Successful
Actions of Fredonia Grange - MI
Focused
on the Community
Good
People Having a Good Time for a Good Cause. That's Fredonia Grange's motto. Located
in a rural area of Calhoun County near the small city of Marshall and the larger
city of Battle Creek, Michigan, Fredonia Grange has long been strong and successful
in that region, says Rich Hazen, current Chairperson. "I grew up in Grange and
then drifted away. I got re-involved because I was helping at a pancake brunch
and saw that our Grange leaders were getting older. It was clear that we needed
some younger people in leadership roles."
From a strong foundation of 120 members four years ago, Fredonia Grange members
have become more involved in their community - and have involved their community
more with them. The result has been a steady increase in membership, which is
now up to 161. "We
didn't have a specific membership campaign," says Athol Hazen, a long-time Granger.
"We just started encouraging people to come join us, and making opportunities
to let people know what we're doing." Publicity
and promotion has been a big effort - one that has really paid off. "We have something
in our local papers several times a month, and we could have more." Jacqui Lowman,
who has her doctorate in Communication, has helped Fredonia Grange members develop
strong relationships with their local media. "We write up everything we do in
an upbeat, optimistic way. We use the shopper papers a lot because they blanket
the area and everyone reads them. We want to get the word out. We want people
to say, 'Oh, you're the people who are always doing something.'" Rich
adds, "We always try to include a picture, too - something that shows us being
active and having a good time. The papers really appreciate getting news from
us." Fredonia Grangers have invested a great deal in developing positive relationships
with their media. Athol has even been known to bake up a batch of homemade bread
to deliver along with a press release! "Writing
a good story is something anybody can do," says Jacqui. "Just write from your
heart. Don't send the paper your minutes. Keep it short and simple. Try to capture
the essence of who you are and what you're doing. Sometimes Grangers have a hard
time blowing their own horn. We need to get over that, and realize that we are
not bragging but are instead inviting people to be part of things that give so
much enjoyment and accomplish so much good. We don't have to sound like we think
that we're experts. Instead, we can say, 'Hey we're having a great time and we'd
like you to be part of the fun and get those wonderful feelings. And you know
what? We need you because we don't have it all figured out.'"
Figuring it out was one of the first efforts that Fredonia Grange took on after
members attended an Action Grange seminar. With Jacqui's assistance, they held
three focus group sessions with members of the community so that they could get
a clearer idea of what the community needs and wants. "We invited a cross-section
of community members from within a twenty-mile radius of the Grange and asked
a series of open-ended questions like what they saw as an ideal community, what
they would like to see improved in this community, what they would consider an
ideal organization. Between six and eight people attended each session, and the
conversations were exciting. We planned on two-hour sessions, but after three
hours we had to shoo them out the door." The
community focus groups gave Fredonia Grange members some clear direction. People
wanted them to open their meetings and their activities so that anyone in the
community could take part. Family Night Out - a night of games and activities
for kids and adults in the middle of winter - is one response to that request.
It is now in its third year and brings out sixty to seventy people every time.
Thanks to the community input, Fredonia Grange members have now made all their
holiday gatherings, special events, and enrichment programs open to the community,
and Grangers make a point of being welcoming to all who attend. And
there's a lot going on. A string music group uses the Grange Hall every Wednesday
night - on a "donation only" basis. Fredonia Grangers hold an annual community
hog roast, an Easter egg hunt, and have become known as the people who can put
on a dinner or run a concession stand for all kinds of community organizations-the
list could go on and on. They've
also become known as excellent partners. The Marshall Community Credit Union asked
them to co-sponsor this year's Easter egg hunt, an event that drew 436 children
and their accompanying adults. "We'll be asking people from the Credit Union to
join Grange," says Rich. "We got several Fair Board members to join in just that
way." A special
project this year may yield more members. Fredonia Grange members are donating
to the county fairgrounds an historic schoolhouse that sits on their property.
Moving the building, paying for the move, and doing renovations are all part of
the project. "The schoolhouse will get us a lot of attention. The schoolhouse
will travel a route of over twenty miles and go right through Marshall. The cost
of moving alone is $17,000, so it's been a big project, and we've worked closely
with some non-Grangers to get it done. These are people we'll be asking to join
our Grange," says Randy Nail, Co-Chairperson.
The fair is an important event for Fredonia Grange members and friends, as the
food booth that they run there is their major fund-raiser for the year. In eight
days, they make $12,000 and provide tasty, high quality, reasonably priced food
to the fair-going public. For the past few years, they've also used their fair
food booth as a membership-recruitment tool. "We sell a Granger meal that includes
our signature super-sized sloppy Joe and our famous potato salad. And if you buy
a Granger meal, you get a Fredonia Grange brochure, a membership application,
and the chance to join Grange free for the first year. This is an opportunity
for people to experience Grange and give it a try, although we don't put them
on our membership rolls during the trial period. We've had several take us up
on this complimentary membership, and some have become actual members after the
first year was up!" While
some Granges struggle to keep new members interested, Fredonia Grange has had
considerable success. "Our meetings are fun. And we get people involved," Rich
says. "We find that if we just ask people to volunteer, they're not likely to
show up when we need them. But if we go that one extra step and call to ask them
especially, then they feel needed and they're right there to help." That's worked
to get younger members to take offices, too. "Randy had only been a member for
a year or two when we elected him to be Co-Chairperson; he might not have stayed
with us otherwise. And now he's a member of the State Grange Executive Committee."
Being a member
of Fredonia Grange clearly feels good. "We held two focus group sessions with
just Fredonia Grange members - and those were electrifying!" Jacqui says. "We
asked 'Why do you belong, what does it mean to you, what do you get out of being
a Granger?' The results were so impressive. We learned that people feel connected
- like family. They feel empowered - because they know that they can make a difference.
They feel joyous - because they have such a good time as they serve the community.
These are the things we need to let people know more about! And that's why we
say, 'Good People Having a Good Time for a Good Cause.'" | 
