On August 5, 2010, The National Grange welcomed veteran government relations professional, Nicole Palya Wood as their new Legislative Affairs Director. Nicole brings to the organization over 13 years of government affairs experience in both the congressional and state arenas, and a self-proclaimed passion for the legislative process. “I am excited about the opportunity to use my skills and experiences in government relations and grassroots political management to further build the legislative program of the National Grange,” said Wood.

A native of Virginia, Nicole graduated from James Madison University and caught the bug for legislative affairs while working as a legislative aide for Senator Frank Ruff in the Virginia State Legislature. She would later represent the National Rifle Association as a State Legislative Liaison in the mid-atlantic and southern region as well as serving as Manager of Government Affairs for TAP Pharmaceuticals.

In D.C., Nicole previously served as the Director of Legislative Affairs for the Federal Home Loan Bank of Atlanta, lobbying the House Financial Services and Senate Banking Committees. She continued her work on rural housing and community banking issues as the Senior Lobbyist for America’s Community Bankers, a trade association of community banks, where she also served as a resource on farm credit issues.

“Nicole Palya Wood brings a tremendous amount of experience and enthusiasm to our legislative programs,” said National Grange President Ed Luttrell. “I am confident that whether working on Capitol Hill to represent the National Grange, or meeting with our grassroots Grange activists from around the nation, Nicole will uphold the high standards of professional government relations work that has been the hallmark of our legislative program for 143 years,” Luttrell concluded.

When not on the Hill, Nicole is working on her Certification as a Professional Dog Trainer and enjoys spending time with her New Zealand-born husband Campbell, their Anatolian Shepherd and Rhodesian Ridgeback. She also enjoys serving as a volunteer for The Campagna Center mentoring programs, where she has been appointed as a board member since 2007. Nicole and her husband live in Alexandria, Virginia just around the corner from George & Martha Washington’s Mount Vernon estate.

As part of a broad coalition of other public interests and consumer organizations to support open internet, the National Grange recently wrote to the House and Senate Commerce Committee asking them to support the adoption of legislation which would guarantees Internet that is accessible to all. In their comments, the coalition contends that current regulatory policies have made it possible for the rapid growth of broadband technology throughout the past decade. The coalition went on to say that policies such as the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) National Broadband Plan are a welcome step towards continuing to bring affordable broadband access to every corner of the country, including those in rural and geographically challenging areas.

However, the coalition is concerned that the FCC’s recently announced “third way” proposal—to mandate certain types of access to the Internet—could unintentionally deter investment in rural areas and stifle the growth of broadband technology across the country. According to a recent FCC survey, only 50% of rural citizens use broadband at home. In order to help the other half of rural residents gain access to broadband, private sector investment is needed.

The coalition went on to say that if the FCC’s “third way” proposal is left unchecked, the private sector marketplace will begin a period of reduced innovation and, as a result, inhibit the expansion of broadband services in our communities. Classifying broadband technology as Title II Service will further
isolate rural communities, impeding their ability to grow businesses, connect with employment opportunities, educational institutions, health care providers, and communicate with our government.

The coalition fears that limited investment will invariably reduce efforts to provide improved broadband access to rural America and cease initiatives aimed at providing high-speed Internet to our most underserved communities. At a time when Americans in rural areas stand to benefit tremendously from the economic, educational, and health care opportunities afforded by broadband access, we are deeply concerned about proposed changes that could slow down broadband deployment in our communities.

The coalition is also deeply concerned about the immediate economic implications of the FCC’s proposed regulations on rural areas. Discouraging investment in broadband infrastructure will hurt job creation in our communities, which is especially pertinent given the fragile state of our economy. At a time of economic unrest, we think it unwise to introduce such unprecedented regulations and cannot support any policy that could possibly result in additional job loss.

Finally, the organizations asked the House and Senate Commerce Committees to investigate the potential impact that the FCC’s “third way” proposal could have on rural communities.

It was with mixed emotions that I recently submitted my resignation as Legislative Affairs Director for the National Grange. My wife Cheryl and I have talked for quite some time about our future career and lifestyle goals. We have decided that continued residence in the Washington, DC area is not part of those plans. Therefore, we have made arrangements to move our family to our new residence near Appleton, WI in August. We have already purchased a single family home in that community and moved most of our furniture out to the new house. Our whole family is excited about this move. We are confident that the community we have chosen to relocate to will offer us a superior environment for raising our daughter. We are equally blessed to be moving into a community where there are already many friends and family members ready to greet us and help us with the transition. All in all, we are highly confident that this is the right decision for our family.

May 13, 2010 marked the 25th anniversary of my moving to Washington, DC to work for the Legislative Department of the National Grange. I have been honored by the confidence that your National Grange leadership has placed in my abilities working for the legislative program. I have been blessed to work with five National Masters, more than 2 dozen Executive Committee members, approximately 65 fellow National Grange employees and directors, more than 100 individual state Grange legislative directors, more than 100 National Grange officers and more than 300 individual National Grange delegates during my two tenures with the Legislative Department of the National Grange. I could not have asked for a more supportive team and productive work environment than I was granted as a member of for most of the past quarter century. I will cherish the personal and professional relationships I developed working for the National Grange for the rest of my life.

My successor, Nicole Payla Wood, is introduced to you in another article in this newsletter. We have had an extremely productive overlap week working together to make the transition go smoothly and seamlessly. I am highly impressed by her professionalism and experience in the field of government relations. I have reviewed her resume to see where I might provide additional guidance during the transition, but frankly can not find any technical skills lacking in her experience. She is at the point in her career where the next logical step is to take on the responsibility to manage a government relations program. It is also obvious to me that the National Grange Legislative Program is the perfect place for her to assume those responsibilities. I have all confidence that she is the right person to”.. advance the interests, elevate the character and increase the influence of all Patrons of Husbandry..” through our legislative program. I hope that every one participating in our National Grange Legislative Program will give her the same benefit of their guidance, counsel and advice that I received so generously over the past 11 years.

National Master Ed Luttrell has asked me to stay on as a part-time consultant , at least through the end of the year in the new position of Special Director for Trademark Protection and Brand Management. In this new role, I will continue the tasks assigned to me nearly two and a half years ago which is to manage our trademark protection efforts and to find new ways to enhance the value of our trademark protected logo for the benefit of our Grange members and local Granges across the nation. More than 2000 local Granges as well as nearly 100 successful legacy companies, cooperatives, credit unions, fairs and other commercial enterprises use the name GRANGE every year to market products and/or services to the public. Unfortunately, there are also a handful of businesses that, knowingly and unknowingly, use the name GRANGE to market their products or services without our proper permission. These businesses clearly want to use the goodwill and positive public image that our trademarked name and logo have with the general public to their private or commercial advantage. Addressing these infringements in a manner that is fair, consistent, and cost effective is a major priority of your National Master and Board of Directors. I am honored that I have been asked to continue to contribute some of my time and talent to address this challenge.

Ultimately, the National Grange Legislative Program succeeds because of the extraordinary selfless efforts of the volunteer Grange leaders across the nation whose primary motivation is captured in the Legislative Department theme: “Celebrating the Responsibilities of Citizenship.” We have used this theme for most of the past decade to describe the National Grange Legislative Program as the best opportunity for politically motivated individuals in our local Grange communities to engage in civic participation in our society. Credit for any successes of the National Grange Legislative Program during
my tenure belongs entirely to these individuals.

It has been an honor and privilege to direct the National Grange Legislative Program.