information from the National Membership Director, announcing and participating in the monthly ZOOM meetings sponsored by the National Director, overseeing the Membership contest, holding workshops and area meetings to provide current membership with tools and suggestions to increase membership and countless other duties. Communication is the BIG key here as the plan is to have a contact in each Pomona that can communicate the ideas to each member of their respective Granges, very simple. The ideas will come from YOU, the member. We need your suggestions, ideas, and thoughts. What do you do to attract members? What makes your Grange successful? What do you want to know? What tools do you need? The Committee needs your ideas as well as the answers to those questions. So, for the good of the order (GOTO). Remember that? Your input is needed. Let’s have fun with this. I do have a number of ideas to get started but I need help!
The Membership Committee challenges each member to get at least one new member. Whether they join your Grange or another is irrelevant. Maybe we should keep count of how many members are responsible bringing in at least one new member. However, that takes contact persons around the state!!!. I will be stressing this challenge to more Granges as I visit.
Are there any new businesses that have arrived in your community or surrounding area? Or even existing ones that could use publicity? What a great way to gain members! Introduce yourself to the owners as a Grange member and ask if there is anything that could be done for them in the community. Invite all business owners to a special Grange celebration honoring the community. Maybe assign each business a table so the community can see what is offered. That makes the Grange an integral part of the community and business growth. People will remember the name “Grange” just by those gestures. It seems like a ton of work to assemble a big event like this. However, it can be done, and with the help of Grange members and others, it will be rewarding. Try it by yourselves or with area Granges.
BROWNVILLE — Grade 3 students at the Brownville Elementary School now have thousands of words and accompanying definitions at their fingertips, along with other assorted facts. The pupils do not need to worry about charged laptops or cellphones to access this information, as each of the nearly 50 youngsters now has their very own dictionary thanks to Valley Grange No. 144 of Guilford...
By Rick Grotton, Membership Committee Director 207 582-5915
When we are encouraging the community to join the Grange we need to understand what we are “selling”. How well do we know what the Grange stands for, and how do we portray those images to others? What do others want to hear? Encourage them to ask specific questions to satisfy their individual needs. Knowing the needs of a prospective new member makes it easier to answer their questions without being too vague or generic. For example, if someone is interested in the agricultural or community aspects of Grange, zero in on those areas, all the while gaining knowledge of the individual needs. Like a jigsaw puzzle, fit that piece into your plans for the growth of your Grange. Soon, your “puzzle” will show a picture and help you to make plans to steer the direction of your Grange. We have many Granges who focus on agriculture; others focus on community service and some balance the two. By listening to a prospective member, you will know how they fit into the “puzzle” and the growth of your Grange.
When seeking new members, use the lessons of the Grange to serve as a foundation upon which to build. Understanding these lessons will make your search for new members easier as they hold valuable information in how you present yourself to the new membership.
Have FAITH. Believe that you are going to be successful in your membership drive. Keep a positive attitude and show others that you believe in your presentation to get them to join. First impressions are vital to your success.
Have HOPE. Go with the impression that success in gaining members will happen, and don’t give up. Of course, there will be rejections, but don’t let it get you down or give up. You just haven’t yet found the right “piece” of your “puzzle.” Be vigilant in your search, encourage your fellow Patrons, or make it a friendly contest that can bring in and keep the most members. Fun? Yes, it can be if you let it be.
CHARITY is important. Give of yourself when telling others about the Grange. Incentives such as helping the community, growing your own food, and explaining how the Grange helped you become a better person are music to the ears of prospective members. Even a small gesture, such as paying for their first year’s dues or a small welcome gift, is helpful.
FIDELITY is very important. The listener always notices your loyalty and devotion to your Grange. How you present yourself, your enthusiasm, and your positive energy are noticed and felt by the listener and will sway the decisions of many new members. Stay loyal in good times and not-so-good times. My pet peeve is when something doesn’t go their way, a member will threaten to quit or not come back. Haven’t we all heard this? If you love the Grange, then you will try to work out the problem, which leads to the last lesson, PERSEVERENCE.
There are always hurdles or problems we need to avoid or face to work out. Face them head-on, find a solution as a Grange, and respect everybody’s opinions and ideas. It will make you and your Grange stronger. In order to succeed, don’t we need to fail once in a while? PERSEVERE and overcome these challenges as a group. Keep the positive energy alive and smile.
With Faith and Hope I present these ideas with a Charitable attitude and showing my Fidelity to the organization. Certainly, these columns don’t always produce results, but my Perseverance holds strong and I continue to present ideas and suggestions to increase your memberships.
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.
The Witches Faire is a magical makers’ market and community event, with divinators, herbalists, crafters, and artisans vending. We’ll have crystals, ritual items, herbal products, jewelry, and more for sale, along with refreshments and kids’ activities. Sunday, Oct 27, 2024, 10 am-3 pm, at the East Madison Grange Hall. FMI call 716-6441 or email hideandgopeep@gmail.com
