{"id":99659,"date":"2026-08-12T08:45:18","date_gmt":"2026-08-12T12:45:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mainestategrange.org\/?p=99659"},"modified":"2026-08-12T08:45:18","modified_gmt":"2026-08-12T12:45:18","slug":"__trashed-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2__trashed-2-2-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mainestategrange.org\/?p=99659","title":{"rendered":"Communications Column – August 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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By Walter Boomsma<\/a><\/em><\/strong>
207 343-1842
Communications Directo<\/em><\/strong>r<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n

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AI-generated image<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Putting Our Best Face Forward<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of the Communications Department’s functions is to strive to present our best face externally. One way we do that is with honesty and transparency. However, that honesty and transparency should be expressed positively.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Items posted on the website are immediately available to anyone<\/strong>, including members, prospective members, community partners, and members of the media. It’s too easy to forget that! A strength of fraternal organizations can easily become a weakness when the bonds we value create a sense of exclusion among others. We may be brutally honest with ourselves. (“We’re having trouble getting a quorum at our meetings.”) That doesn’t mean we need to announce that “fact” to the world. Putting our best face forward means we communicate using the “Three C’s.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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  1. Clarity<\/strong> means stripping away jargon and keeping the message simple and direct. The message should also be complete (another C!). I remember a conversation with someone unfamiliar with the Grange. She thought that “Grange meetings” were for Grangers only. Grange programs were for everyone. Whether she was right or wrong is not the issue. The important fact is we need to be sensitive to what others think. When I first joined the Grange, I lobbied for some signage and including the location of the Grange in flyers. One member said, “Everyone knows where the Grange is!” When we start thinking that way, we are in danger of discouraging others. We are not putting our best face forward.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. Confidence<\/strong> is about projecting belief in the values of the organization and the message being sent. Just remember that people don’t come to or join the Grange for your reasons. They come and join for their reasons. Be confident that their reasons are such that they will find value at your event or participating in your Grange. <\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. Connection<\/strong> can be a result that includes empathy and engagement. When we list an event, it’s easy to focus on the fact we’re engaging in one-way communication. We can make a slight shift and focus on the fact that we’re trying to create a connection. This is the “show, don’t tell” approach that resonates well. If you’re having an event, show readers what is going to happen or what they’ll get if they attend. Write “you” messages, not “we” messages. “When you come to a bean supper at X Grange, you’ll…”<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    There could be a fourth “C,” credible<\/strong>. Wild, overstated claims (positive or negative) might be made clearly and confidently; they won’t create connection if they aren’t credible. I don’t know about you, but I’d rather visit the Grange that offers some “pretty good coffee” than listen to a Grange claim they serve the best coffee in the state.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    These things may not always be easy, but they definitely are simple.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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    FACT: Since we migrated the site to a new server, we’ve had over 5,000 site visits! (Sharing that is putting our best face forward!)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    By Walter Boomsma207 343-1842 Communications Director Putting Our Best Face Forward One of the Communications Department’s functions is to strive to present our best face externally. One way we do that is with honesty and transparency. However, that honesty and transparency should be expressed positively. Items posted on the website are immediately available to anyone, … Continue reading “Communications Column – August 2026”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2122,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[165,218],"tags":[713,206,272,202,233,29],"post_folder":[704],"class_list":["post-99659","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-communication-2","category-resources-for-granges-and-grangers","tag-artificial-intelligence","tag-grange-advocacy","tag-grange-communication","tag-grange-events","tag-grange-policy","tag-grange-procedure"],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":false,"thumbnail":false,"medium":false,"medium_large":false,"large":false,"1536x1536":false,"2048x2048":false,"post-thumbnail":false},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"Walter Boomsma","author_link":"https:\/\/mainestategrange.org\/?author=2122"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"By Walter Boomsma207 343-1842 Communications Director Putting Our Best Face Forward One of the Communications Department’s functions is to strive to present our best face externally. One way we do that is with honesty and transparency. However, that honesty and transparency should be expressed positively. Items posted on the website are immediately available to anyone,…","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1arC1-pVp","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mainestategrange.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/99659","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mainestategrange.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mainestategrange.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mainestategrange.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2122"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mainestategrange.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=99659"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/mainestategrange.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/99659\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":99905,"href":"https:\/\/mainestategrange.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/99659\/revisions\/99905"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mainestategrange.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=99659"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mainestategrange.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=99659"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mainestategrange.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=99659"},{"taxonomy":"post_folder","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mainestategrange.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fpost_folder&post=99659"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}