Achievement Awards - May be earned by any Grange member any age. If you feel this is something that you would like to participate in and take the time and effort to meet the requirements and wish to receive a certificate, please complete the tasks for each seal and certificate.

Seals do not have to be earned in any order.

A certificate will be issued with the first seal earned for each individual Achievement Award in a given year. Additional seals will be sent separately if applied for at different times.

Many ideas for programs, projects and workshops can be developed from the guidelines presented in these Achievement Awards. Let your imagination guide you as you develop programs and reach out to people in your community.

Caroline A. Hall is recognized as the “eighth” founder of the Grange. One of the many gifts she brought to the organization was the gift of music. She was a major force behind the production of the first Grange Song Book. This award will recognize those who are still contributing talent to the Grange and to their community. Another of the things she was noted for was her contributions to her community.

Sapphire: Share a specific talent you have in one of your Subordinate Grange or your Pomona Grange programs. Obtain a letter of verification from the program chairman and send a copy of it to the National Grange Youth Development Director. The letter should include the date of performance and the number of people in attendance.

Emerald: Participate in a Community service project in your community. Obtain a letter of verification from the project coordinator and send a copy of it to the National Grange Youth Development Director. The letter should include the dates you helped with the project and as many specifics as possible.

Silver : Share a specific talent you have at one of your State Grange activities or enter a talent contests which doesn’t have to be a Grange Talent contest. Obtain a letter of verification from the program chairman or contest coordinator and send a copy of it to the National Grange Youth Development Director. The letter should include the date of performance and the number of people in attendance.

Ruby: Share a specific talent at a regional conference, assist with planning games or workshops. Obtain a letter of verification from the program chairman and send a copy of it to the National Grange Youth Development Director. The letter should include the date of performance and the number of people in attendance

Gold: Assist in organizing or organize a local community talent show or a community service project. Newsletters and other forms of publicity should be utilized. Submit a copy of the program, which includes the names of the program or project, which includes the names of the people participating and the title of their performance with the number in attendance and date to the National Grange Youth Development Director.

Copper : Participate in or organize a fundraiser for a charity and complete the report form for the Caroline A. Hall T.L.C. recognition program.

Any member who completes five levels in one calendar year will receive a special
Achievement Award lapel pin.

Drills are impressive and a method of teaching team work. Learning to work with other people is an important skill in life.

Minimum number of People in a Drill (3) – Three. There is no maximum limit.

Sapphire: To earn this seal an individual must participate in a drill presentation at your subordinate or Pomona Grange; or participate in a school drill or other organization drill. You will need to obtain a letter from the Grange, school or organization official verifying your participation.

Emerald: Participate in a drill presentation at your state Grange Youth Camp, Convention or Drill competition. You will need to obtain a letter from an official verifying your participation and send it to the National Grange Youth Development Director.

Silver: Participate in a Regional Drill presentation or competition. Your participation needs to be verified by an official in the region and sent to the National Grange Youth Development Director.

Ruby: Create an original Drill and lead a group in the drill at your local Grange, Pomona Grange, State Grange, Regional Conference or in a school or other organization setting. Submit a copy of the drill to the National Youth Development Director along with a list of all the participants.

Gold: Prepare and present a workshop on drills. Send a copy of your material to the National Youth Development Director with the date the workshop was presented and the number of people who attended along with your evaluation for improving the workshop. (Newspaper article may meet these requirements)

Any member who completes all five levels in one calendar year will receive a special
Achievement Award lapel pin.

Learning to become financially sound as an individual or as an organization is very important and a life skill that we all need to develop. The sooner we develop the skills the better off we can hope to be. Both Frances McDowell and his Wife Eva McDowell served as the treasurer for the National Grange.

Sapphire: Learn about the various options banks offer for checking accounts and savings accounts. Write a report on what you learned and tell which of the options seems to best serve your needs at this time. Send a copy of your report to the National Grange Youth Development Director.

Emerald: Participate on a committee to develop a budget for your community or Pomona Grange and send a copy of the budget to the National Grange Youth Development Director.

Ruby: Learn about various credit cards and create a chart that shows similarities and differences in the companies. Write an essay about the advantages and disadvantages of credit card use and send a copy of the chart and essay to the National Grange Youth Development Director.

Silver: Write an essay about various ways to invest financial resources and send a copy to the National Grange Youth Development Director.

Gold: Learn what is required to get a loan for college, an automobile, a home, or property. Create an outline that includes the items you will need and how you can secure them. Send a copy of the outline to the National Grange Youth Development Director.

Any member who completes five levels in one calendar year will receive a special
Achievement Award lapel pin.

William Saunders, John Trimble, and Aaron B. Grosh, Grange founders were also ministers. This may be the reason why we see numerous biblical references in our degree work. They must have thought that this aspect of the Grange was important and in honor of them we encourage you to develop your spirituality.

Sapphire: Assist or teach Vacation Bible School, participate in a church youth group or serve as a helper to another church based group working with younger children. Obtain a letter from a church leader to verify your participation and send it to the National Grange Youth Development Director.

Emerald: Participate in and assist in preparing a worship service for a youth group function. Send a copy of the service as confirmation to the National Grange Youth Development Director.

Ruby: Assist your State Grange Chaplain with a memorial ceremony/service. Obtain a letter from the Chaplain that explains your participation and send it to the National Grange Youth Development Director.

Silver: Assist or teach a Sunday school class at your church on a regular basis for a minimum of three months. Obtain a letter confirming your service from the Sunday school teacher or the clergy and send it to the National Grange Youth Development Director.

Gold: Write a devotional or story about insight gained from an experience, a Bible verse or a special song. Send the devotional or story to the National Grange Youth Development Director.

Any member who completes five levels in one calendar year will receive a special
Achievement Award lapel pin.

The value of knowing our roots is very important. Often times we gain insights by learning and studying about those who have preceded us. The computer age is upon us and we see a need for our Grange history to be computerized.

Sapphire: Create a presentation (Power Point if possible) about the founders of the Grange. Send a copy of the presentation on CD or disk to the National Grange Youth Development Director.

Ruby: Present the presentation about the Founders or Grange history you created at your local community Grange. Obtain a letter from an officer confirming your presentation and send it to the National Grange Youth Development Director.

Silver: Present the presentation about the Founders or Grange history you created at your Pomona Grange. Obtain a letter from an officer confirming your presentation and send it to the National Grange Youth Development Director.

Any member who completes five levels in one calendar year will receive a special
Achievement Award lapel pin.

Founders Ireland, Trimble, Thompson and Saunders added significantly to the development of the Grange. Their contributions were each unique. Therefore exploring various topics or trying something new and different can develop skills that a person might use the rest of their life. You‘ll never know if you don’t try.

Sapphire: Select an area of interest, learn as much about your selection as you can, prepare an exhibit and exhibit it at a county fair, Grange fair or exhibit day or meeting, trade fair, or in a local business.  (Examples include:  Animals, crops, home improvements, home economics skills, Science, wood working, mechanical, computer technology, photography, art, musical talent, theatrical talents, the possibilities are endless....) Take pictures of your project, keep records of the expenses involved in the project, compare the costs involved with the potential profit, evaluate and write a conclusion about your project.  Keep all your information in a notebook and present it to your State Youth Director who will apply for your Achievement Award.  

Emerald: Create or modify a game or workshop to make learning parliamentary procedure fun! Teach the game to a group. Submit a copy of the game to the National Youth Development Director.

Ruby: Participate in local judging classes or organize or help organize a local judging event for other youth in your Grange, community and other clubs or create a consumer choice judging skill challenge for others. Obtain a letter verifying participation or send a copy of publicity of the event or the actual challenge to the National Grange Youth Development Director.

Silver: Explore a career in any area of interest and write a summary of what you learned and what you decided about that career. Send a copy of the summary to the National Grange Youth Development Director.

Any member who completes four levels in one calendar year will receive a special
Achievement Award lapel pin

This award presents an opportunity for individuals and/or groups to explore the language of signing by learning to finger spell, sign songs and to communicate utilizing non-verbal skills.

Communication is very important in life, Sign Language is a form of communication.  Individuals who learn sign language by participating in this program may find their career goal.  Sign language is often considered as a second language and meets foreign language credits in some school settings.  Sign language also helps us understand what other foreign languages are trying to convey at times.

Regional competitions will be held.  Each state is entitled to send three entries (One novice, one hobbyist, and one group) to their respective regional conference.

Sapphire: Learn the Manual Alphabet - demonstrate to Subordinate, Pomona or state Youth director your achievement.  You must be able to finger spell a word given to you by the chairman whom you are demonstrating.  If demonstrating to Subordinate or Pomona Chairman obtain a letter stating your achievement and send it to the National Grange Youth Development Director.

Emerald: Learn sign language to a song and sign a song at a Grange meeting or some other public place (church or other organization).  Obtain a letter confirming your presentation and send it to the National Grange Youth Development Director .

Silver: Sign a song in your states contest, if one is available.  Your State Youth Director will apply for your award.

Ruby: Sign a song in your regional contest either as an individual or as a group entry.

Gold: Learn Sign Language and be able to communicate with another person in sign language.  Be able to demonstrate this skill to a trained Sign language interpreter or instructor.  Have the instructor or interpreter write a letter confirming your skill and send it to the National Grange Youth Development Director.

Any member who completes five levels in one calendar year will receive a special
Achievement Award lapel pin.

This award is designed to encourage Youth to mentor Junior Grange members or younger youth in the community through such programs as Foster care, Big brothers and Sisters, Imagine the Possibilities.....

Sapphire: Assist the Junior Grange leader with the Junior Grange meetings and activities - obtain a letter confirming your assistance from the Junior Leader and send it to the National Grange Youth Development Director.  

If no Junior Grange exists in your area look for other clubs to assist, such as 4-H, Boy scouts, Girls scouts, Volunteer to read at Story hour at your local library, etc.

Emerald: Contact other mentoring programs (big brothers and sisters, foster care, etc.) to determine if you can be of assistance in any of their programs or Volunteer to read at story hour at your local library once a month for a period of 6 months.  Obtain a letter from those organizations of the work you do participate in and send a copy of it to the National Grange Youth Development Director.

Silver: Become a counselor for your State Junior Grange Camp, or counselor at any other camp (4-H, Church, etc.), obtain a letter from the camp director confirming your participation as a counselor which should be sent to the National Grange Youth Development Director.

Ruby: Be a buddy for any junior member attending the state convention.   Obtain a letter from an official stating your participation as a buddy and give a copy of it to the National Grange Youth Development Director.  

Any member who completes all four levels in one calendar year will receive a special Achievement Award lapel pin.

All people need to develop the ability to speak in front of a group of people, to organize their thoughts and convictions and to effectively present them.

The ability to speak publicly is partially obtained through practice.  Therefore the Youth development department will provide opportunities for people of all ages to practice their Public Speaking skills. There are several ways to practice Public Speaking skills: Impromptu speech, Prepared speech, Elevator Speech….  

Oral communication skills are needed in all walks of life, a future president of the United States of America may obtain or improve their oral communication skills through this program.

The Public Speaking program will be divided up into age categories as follows: 13-19; 20-29; 30 plus years.  Junior Grange members and Grange members may enter the program.  The age of the contestant at the first elimination will determine the age group.

Sapphire: Prepare and present a speech to your Grange or another group.  Your Subordinate youth chairman or Master may verify your participation by writing a confirmation letter, which is to be sent to the National Grange Youth Development Director .

Emerald: Present your speech at a Pomona Grange activity or meeting or other county activity.  Your Pomona Youth chairman or Master may verify your participation by writing a confirmation letter and sending it to the National Grange Youth Development Director.

Silver: Participate in your State Grange’s Public Speaking program.  State Youth Directors will apply for this Achievement Award for participants. All state winners will compete at the regional program, which will be held at the regional youth conferences.

Ruby: Participate in your regional Public Speaking program.

Gold: Prepare and present a workshop on Public Speaking for your local Grange or another group. Obtain a letter of confirmation from the Master or person in charge of the group and send it to the National Grange Youth Development Director .

Any member who completes all five levels in one calendar year will receive a special
Achievement Award lapel pin.

This challenge is designed to increase the knowledge of Grange trivia, events and world events.

The challenge will be in a written format.  The questions will include but not be limited to the Grange fourth degree Manuel, the digest, Grange History books, the National Grange Officers and Directors, and local news media (national and international stories).

Awards: The award will be a certificate noting the completion of challenge for those who score above 75%.

Challenges may be obtained at any time by contacting the National Youth Development Director or simply Click Here to Download Trivia. When you have completed the challenge return it to the National Youth Development Director, Cindy Greer, and 7629 C.R. 100, Hesperus, CO  81326.

Horizon Leadership participants will be expected to complete the Trivia Challenge prior to attending and participating in the National convention.