| William
A. Steel Elected New National Grange President  Burlington,
VT, November 12, 2003 - William A. Steel is the newly elected 21st Master
(President) of the National Grange. On Wednesday, November 12, 2003 at the 137th
Annual National Grange Convention in Burlington, Vermont, the delegates of the
oldest rural advocacy organization in the United States elected Steel to the highest
office of the National Grange of the Order of the Patrons of Husbandry.
Steel
is a native of western Pennsylvania. He became affiliated with the Grange more
than 50 years ago when he joined the Big Knob Juvenile Grange. He has served as
Master of his Juvenile, Subordinate, Pomona and State Granges. In
1969, Steel became the Director of Youth Activities for the National Grange in
Washington, D.C. He also supervised the production and supply departments and
organized the Grange-Farm Film Foundation. Steel
returned to Pennsylvania in 1985 and again became active in local Grange activities
and was elected Pomona (County) Master. He was elected Overseer (Vice President)
of the Pennsylvania State Grange in 1992, serving four years before becoming Master.
He was elected to the National Grange Executive Committee in 1998. Steel
is active in the Lutheran Church and has served his home congregation as a certified
lay worship leader since the death of their pastor in 1991. He is a former representative
for Aid Association for Lutherans, a fraternal benefit society. Recently,
Steel was reelected to the position of agricultural trustee for Penn State University.
He has also served on several other statewide agricultural and educational boards.
Bill
has three sons and two grandchildren. His wife, Mary-Lee, died in 1998.
Founded
in 1867, the National Grange is the nation's oldest general agricultural and rural
advocacy organization. It has grassroots units in 3,600 local communities in 37
states, with over 200,000 members. It serves farm, non-farm, rural families
and communities on a wide variety of economic, educational, legislative and family
issues. | 
