First
Lady of North Carolina Elected As
National Flora at 138th Convention
 WASHINGTON,
December 7, 2004 - Anita Gentry, the wife of North Carolina Master Jimmy Gentry,
was named as the National Flora at the 138th National Grange Convention in Rochester,
New York. Peggy Fine, First Lady of Oregon, previously held the position. This
is the first national officer position held by Gentry.
"I
was shocked to be elected, but I'm honored," said Gentry. "I didn't think people
knew my name. I've never been in the limelight in the Grange. I've just supported
Jimmy." Gentry
first became involved in the Grange 40 years ago as a Junior Granger at the Corriher
Grange in North Carolina. "I joined the Grange because I wanted to have fun,"
said Gentry. "All of my friends were in the Grange, and they always talked about
all the fun they were having. It was mainly about people taking care of people
when I joined." Not only did Gentry find fun and excitement at the Grange, she
found love. She met and fell in love with her husband at a state youth activity.
Gentry
believes in order for the Grange to regain its past glory, it must primarily focus
on people. "The Grange is about people," said Gentry. "You can't find better people
- that's the connection. I think that the 'people connection' will keep the Grange
going. No matter what member benefits you have or legislative policies you advocate
for, if you don't have activities for people to fellowship and take care of each
other, than you lose what the Grange is truly about." For
more than 18 years, Gentry has been a registered nurse in Statesville, North Carolina.
She is the mother of two children - Terri, and Jennie, who is the Public Relations
and Youth Director at the North Carolina State Grange.
Founded in 1867, the National Grange is the nation's oldest
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. |
