National Grange

Bill Steel, National Grange Master, spoke during the April 19, 2006 Successful Actions Teleconference.

“We started Action Grange about 2000. For the last year or so, we’ve been taking a look back at what has happened. I’m in the process of writing a report about the results of our discussions.”

“The original strategic planning Task Force developed a vision statement. The last part of that statement is about the role that National Grange needs to play. It says, ‘At the state and national level, the Grange will be flexible, well governed, proactive partner in support of issues that are relevant to members and the communities in which they live. It will be accountable to and supportive of the leadership and membership at the local Grange. The Grange will be responsive to the member's time, committed to membership growth, and designed for relevance and national preeminence.’ Most of the statement, though, is about the importance of the role played by local Granges in their own communities. I keep looking at how we can help local Granges fulfill their role in communities better.”

“As part of an ongoing strategic planning process and at the meeting of State Masters and their spouses this past February, we’ve been asking an important question of ourselves. Why do we exist as an organization?”

“You’ll note that we’re not talking about promoting specific agricultural production, but about educating people about how important agriculture is to our communities”

“I did two interviews today. One was for the Ag Radio Network. I talked about how local Granges have helped get information out about Medicare. The second interview was with a newspaper in Northern Vermont who was covering the 100 th Anniversary of Lakeview Grange. That particular Grange is doing great, but in the course of their conversations, the reporter wanted to know what the status is of Grange in general. Part of what I’m here to do is to help get out that kind of information. You can listen to these interviews by clicking on http://www.nationalgrange.org/news-events/radiointerview.htm.”

Membership – What we need to do is create a strong demand for membership – because we’re doing so much at the local level and making such an important contribution to our communities – that it will result in growth.
Increase awareness of National Grange – We need local Granges to understand how we can support them and know how to relate to our role which is a bit different from the roles they play in their communities.
Agricultural Education – LeRoy Watson recently did an excellent interview on Ag Radio Network about the issue of Eminent Domain and how that is affecting agriculture. We’ve gotten an excellent response about our efforts to educate the public about eminent domain – and we seem to be the only organization talking about this issue.
Develop more quality programs that a local Lecturer can use at Grange meetings – We want to help make it easy. Just push a couple of buttons and you’ve got a great program. Methamphetamine, commonly referred to as meth, is a highly addictive drug that is affecting every segment of society, especially rural America. Our DVD, ‘Methamphetamine: A Menace to Rural America.’ is 15-minutes with highlights about problems with meth in rural areas. It explains who is affected and gives advice on how rural Americans can combat meth labs in their areas. Meth producers are attracted to farming areas because it affords them a privacy that urban areas do not provide. As a result, farmers have to assume the burden of costly toxic clean-ups and stolen farming chemicals that aid producers with the creation of meth. The average clean-up cost is $25,000 to $30,000. Meth abuse has increased a lot, affecting kids and families. You can get a copy of the DVD to show at your local Grange meeting. We do have a few technical details to work out to make the DVD more professional. Our next one will be much better. We want to develop several turnkey programs which you’ll be able to get through the National Grange Marketing Department and on our website. We’ll be doing a similar DVD program about Oliver Hudson Kelley who will be inducted into the National Agricultural Center and Hall of Fame this coming October.”

“These efforts are part of our overall approach to bolstering an image of Grange so that’s recognized, definitely preeminent, and seen as worth people’s time.”

“And then the other thrust of our strategic planning process has been focused on finances. The big question is how can we maintain a fiscally sound operation – without doing another dues increase.”

“Action Grange has come to a crossroads. We’re still supporting action because it’s action that’s taken on the local level that makes Granges successful. Financial considerations are important too, and for now we’ve chosen to sponsor Successful Actions Teleconferences rather than send an Action Grange Facilitator all over the country when we can’t guarantee a good turnout of people.”

“We are going into a state and trying to get all the Granges that we can to be there for a day and a half. We talk about how to get involved in the community, how to set up a program of work – very similar to what was covered in Action Grange Seminars. Ed Luttrell is doing this. I worked with him on one in Iowa, and our plan is to go back again in the summer and work with the same folks again.”

“Ed’s available to go to any state. We just need to have you get at least 30 people – teams of 3-4 people per Grange because it takes a team to make a difference at the local level. Contact Ed for more information.”