Communications Column – September 2024 (CORRECTED!)

By Walter Boomsma
207 343-1842
Communications Director

Annual Report, 2023-24

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.
Tell us why you love the grange
Submit an Event or News

Getting Grounded

Guest Article by Walter Boomsma

September is Suicide Prevention Prevention Month. As many know, I am a big promoter of preventing suicide.1 Our approach to preventing suicide seems to be one of waiting until a crisis develops. I have long suspected that suicidal tendencies develop pretty early on, and we would be better served to take preventative steps before we reach the crisis point.

Thanks to the media, we’re not only becoming more aware of the issue of suicide-we are also being confronted with examples of mental health issues. COVID certainly contributed. We are easily overwhelmed by the complexity and intensity. In February 2021, 37.5% of adults in Maine reported symptoms of anxiety and depression2.

Since I do not intend to add to the complexity and intensity, I’d like to propose a simple exercise in Emotional Hygiene. In 17 minutes, Guy Winch provides a good foundation in an entertaining and non-clinical way that will also have you laughing.

At one of the mental health workshops I attended some years ago, the instructor asked us to share how we “centered” or grounded ourselves. It was interesting that he gave us some time to think before answering, suggesting that we may not be immediately aware of it. Being grounded generally refers to achieving a state of being emotionally and mentally stable and having a sense of connection to reality. In non-clinical terms, some refer to it as “going to my happy place.”

Life can easily throw us off balance. If we catch our balance soon enough, we can avoid unintentionally going somewhere (mentally and emotionally) that isn’t helpful. That somewhere may involve depression or anxiety. In simple, non-clinical terms, mental hygiene prevents mental health issues that can lead to suicide. But it’s not just about preventing suicide. It’s about living fully and happily.

“Your vision will become clear only when you look into your heart. Who looks outside, dreams. Who looks inside awakens.”

Carl Jung

  1. I am a Certified NAMI Mental Health First Aid Responder, a teacher of Suicide Prevention Workshops, and an instructor in Beal University’s Addiction Counseling Program. Additional mental health resources are available on my Brain Leaks and Musings website. ↩︎
  2. State of Maine Mental Health Factsheet. ↩︎

National Suicide Prevention Month

September is being observed as National Suicide Prevention Awareness Month. This observance is designed to reach out to those affected by suicide, raising awareness and connecting individuals with suicidal ideation to treatment services. We can all help individuals, friends, and families have access to the resources they need to discuss suicide prevention.

Seek help immediately if you or someone you know is talking about suicide, feelings of hopelessness or unbearable pain, or about being a burden to others.

If you are experiencing a medical emergency, call 911.

For those in need of immediate support:

Call or text 988. This suicide and behavioral health crisis hotline is answered 24 hours a day, seven days a week, by trained crisis specialists who offer free, confidential support for anyone. Specialists can also respond by chat at 988lifeline.org. Information for the deaf and hard of hearing is available here.

National Alliance on Mental Illness: Suicide Prevention Awareness Month

National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: National Suicide Prevention Month

Suicide Prevention Resource Center

The State of Maine has a dedicated webpage with many behavioral health resources including online support and resources for children and familiies.

CWA Report – September 2024

By Margaret Henderson, Director
Committee on Women’s Activities
207 948-2762

Committee on Women’s Activities

It sure seems like the leaves started changing colors early this year. Our CWA Conference went very well. I heard many positive comments.

We have two new members on our committee. Welcome, Judy Meserve and Kathy Ward. Kathy helped present a demonstration on mosaic art. We all got to make something. I think everyone enjoyed doing this. Thank you, Kathy. A big thank you to all of the ladies on the committee. I am so thankful for all that you do. You are all so helpful with everything from setting up to cleaning up.

Here is a list of the winners:

Baking: Blueberry Cake: Carl Moon
Class A: Afghans: Elmira Collins
Class B: Doilies: Grace Weste
Class C: Embroidery: Gail Butterfield
Class D: 3 Piece Baby Set: Nancy Gowen
Class E: Plastic Canvas: Elmira Collins
Class G: Adult Garments: Kathy Gowen
Class I: Quilted Wall Hanging: Jackie Morgan
Class J: Stuffed Toy: Ann Burns
Class K: Baby Afghan: Elmira Collins
Class L: Children’s Garments: Laurie McBurnie
Class M: Table runners: Rachel Nelson
Class N: Miscellaneous: Rachel Nelson
Class O: Decorated Item: Sherri Applebees
Class P: Wooden Item: Phil Parsons – Juniors:  Sebastian Nickerson

Class Q: Tote Bags: Kathy Gowen

Quilts
Class B: Machine Quilted: Rachel Nelson
Class D: Pieced by Entrant/Quilted by someone else: Karen McCarrick
Class E: Baby Quilt: Elmira Collins
Best of Show: Kathy Gowen

The winning entries in Classes A-K were sent to Eastern States for judging in the New England area. All the entries were awesome! I hope that we will have more next year. Thank you to everyone who entered. I will look forward to seeing your entries next year. You all do amazing work.

Thank you to all of the Granges who have made contributions to Home for Little Wanderers, House in the Woods, and for the prize money for the contests. These donations are greatly appreciated.

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/

President’s Perspective – September 2024

By Sherry Harriman,
Maine State Grange President/Master
207 490-1029

The Deputy School will be held on November 2, 2024, at 10:00 a.m. at State HQ. We will cover ritual, floorwork, salutation, and other related Grange items.

Congratulations and welcome to all the Officers & Members, new and seasoned and I wish you all much success for the coming year.  September is the time of new Grange year beginnings with installations, making plans for the coming year and setting goals. This is also the time for year-end wrap-ups such as your annual audit, reports to be submitted, (to your Grange, Pomona and State), and a time to evaluate last year’s activities, events and goals, what was successful and what was lacking. There are very few Installation Teams or Installing Officers traveling, so I encourage each Grange to do their own Installation. There is an Alternative Installation Ceremony  (half the words) in the new Manual which can be read with one or two people in charge and working with the members present. It is impressive to have it memorized however many people, like myself, cannot memorize charges any longer. By reading it with appropriate feeling and enunciation, it comes across very nicely. The original ceremony in also still in the manual if you are so inclined. We have manuals at the office for sale or get it on line from National Grange at sales@nationalgrange.org

Another reminder or nag, less than half of you have provided your 2025 Roster information.  Even if there were no changes, a report or email needs to be sent.  During the order of business, the Master asks, “Have the reports to the Pomona and State Granges been duly and promptly made?” This includes this and any request for information. If you are changing the time or day you meet, this is a By-Law change and is required to be voted on in a regular Grange meeting and approved by the State Master before it can officially take effect!  Do we have a copy of your By-Laws at the office? 

I am still working on getting the new database completed. I am typing in all the information for our 80 Granges, 2,200+,  names, addresses and other information into a more user friendly format that can be accessed without internet. I have not heard anything at all from many Granges, where are your lists?   

The National Grange and the Northeast Region will be holding a Covid-19 and Influenza free immunization clinic at the New England Grange Building at the Big-E Fair in Springfield, MA in September. 

The Annual Maine State Grange is a month and a half away, October 18 & 19.  Our National Representative will be Barbara Foster, Pomona of the National Grange and President of the West Virginia State Grange, long time Grange member and she is looking forward to being  with us.  Information about our guests can be found on our website under State Session along with other session information such as schedule and meal registration form.

Meal tickets are to be purchased in advance, form and money are due by Oct. 5.

Remember, if your Subordinate and/or Pomona Grange plans to or wants to have 2 voting delegates at State Session:

  1. Your Grange MUST vote by name on the people to be delegates and alternates at a regular meeting prior to session. Two delegates and two alternates are to be selected.
  2. Delegates must be members or affiliate members of your Grange. You may only represent the Subordinate or Pomona Grange where you are a member. 
  3. You may represent your Subordinate and Pomona Grange and have one vote for each.
  4. You may NOT represent 2 Subordinate Granges or 2 Pomona Granges.
  5. Register that person or persons using the Delegate form provided to your Secretary.
  6. The form must be signed by the Master or Secretary of the Grange
  7. Your Grange’s quarterly dues must be paid up to date or brought with you to registration to be eligible to vote
  8. You can’t just show up expecting to vote on the resolutions, elections, or any other business without the proper paperwork being submitted. NO exceptions.
  9. Anyone may attend the session just are not allowed to vote, but may participate in discussions. You may pick your program books for your Grange if there is not a delegate.

The National Grange annual session will be November in Bettendorf, Iowa hosted by the Mid-west Region of States.  All are welcome to attend.

Grange Heirloom — September 2024

Grange Heirlooms are snippets from the lessons of the Grange as taught in the Rituals and Declaration of Purposes.

Use the icons below to share this Grange Heirloom on social media and help others understand what the Grange stands for! If this heirloom has a particular meaning for you, click the “leave a comment” link at the left and share your comment with us!

For additional information and resources regarding the Heirloom Program, visit the Heirloom Resource Page on the Maine State Grange Website.

New Ventures Maine

Reprinted with permission from an enewsletter published by Maine Senator Stacey Guerin.

New Ventures Maine, a statewide program of the University of Maine at Augusta that has helped Maine residents venture in new directions for over 40 years through tuition-free programs for career, business, and financial education, has announced its next set of fall classes and workshops.

Offered at no cost to all Maine adults, the program includes in-person and online options as well as one-on-one coaching. They offer one-day programs and course-length classes that encourage and empower those thinking about making a change to take the next step towards financial security, a new career or even a new business.

With topics ranging from job searches, resume strategies and money management to career choices, interviewing and building confidence, the classes and workshops are easy to enroll in and some can even be taken at your own pace. For more information about course offerings and how to sign up, as well as success stories and other resources, please visit their website.

Julie loves the Grange!

Met a lot of great people throughout the years. Joined in the early 80’s both Granges dismantled that I belonged to rejoined again a couple of years ago. Great organization!!!!!

Julie Cortright, Saco Grange #53

What about you?

Do you love the Grange? Can you explain what’s great about being a member? It only takes a minute to click the button and tell the world!

I love the Grange!

Chaplain’s View – September 2024

Christine Hebert, MSG Chaplain
(207) 743-5277

Bountiful Harvest

It is the time of year when we especially thank God for the bountiful harvest from our gardens and fields.  We are grateful as our pantries and barns are filled with healthy provisions for the coming winter.

“And when ye reap the harvest of your land, thou shalt not wholly reap the corners of thy field, neither shall thou gather the gleanings of thy harvest. And thou shall not glean the vineyard, neither shall thou gather every grape of the vineyard; thou shall leave them for the poor and stranger: I am the Lord your God.”

Leviticus: 19:9-10 KJV 

“…and another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to him that sat on a cloud, Thrust in thy sickle, and reap: for the time is come for thee to reap; for the harvest of the earth is ripe.”

Revelation: 14:15 KJV

I look forward to seeing you all at Maine State Grange Session.