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JUNE 2006

The National Grange’s 2006 Legislative Fly-In: A Complete Success!
My 2006 Fly-In Experience
MediGrange Part D Outreach Success Stories
Grangers Organized To Vote

The National Grange’s 2006 Legislative Fly-In: A Complete Success!

For the 9th year in a row Grangers from across the country came to Washington, DC to participate in the National Grange’s Legislative Fly-In 2006. Eighty Grangers arrived in DC on May 22 nd looking forward to two days filled with tours, informational sessions and Congressional visits.

The first day began with a quick breakfast and some opening remarks by National President, Bill Steel, and Legislative Director, Leroy Watson before Grangers boarded the metro for their first activity of the day – A tour of the Pentagon. Grangers quickly passed the security check to enter the Pentagon, and were split into smaller groups in order to better navigate “the biggest office building in the world”.


Laddie Marous and Teresa Burke with Rep. Schmidt (OH)

Randy and Linda Lewis from the California State Grange

John and Peggy Fine with John Shank from the Oregon

After the tour, everyone gathered in the Pentagon dining room to enjoy a nice meal and to listen to personal testimonials and stories of some of the men and women who were working in the Pentagon when it came under attack on September 11, 2001. The speakers told a very powerful story of the shocking first moments of fear, fire, confusion and evacuation. They gave details of the heroic volunteer responses of everyone at the Pentagon ranging from providing aid, comfort, and support to the injured to the brave first responders who worked to battle the fire during the aftermath of that fateful day. They also shared their personal determination to not let the terrorist claim any victory by returning to work the day after the attack and every working day since then. Many thanks go to Joan Smith, President of the Potomac Grange, for setting up the tour and finding inspirational speakers for the luncheon.

Next on the agenda was a trip back to the National Grange Headquarters for policy informational sessions. The first speaker to address the Grange was Greg Cohen, President and CEO of the American Highway Users Alliance. Mr. Cohen outlined the importance of keeping our national roadways safe through funding and new technology, especially in rural areas. Roadways are some of the most under funded basic infrastructure in rural America, often lacking funding and basic safety precautions like guardrails.

The next speaker was Chris Lloyd, Senior Director for Public Policy and Corporate Responsibility for Verizon, Inc. Mr. Lloyd’s presentation focused on how telecommunications reform will open new options of information and teaching to rural communities across America. Telecommunications was one of the five main issues in the National Grange’s Blueprint for Rural America this year, and Mr. Lloyd’s insight into this vital topic issue was greatly appreciated.

Once Mr. Lloyd wrapped up his presentation, Grangers enjoyed a reception sponsored by Tracfone, Inc. at the National Grange Headquarters before leaving for the final event of the day. The final event was a dinner at the Capitol Hilton with speaker Dr. Mark McClellan, Administrator of the Center For Medicaid and Medicare Services. Dr. McClellan gave an excellent speech about the Medicare Part D program and the issues directly relating to people living in rural areas. He commended the Grange’s involvement in helping to sign up eligible participants for the Part D program in rural communities and urged those in attendance to continue their hard work in supporting a program that provides prescription drugs at affordable costs.

The second day of Fly In 2006 found Grangers descending on Capitol Hill, insuring that the voice of rural America was to be heard on May 23 rd. Grangers from fifteen different states met with over 50 Senators and Representatives, speaking with them on issues ranging from immigration to fresh produce in schools. (For a more personal account of the Congressional meetings check out Gordon Gibson’s article in this newsletter) Congressional leaders and their staff members were very impressed by the broad scope of knowledge and personal experience presented by our members, and left meetings with solid examples of what the real issues were of concern to the grassroots constituents in their state or their district.

A long, but successful, day of Congressional meetings was topped off by a farewell dinner at TGI Fridays. Everyone recounted their meetings, sharing success stories of shaking hands with Senators and ill prepared staff members. Feelings of achievement and of optimism filled the room, as the National Grange’s Legislative Fly-In 2006 ended.

My 2006 Fly-In Experience
By: Gordon Gibson, CT State Grange Legislative Director

The National Grange Legislative Fly-In is a great opportunity to get updated on National Grange programs, discuss issues with my counterparts from other states and score a few points on Capitol Hill. Leroy Watson and his staff arranged an interesting and informative program on current topics. During the casual discussions with the other State Legislative Directors we came up with some ideas and the beginnings of an action plan for a program to lobby for improved transportation facilities as well as to promote the Grange to the public.

Visiting your Representatives and Senators office can be a very pleasant experience if you are properly prepared. This was my fifth year attending the Legislative Fly-In, so I knew many of the staff people I met with. The staff sees many people every day, so a 10 to 15 minute visit is normal. I was fortunate that I got 40 minutes at Rep. Rob Simmons office and 30 minutes at both Sen. Lieberman’s and Sen. Dodd’s offices.

To make the most of your time you need an agenda of the issues you want to discuss and the points you want to make. If the staff person you are meeting with sees that you have prepared for the meeting they will give you more attention than if you are just rambling on. I had a written agenda of eight topics to discus at each office. The first was to thank the Representative or Senator for signing on to a letter supporting increased funding for the Farm and Ranch Preservation Program (FRPP). This only took a few seconds, but reminded the staff person that we had recently exchanged e-mails or phone calls and that I was appreciative of what had already been accomplished. This set a good mood for the rest of the meeting. Then I went through the rest of my agenda. I had my topics arranged in order of importance, but also such that I could make a connection from one to the next and move smoothly between them. At the end of the meeting I gave each person I met with a copy of the National Grange’s “Blueprint for Rural America 2006” and our Connecticut State Grange Legislative Policies booklet, thus giving them something to remember me besides their own notes.

It helps to be prepared for the unexpected. When I was finished with my agenda at Representative Rob Simmons office, Leigh Hightower and Shauna Hewes had an agenda they wanted to discuss with me. They said they had received several letters and calls from farmers opposing the national animal identification program because of all the paperwork they would be required to complete. This program will maintain a record of where every animal has been throughout its entire life. If an animal contacts a contagious disease it will then be possible to identify and locate all the other animals it has come in contact with so the disease can be controlled as quickly as possible with the loss of the minimum number of animals. I explained that most dairy farmers now identify each cow as she comes through the milking parlor by scanning a bar code similar to scanning your groceries in the store. Then a computer measures out the proper amount of grain for that cow and adds any appropriate supplements. After the cow is milked, the milk is weighed and recorded before it goes to the bulk tank. The only difference the identification program will make for these farmers is the numbers assigned to each of their cows. Then I moved to the records kept at fairs to insure that only healthy animals are shown and the measures used to control the use of stimulants and other illegal substances in draft animals in the pulling contests at the fairs. I concluded by saying responsible farmers who want to protect their animals are in favor of the program and those who are opposing it have reasons why they do not want their animals traceable. Both Leigh and Shauna were very pleased that I was able to explain the value of the identification program and thanked me for my help.

I feel my day on Capitol Hill was time well spent. I was able to gain support for both National Grange and Connecticut Grange programs. I was also able to establish good contacts at each office so that in the future I can make a phone call or send an email and have it recognized as coming from a responsible constituent.

MediGrange Part D Outreach Success Stories

Across the nation, state, county and community Granges were involved in a massive education and outreach program to help rural seniors learn more about their rights and benefits under the new Medicare Part D prescription drug program. Part D is the first completely new benefit under Medicare in more than 40 years and fills an important coverage gap left open by the original Medicare program. As prescription medications have become a greater part of maintaining an active, independent, healthy life style for seniors over the last four decades finding cost effective measures in securing affordable medicine has become an incredibly important issue to Grangers. Below are some success stories enjoyed by Granges across the country.


Iowa President Bush took notice of the Iowa State Grange’s efforts to help potential Medicare Part D beneficiaries determine their choices. He met with Iowa State Grange President Dwight Baldwin in Des Moines on April President Baldwin briefed President Bush on the tremendous results of an Iowa Medicare Part D sign-up event sponsored by the Grange. The Iowa State Grange also publicized the Medicare toll free number and the Medicare Website. “If CMS wants help during the sign up period next fall, we’re ready,” Baldwin assured President Bush.
New Hampshire In the Northern New Hampshire town of Dalton, the local librarian is a Grange member. The library has high speed Internet access. So, the library became the Grange’s sign-up center for the surrounding area. Every Grange in New Hampshire received and distributed the CMS informational materials and the New Hampshire State Grange publicized the Senior Centers that were also signing up potential beneficiaries.

Maine April 15, tax day, was also sign up day at the Maine State Grange headquarters in Augusta, Maine. Local papers and media carried notice of the community sign up event. CMS personnel traveled from Boston to Augusta to assist the Maine Grange members and to answer questions. Over 100 Grangers and non-Grangers showed up for the event. Around 20 signed up on site and many took home Personal Information Forms to help them gather the information needed to sign up by telephone later. As in New Hampshire, the Maine State Grange publicized the Senior Center’s across the state that were signing up potential beneficiaries.

North Carolina At least six Granges in North Carolina held community meetings or teamed with other organizations to present the Medicare Part D program from January to May. These meetings stressed education about the prescription benefits under the program. Over 1,000 pieces of CMS materials were handed out to potential beneficiaries, who in turn made the information available to family and friends. “Personal Information Sheets” were handed out with a contact name and number to help both the beneficiaries and Grange representatives get all the needed information to the CMS Website to sign up for the program. One lady in Belmont, N.C. who had not planned on signing up for any plan changed her mind after hearing the Grange presentation and Q&A session.

Grangers Organized To Vote

The National Grange is currently running a program called Grangers Organized to Vote, designed to inform our members of specific dates and other useful information concerning state-by-state voting. So far the legislative department has sent out registration and voting reminders to 13 states and plans to continue these reminders until the general election on November 7th.

Here is some of the positive feedback we have received from Grangers already:

“Thanks this is a great way to get the word to Grangers. We will read this at our next Grange meeting.” -- Marian Nichols, Western Yolo Grange, CA

“Good email reminder!” – Jeanne Trudeau, Dorena Grange, OR

If you or someone in your community needs assistance in finding information regarding how to register to vote in your state or obtaining and casting an absentee ballot visit the "Grangers Organized to Vote" page on our National Grange Website: www.nationalgrange.org/legislation/GOTV.htm. While there, you will find easy to use, direct links for voter registration information, absentee ballot information for each Grange state and other critical information to help you make informed decisions during the elections this year.If you would like to receive a reminder from the National Grange please contact Peter Banks at: pbanks@nationalgrange.org.