Annual
Address
Of
National Master (President)
The National Grange of the
Order of Patrons of Husbandry
138th
Annual Session
Hyatt Regency Hotel, Rochester, New York
Tuesday, November
9, 2004 William
A. Steel, Master
 It is truly an
honor and privilege to have convened this 138th annual session of the National
Grange here in Rochester, New York. We are all indeed grateful for the efforts
of State Master Bruce Croucher, and Sister Croucher, as well as their outstanding
hosting committee for the excellent reception given to us, the arrangements that
have been made for housing and meeting and performance spaces, and the opportunities
to see a little bit of upstate New York at the same time. Thank you, Bruce and
Sharon, and all the members of your hosting team. This
is the fourth time that the National Grange has convened a convention in the city
of Rochester. The first time was in 1903, when National Master Aaron Jones of
Indiana called the session to order on November 11th. In his Master's address,
he called attention to the legislation demanded by the agricultural interests
of the country that had been considered and approved by at least four previous
conventions, but still were not enacted. Among the calls for action were: Free
delivery of mail in the rural districts; a constitutional amendment for the direct
election of United States Senators; a constitutional amendment granting Congress
the power to control corporations and combinations; the enactment of pure food
laws; and the enactment of anti-trust laws. On
the sixth day of that session a resolution was brought forward and passed to issue
an invitation to the well-known advocate for women's suffrage, Susan B. Anthony
to address the National Grange on the following day. At 11:00 the next morning
the convention recessed to hear an address by Miss Anthony. At this convention,
we will have the privilege to hear a presentation on Wednesday evening from the
current woman who portrays Miss Anthony today at her historic home here in Rochester,
and to hear first-hand accounts of the trials and tribulations of bringing the
right to vote to women in the United States. National
Master Louis J. Tabor convened the 64th annual session here on November 12th,
1930 in the midst of the great depression. He opened his Master's address with
the statement ".that Agriculture and our institutions have again demonstrated
the American way of solving difficult problems. There is worldwide depression,
unemployment and economic distress, caused in part, at least, by the decline in
the price of wheat, cotton, coffee, rubber, copper, silver, nitrates, and other
basic commodities. Every nation but ours, producing these basic raw materials,
has sought to answer its problems by rebellion, revolutions, or political upheavals.
The United States alone recognizes that these problems are more economic than
political, in both their origin and their solution." The
economic problems of the world don't go away, do they? The U.S. economy is slowly
pulling itself out of a depressed state caused mostly by terrorist activity. We
are still battling the foes of yesteryear that would deprive us of our basic liberties
and our pursuits of happiness.
It was also interesting to note in the 1930 Journal the call by Master Tabor for
the initiation of a program to honor long-time Grange service. He suggested the
naming of the awards as the Golden Sheaf and the Silver Star. To date, more than
97,500 members have been honored for 50 years of continuous membership with the
Golden Sheaf Certificate.
The Grange, in 1930, was trying to do what no other fraternal or farm organization
could do - provide an official publication on a voluntary subscription basis.
It was the dream of the leadership to provide a monthly publication at minimal
cost to every Grange home, so that the increased circulation would generate advertising
revenue to improve the quality of the paper and might actually provide added revenue
for the organization. Communication with every Grange home, tried several times
in our history, remains but a dream for the National Grange today.
Among the listing of names of members advancing to the Seventh Degree at that
convention was one Franklin D. Roosevelt, then governor of New York. We wonder
what up-coming national leader might be among the candidates for the Degree here
on Saturday afternoon.
Protection of the Grange name has consumed much time and funds in the past year
in our efforts to keep those not connected with the Order from using the name
and registered trademarks of the Grange. But it is not the first time these issues
have required our attention. In convening the 90th annual session here in Rochester
on November 14th, 1956, National Master Herschel D. Newsom of Indiana, reported
that the Executive Committee had voted that "...we must look well to our total
Grange structure and its full integrity". He noted that they were involved in
an effort to prevent the use of the name of our organization for unauthorized
purposes and as a label on companies' operations and products that have no relationship
to and are not under any measure of control or supervision by the Grange itself.
Master Newsom
called upon all Grange members to "..charge ourselves with a responsibility of
protecting the integrity of the name GRANGE and preserving the use of that name
for our organization itself." "The
Grange - Advocating for American Values" was the theme introduced as we left last
year's annual session in Vermont. We've seen much advocacy in the past year, and
it is my privilege to report on some of the results of those efforts. LEGISLATIVE
ACTIVITY This
year, our legislative program continued to set the standard among non-partisan
organizations for grassroots participation and political influence in Washington,
DC. We set record levels for attendance and participation during two National
Grange Legislative Fly Ins. The first was in Manchester, NH in January during
the New Hampshire Presidential Primary and the second was in Washington, DC in
May during the Second Session of the 108th Congress. The educational and advocacy
opportunities at these conferences continue to attract enthusiastic participation
from Grange members across the nation. Our
legislative communications this year continued to provide some of the best legislative
information, anywhere. This year marked the 35th anniversary of View from the
Hill, the Legislative Department's monthly newsletter. The weekly E-mail Action
Alert program provided our members with 60 different opportunities this year for
Grange members to contact their legislators or government officials to urge immediate
action on issues of concern to the Grange. The 2004 National Grange Legislative
Policy Book and Grassroots Training Manual was revised with a better layout and
a new eye catching cover. A new Legislative Department publication entitled Rural
Voters Matter outlined five key issue areas of concern to Grange voters across
the nation and was distributed to more than 270 candidates for federal office
this year, including an unsuccessful candidate for US Congress from the 19th district
of Pennsylvania of whom I am extremely proud. Perhaps
the most significant recognition for our legislative program came from two unconventional
sources. First, the national educational textbook publishing company, Glencoe/McGraw
Hill contacted our office and asked permission to include excerpts from the National
Grange's priority issues document, Blueprint for Rural America 2004 , in the next
edition of their high school textbook on civics and American government entitled
United States Government: Democracy in Action. Out of all of the thousands of
lobbying groups, trade associations, special interests and advocacy organizations
in Washington, DC, the editors at Glencoe/McGraw Hill singled out our Blueprint
for Rural America as the best example of positive, grassroots, issue-based advocacy
for the next generation to learn from, study and emulate. Second,
we were contacted by the Library of Congress in late October and asked if they
might include our 2004 campaign and election materials as part of their electronic
archives of the 2004 election. These materials will include Rural Voters Matter,
our federal candidates issues guide and Grange Voters Matter, our electronic Get
Out The Vote program that focused on e- voter registration and early/absentee
voting for rural and farming communities. This archive will become part of the
permanent collection of the Library of Congress and will be used by historians
and social scientists over the next generation to study the impact of electronic
media on the 2004 election.
THE CHANGING FACE OF U. S. AGRICULTURE
AND RURAL AMERICA The
National Grange, at the direction of our grassroots delegates, has been staking
out leadership roles in issues such as telecommunications, rural health care,
rural education, rural transportation, rural public safety and civic participation
in society as well as our traditional concerns related to production agriculture
and renewable energy issues. We are convinced that issues related to improving
and maintaining the quality of life in agriculture and rural communities will
be critical in attracting and retaining bright hard working individuals who will
manage the food, fiber, and renewable energy production resources of our nation
in the 21st Century. The
next generation of farmers will be young people who have grown up with all of
the benefits of modern life, technology and prosperity. The experiences of the
generations that came of age during the Great Depression, WWII, Korea, Vietnam,
the Cold War, and stagflation of the 1970's are going to have less and less influence
on farm policy as time goes by. Today's new generation of farmers, who are coming
to agriculture through FFA, as well as through other life experiences, are "MTV
farmers." They will demand not just higher incomes from their farm operations
but quality of life in the communities they decide to live in. Success in the
business of farming, as well as prosperous rural communities where successful
farmers will reside in the 21st Century, will depend on our ability to empower
the new generation of farmers to take control of their own destinies and to make
meaningful decisions that will affect their lives and businesses. I'd like to
give you a couple of examples that we observed this year of the type of positive
self empowerment that will be the hallmark of successful rural communities in
the future. The
first example I'd like to cite is the passage of legislation authorizing the end
of the Federal Tobacco Quota program. This is an emotional as well as financial
issue for hundreds of thousands of small and medium sized farmers. It's emotional
because many growers strongly believe that the tobacco quota program was generally
fair and good for tobacco farmers. Eliminating this program, as well as other
changes in the tobacco marketing system such as the end of open auction markets
for tobacco sales, is truly seen as a "way of life" turning point in tobacco country.
It's a financial issue because growers, themselves, came to the decision that
as fair as the old system once was, with a declining market for smokers in the
US, the quota system could not provide a reasonable return on investment for family
farmers. So the final decision to seek a fair and final return on the investment
made by hard working families across several generations who have produced tobacco
in this country in exchange for the retirement of the tobacco quotas was reasonable
and appropriate. It was a decision made by farmers in the interest of farmers,
not just in the interest of those who benefited under the old program but also
in the interest of producers who are looking forward to a quota free tobacco production
environment. It was the right decision, and I am proud that the National Grange
supported passage of this legislation this year.
The next example I'd like to cite is the proposal by Rabobank of the Netherlands
to buy the Farm Credit Bank in Omaha. This proposal presented another watershed
moment for US agriculture this year. It brought to our attention a larger question
about the role of cooperatives in farm policy. It challenged us to question whether
a farmer controlled cooperative organization has the right to sell itself to a
non-cooperative buyer if those farmers believe that the assets can be better used
to serve the customers by giving up its cooperative status? If the farmer members
of a cooperative do not have the right to sell their cooperative, then who has
the ultimate right to make major decisions affecting the future of that cooperative?
Does the government? Do other farmers who aren't members of the cooperative? Do
the cooperative's competitors? Fortunately
this issue was resolved when the Farm Credit Bank's board of directors, after
hearing from its farmer members that they did not want to sell their institution,
voted to cancel the sale. Strong support for farmers working with farmers to address
the issues and challenges facing their farmer-owned institutions should always
be the policy of the National Grange. Therefore, we should remain hesitant to
rush forth to Congress or the government to change the regulations or open the
statutes governing the management of farmer-owned and farmer-controlled cooperatives
until every reasonable opportunity has been given for farmer-elected boards and
farmer owners to address the challenges facing those cooperatives. These
examples should make us optimistic that the future for US agriculture is hopeful.
In our continued efforts to support our nation's family farmers and, by extension,
the rural communities they live and work in during these times of transition,
we should continue to instinctively trust the judgment of the people who live
and work in those communities and who invest their time, talent and energy in
the production of our nation's food, fiber and renewable energy resources. We
can not successfully second guess all of the individual business and family decisions
that people make when they decide to farm or live in rural communities. We are
not qualified to pick the winners or losers or to champion the interests of one
group of farmers over another in the dynamic economic environment of the 21st
Century. Our goal should be to expand, not reduce the options that people have
to participate in agriculture in our nation. We cannot always presume that farm
policies that worked in the past will continue to work in the future and we cannot
assume that popular opinion will always point us toward the most prudent business
or family decisions for the majority of our nation's farmers. ENERGY
In April, we had the opportunity to produce a series of energy issue radio advertisements
for airing in South Dakota, urging citizens to call US Senator Tom Daschel, asking
him to use his influence to move the comprehensive national energy legislation
forward. The coalition management firm Capitol Alliances of Woodbridge, VA was
our partner in this venture, that also saw ads run in the state of Maine urging
citizens to call Senators Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins. A total of 1,463 National
Grange radio ads were heard in Maine and South Dakota. In spite of our efforts,
the nation is still without the benefit of comprehensive national energy legislation
that would address the crisis of record energy prices and record dependence on
foreign sources of energy. I
appreciate the efforts of our Legislative Director, Leroy Watson, and his staff
who have made great progress this year toward the goal of national recognition
for our organization. MEDICARE
PRESCRIPTION DRUG PROGRAMS Our
successful promotion of the Pfizer Share Card over the past several years as a
member benefit, brought the Grange and Pfizer closer together as the 2003 Medicare
Prescription Drug Improvement and Modernization Act implementation began. The
National Grange in partnership with other health and public advocacy organizations
had the privilege of co-sponsoring a speaking tour featuring former U. S. Senator
Robert Dole. Launched on February 19, 2004 in Washington, DC, Senator Dole's speaking
tour reached millions of America's seniors with the important information regarding
their rights under the new law. By making prescription drugs more affordable to
our nation's seniors, older Americans will have better alternatives to invasive
surgery and extended hospitalizations. They will be better able to prevent existing
conditions from getting worse. I want to personally thank Senator Dole for his
efforts to help ensure that all Americans fully understand the benefits of the
new Medicare prescription drug program. We
did not stop with just that effort. The National Grange and Pfizer negotiated
a contract whereby the Granges across the nation would become sources of information
in rural America concerning the interim discount prescription drug card program,
and Pfizer would help finance the efforts to get the materials produced and available.
Our goal was
to have 1,000 Granges distribute fact sheets, 200 Granges host informational programs
for the community, and to secure 100 more major distribution locations, such as
State Grange conventions, and county fairs. I'm delighted to say that we are close
to meeting our goals, and Pfizer has indicated that they are looking forward to
working with us in the year ahead. My personal thanks are extended to the Marketing
and Sales Director, our Communications and Public Relations Managers, and to our
Chief Operations Officer for handling the negotiations, and the production of
the excellent materials. The
National Grange was one of only four organizations specifically recognized during
a press conference in New York City when Pfizer announced their expanded program
to provide prescription drugs at reduced cost to the uninsured and the underinsured
in America. Thanks to the efforts of our Public Relations Manager, Shaletta Espie,
I filmed two public service infomercials for Pfizer with statements related to
the prescription drug discount programs. I also made a presentation at a senior
center in St. Petersburg, Florida along with Pfizer executives. These opportunities
have brought national recognition to our organization, and are opening doors for
other possibilities in the future. The
full effects of the Medicare Prescription Drug legislation will not be felt until
2006. The year ahead will see much activity as the law is implemented. GRANGE
ACTION PROGRAMS My
first travel assignment following installation last November was to attend an
Action Grange Seminar in Illinois. Sally Crosiar conducted this and eight more
seminars across the country in the last year, contacting more than eighty Grange
Action Teams, with nearly 250 members. In order to keep the enthusiasm high and
be able to address issues as they came up, we set up a discussion area on the
National Grange website where questions, concerns, and successes could be posted,
and responded to as needed. The successes have included better attendance at meetings,
greater involvement in the local community, and renewed vigor in the community
Grange. An inspired leadership can and does make things happen. Leadership
training is essential to a prosperous Grange. The programs offered by Brother
Luttrell are excellent. They can and do produce results. Without those efforts
we would not have added the State Grange of Alaska to our voting delegation for
the first time at this 138th annual session. The
Grange Law and Good of the Order Committee will be addressing the changes needed
in the Digest of Laws to continue to make the successes of the Action program
available to all Granges, and the Audit and Budget Committee will be wrestling
with the allocation of funds for future leadership training and organizational
efforts. GETTING
THE WORD OUT We
have been delighted with the response to our suggestion that State Granges pick
up more news from the National Grange for printing in State Grange publications.
This is the only feasible means to get our word out to the local membership at
present. We appreciate your cooperation. The "News Corner" that we set up this
year on the Website is getting more and more attention as the year progresses.
Our up-dated Website is an active location. You will also be hearing about our
efforts to get the "New Grange" into the hands of more members at the local level
as reports are given by the staff. As
another part of the effort to assist local leadership we have instituted the "Idea
Fair" at this convention. As the week progresses you will see more and more tables
in the lobby, filled with ideas for programs and projects that work. Our thanks
go to DoriAnn Gedris for her efforts in coordinating this event. DoriAnn
directs our Marketing Department at the National Office. We've made some changes
in suppliers in the past year and you will see samples of that effort here also.
Her report to you will also highlight our efforts to boost membership benefit
programs. JUNIOR
GRANGE EVALUATION The
delegates to the 2003 convention directed that a thorough review be made of the
Junior Grange program. A team was assembled, and they met twice in Washington,
DC to review every aspect of the Junior Grange program. John and Hannah West of
New Hampshire co-chaired the team. Other members were Patty Dyer, Ohio, and Carol
Evans, Washington, both State Junior Grange Directors; Jamie Klenklen, Kansas,
a former member of the National Junior Grange Advisory Committee, and Henry Seidel
of Pennsylvania, an active Junior Grange Leader. Sister Sherry Harriman, the National
Junior Grange Development Director, participated both as a resource and as an
active member of the Evaluation Team. I
want to express my sincere appreciation for the work of the Junior Grange Evaluation
Team and their dedication to this important project. Their final report is being
assigned to the Grange Law and Good of the Order, and the Grange Growth and Development
Committees for consideration at this convention. RULINGS
OF THE NATIONAL MASTER The
National Master was asked for an interpretation of the Digest of Laws, Section
10.11.1, Alcoholic Beverages. The specific question dealt with a wine display
and judging at a community fair sponsored by a Grange. The original wording of
this section prohibited the "having" of alcohol in a Grange hall or on Grange
property. An amendment provided an exception if a State Grange voted to allow
alcohol at non-Grange functions at or on Grange property. Under this provision,
many Grange halls across the country are rented for wedding receptions and anniversary
parties where, for example, sparkling wine is served. However, I believe that
display of a product is different from consumption. I also believe that section
10.11.1 was enacted primarily to give State Granges some authority over the consumption
of alcoholic beverages on Grange property, because of the potential liability
that could arise if someone who had consumed too much alcohol at a function held
on Grange property was later in an accident. But
the display of a product containing alcohol does not give rise to the same concern
as its consumption. Wine making is a growing hobby as well as a mainstay of commercial
agriculture, so it is natural and proper to include this product in an agricultural
display at a fair. I ruled that the entry, judging and display of wine should
be permitted at a Grange fair and is not subject to the State Grange prior approval
requirements of Section 10.11.1. This ruling, according to tradition, is being
submitted to the Grange Law Committee for their review and action. THANKS
I want to take this opportunity to thank all of the members of your National Grange
staff , both in Washington, and in the field, for their cooperation during this
past year. It was a little rocky getting started, but we have all grown in understanding
of our mission and goals, and the important roles that we each play in the success
of the operation of this national organization. Brother
Dick Weiss provides excellent on-site representation for our full house of tenants,
as well as overseeing the management of the staff in Washington. He and I have
learned to share the time of Carrie Harris, our Administrative Assistant, without,
I hope, causing too much stress on Carrie. She is without a doubt, a key member
of our staff. Clyde
Berry, Ed Luttrell, Cindy Greer, and Sherry Harriman, our outside field Directors,
you have all contributed to our successes this year. We could not have done it
alone! Thanks for your devotion and dedication. CONCLUSION
As we celebrate
our accomplishments this year we should also use this moment to set more ambitious
goals to reach out to our local communities and to help foster cooperation and
dialogue, especially across partisan and philosophical divides in our great nation.
We have just finished one of the most contentious elections for the Presidency
and control of the US Congress in our nation's history. Nothing illustrates the
depth of this political divide better than two newspapers. The Crawford, Texas
Iconoclast, President Bush's hometown newspaper, endorsed Senator Kerry for President
while the Boston Herald from Sen. Kerry's hometown, endorsed President Bush.
A vigorous and hard fought election is not, per se, something to be concerned
about. To the contrary, elections that represent a dialogue on important national
questions that are resolved through the shared national experience of voting are
the strength of our process, not a weakness. Record high numbers of voters participating
in an election is a victory not a defeat for democracy. However, we should raise
concerns about the election process when that process is being subtly altered
and manipulated through the continued influx of vast amounts of money, when questionable
campaign and voting practices are aimed at keeping some candidates from appearing
on the ballot or are aimed at keeping some voters from going to the polls, when
we see increasingly partisan media reports and when the threat of litigation hangs
over every aspect of an election. All of these disturbing trends, if left unchecked,
point toward a future political environment where the average voter is transformed
from an active citizen who influences the course of our nation's history by participating
in the political process into a "political consumer" who is only asked to passively
choose between the skillfully marketed and advertised policy packages offered
by various candidates.
Elections are supposed to be the time when the people have their voice heard in
our democratic government. But more than any other election in recent history,
the public discourse in this election seemed to be about everything except the
concerns of the voters. That is why your National Grange became actively involved
in the election process for the first time during this campaign cycle. Our efforts
focused on educating candidates about the concerns of voters, rather than the
other way around. I don't know how effective our efforts were in changing the
tone of the debate and focusing attention on the ideas of voters rather than the
sound bites of the candidates but at least some thoughtful observers at the Library
of Congress believed our efforts are worth future study. I sincerely hope that
our efforts can serve as a model to other concerned citizens and organizations
in our great Republic to devise more creative ways to take back the election process
and in turn, take it out of the hands of the politicians, pollsters, legislators,
media pundits, lawyers and judges.
We look forward to working with President Bush's Administration in 2005 and beyond.
In some small way we hope to assist in healing the political and philosophical
divide that has descended on our great republic. Let's all get back to talking
to our neighbors about issues that concern us and find ways to mend our common
fences so that we can again be "one nation under God." May
our motto, "In essentials, unity; in non-essentials, liberty; in all things, charity"
guide our deliberations and our actions in the week ahead, and as we go forth
from this place to lead this organization to new heights, to new locations, in
2005! Fraternally
Submitted, William
A. Steel, Master The National Grange | 
