Promote Your Grange Online
There are many websites online that offer free services to promote your Grange.	Download full issue New Grange Issues New Grange Archives Current Issue Jul - Aug 2011 May - Jun 2011 Mar - Apr 2011 Fan - Feb 2011 Sept - Oct 2010 Jul - Aug 2010 May - Jun 2010 Mar - Apr 2010

By Jennifer Dugent, Communications Director

In this time of technological advancements, more and more opportunities are presenting themselves for citizens to communicate with each other over the Internet. eCommunications, or “Electronic Communications,” are easy and inexpensive ways to reach out with a message. Such tools are quickly becoming the frontrunner in promoting organizations like the Grange. Prospective members in the 21st Century are looking to see if your Grange has a website, a Facebook Group, a blog, or if you “Twitter”. The more resources that you use to get your message out, the more relevant you will appear and the more members you will recruit. Fortunately all of these tools are free and easy to learn.

Blogging

A blog is essentially an online journal. It’s an easy way to post your thoughts, feelings, activities, pictures, and videos to share with your friends and family. You can also customize your blog to reflect your unique personality. Granges can use it to post photographs of activities, announcements from officers, and others materials that they would like members and prospective members to view.

To get your Grange a free blog from Google’s Blogger website, go to www.blogger.com/start and click on the orange “Create a Blog” icon. From there, Blogger will walk you through the step-bystep process of setting up your account and blog. Blogger also offers video tutorials to learn more about blogging.

The National Grange has begun blogging about different subjects on its website. Go to “Newsbureau” and click on “Grange Blog” to read opinion pieces and other articles. You can get involved in the conversation by commenting in the box below the article. Copy the link to the article and email it to your members to share.

Twitter

Twitter is a tool designed to let a group or individual post a short message about what is going on in their world. Your Grange can sign up for a Twitter account and use it to post information about upcoming meetings, service projects, special announcements, community events, or anything of interest to your followers. Individual Grangers can become a “follower” of their Grange’s Twitter account and receive the messages via text, instant message, or the web. Conversely, you can follow other Twitter accounts, such as the National Grange, to receive updates on their events and happenings.

To sign up for Twitter, go to the website www.twitter.com and click on the green “Get Started – Join” icon in the center of the screen. From there, Twitter will walk you through, step-by-step, setting up your account. Twitter also offers a “how to” video for first time users.

The National Grange is on Twitter and you can become a follower. Go to our twitter page, which is www.twitter.com/nationalgrange to keep up with National Grange tweets. If you are a Twitter subscriber, click on the “Follow” icon to get all of National Grange’s tweets sent directly to your email, phone, or however you choose to receive them.

Podcasting

Podcasts are web-based audio broadcasts similar to radio broadcasts. A podcast can be made from just about any audio sample. For example, Granges can record their meetings, interview a city official, or record a message from their Master; the possibilities are endless. Podcasts are a great way for members to stay informed on events they might have missed out on. Once the audio is recorded, the podcast can be made available for download on your Grange’s website.

Initially, podcasting can take a little time to set up, but once you are, it is quick and easy to update. First, record an mp3 audio file with your message on it. Second, create an RSS file. Finally, upload both your mp3 file(s) and RSS file to your website! That is just the basics. You can read more detailed instructions here: http://bit.ly/hEEpp.

Grangers are encouraged to listen to and download the National Grange’s free podcasts. Keep up to date with National Grange news, events, and other important happenings! By subscribing to the National Grange iTunes channel, all of the latest podcasts will automatically be downloaded to your computer, allowing you to listen at your own convenience. If you don’t wish to get an iTunes account, you can simply listen to the podcasts from the National Grange website. Listening to National Grange podcasts is easy, free, and convenient.

YouTube

YouTube allows users to search through thousands of videos in multiple categories as well as broadcast your own videos for others to see. You can also subscribe to an individual channel to see all of the videos posted by one user. As an individual Grange you can post your own videos of events, interviews with leaders, or anything you can dream up. These videos can be viewed by your community, members, other
Granges, or anyone who might be interested!

Go to www.youtube.com. You must be a YouTube member to add videos. In the upper right hand corner locate the link “Sign Up” and click there. You will be redirected to a page, which will walk you through, step-by-step, setting up your account. Once your account is set up, you must confirm your email in order upload your videos. Once you have confirmed your email, go to your profile page and there are several different prompts to help get you started. Click on the link “uploading” in the box that reads, “Start Broadcasting Yourself” and YouTube will walk you through the steps to begin uploading your videos.

The National Grange has it’s own YouTube Channel where you can watch videos posted by the National
Grange staff, and if you have a YouTube account, you can also subscribe to National Grange’s YouTube channel and have new videos sent directly to your email when they are posted. Once you have a YouTube account, visit the National Grange’s Channel by going to the web address www.youtube.com/nationalgrange. Once there, you can become a subscriber by clicking on the “subscribe” link. Having a subscription to the National Grange’s YouTube channel ensures that you will be among the first notified whenever National Grange uploads a new video.

Facebook

Facebook is a free social networking site where you can create your own profile, find and manage friends, join groups, and post pictures, among other things. You can also create a Facebook group for your community, Pomona, Junior or Youth Grange.

To create a Facebook profile, go to www.facebook.com. On the right hand side of the page look for the box that reads “Sign up for Facebook” and Facebook will walk you through, step-by-step to set up your account. Once you have signed up, a confirmation email will be sent to your account. You must confirm this before starting your Facebook page. After confirming your account, Facebook will walk you through step-by-step to customize your profile.

You can create a Facebook group for your Grange just as easily. When you are on the Facebook Home Page, along the bottom left hand side, click on the icon for groups (it will look like 2 blue people). This will direct you to another page where you will find the link “Create a New Group.” Click there. This will direct you to a page that will walk you through the steps of creating and customizing your new Facebook Group.

The National Grange has two Facebook groups set up. The first is “National Grange,” which is open to anyone to join. Simply type in “National Grange” in the search box and you will be redirected to National Grange’s group page. Once there you can click the link that reads, “Join this group.” From here you can connect with other Grangers on Facebook, read updates from the National Grange, and post to the National Grange’s wall. The National Grange Youth also has it’s own Facebook group. Simply search for “National Grange Youth” and join their group. New forms of Social Networking and eCommunications are being created everyday! For questions about these tools, or to request a copy fo the “National Grange eCommunications Tool Kit”, please contact the National Grange Communications Department at 1-888-4-GRANGE, ext 102.

For more stories in this issue Click here for a FREE subscription!

There are a lot of different reasons to create partnerships between the Grange and other organizations. The most important reason is that a partnership will allow each to accomplish more together than would be possible alone.

There are many types of partnerships and a Grange should always understand what the purpose of the joint effort would be. We have our affiliate partnerships. There are two varieties of these. First are our legacy companies. These companies were started in the past by our members in order to give a needed benefit to themselves and others. We should work to keep these partnerships active and strong. There are also benefits that can be gained from companies or organizations. When we choose a partner who can give a useful benefit to our members, it can become an important reason for those people to retain their membership and may attract new members. Many of our members are taking advantage of the National Grange/Choice Hotel partnership on a regular basis as they have found it gives a great discount at a good hotel.

There are the common-cause partnerships. These are widespread in the legislative arena. In 2009 the National Grange partnered with 596 groups on 124 different legislative issues. Organizations may agree to disagree on other issues, but join forces to work for an issue that they share agreement on. Normally, the focus is fairly narrow and specific and all the parties agree to the focus. It is important to put the issue in writing so that all partners understand exactly what is entailed in the partnership. Many times entire communities have joined forces to create neighborhood parks to benefit children and families.

Some partnerships are based on need. Often an organization can do half of the job and needs another group that has the strengths they are missing. Many times Granges will partner with groups with few members but some money. This allows us to use our strength of membership and brings in others that have strong financial resources. I know of several Granges that hold a monthly breakfast as a fundraiser. They partner with a variety of youth organizations in order to have more help in setup, running, and clean up of the event. The Grange wins in providing a benefit to the community that raises public awareness about the Grange and both get a share of the profits for the benefit of both organizations.

A few partnerships are created to enhance the image of the group. The thought is that if we associate with them, we’ll look better. It may be true and then again maybe not.

Over the years I have seen a lot of partnerships between the Grange and others. Some created a sharing situation and others were cases of the Grange being used or even abused for the benefit of others. When your Grange wants to create a new partnership with a company or organization there are four basic ground rules you should be aware of.

#1. Both or all of the parties should know what the gain is. For a valuable partnership, there must be a benefit for all the parties. Why would anyone participate in something that has no gain for them?

#2. Both or all of the parties should contribute something to the goal. If you’re going to have a gain, you should be responsible for a part of the work. Partners who contribute little are often not asked to participate in future endeavors.

#3. There must be some form of equity. The distribution of authority and credit should be agreed upon by all of the parties. I’ve seen groups that let others do the lion’s share of work and then take most of the credit. Situations like this create hard feelings and may easily create dissention within a community.

#4. Most importantly, partnerships must be about the organizations, not the leaders. When it is about the leaders, a change of leadership may destroy the partnership. Leaders need to be aware that they only represent the organization and the Grange decides what they want to do.

Creating partnerships is a great way to add strength to your Grange. Just remember that there are some common sense ground rules that you can follow to avoid problems. Every Grange should take the time to look around their community and see who needs help and who might want to help on our projects. When a project becomes “ours and theirs”, then it belongs to your community.

Find ways to improve your community by creating new partnerships. Every Grange has something unique to offer in a partnership to strengthen its community. We are stronger together than alone!

For more stories in this issue Click here for a FREE subscription!

By Emily Springfield
Pittsfield Grange #882

In February 2009, the Pittsfield Union Grange outside of Ann Arbor, Michigan began a new activity called Preserving Traditions. Each month, the Grange holds a workshop related to cooking or preserving whatever food is in season. In the winter months, we teach baking and noodle-making, in June we made strawberry jam, and the high harvest season was full of canning pickles, making salsa, and stomping crocks of old fashioned sauerkraut.

These workshops have been extremely popular. We average about a dozen people per session, though “Flour and Home Grain Milling” drew a crowd of nearly 40! Grange membership increased over 15% this year when people attending workshops decided to join the Grange.

Logistics are fairly simple. The program coordinator draws up a yearly schedule and finds people to volunteer to lead the sessions. The coordinator leads about half the sessions herself. Other teachers are found among friends, local food business owners (like the owner of a nearby flour mill), and other Grange members. Participants bring their own ingredients and canning jars. The Grange provides most of the equipment (canning kettles, cherry pitters, large bowls, etc.) and ingredients like spices that are only needed in small quantities.

There is no admission fee for Grange members, and we asked a $5 donation from non-Grange members. The workshops generally broke even or made a small amount of money ($25-40), but fundraisers and sales of “Yes. We Can.” aprons and t-shirts netted over $900 in the last year, even after buying some kitchen equipment.

People attend the workshops for a number of different reasons. Some have started gardening and want to learn to preserve their harvests. Others want to support local farms by preserving food from the farmers’ market. A few are even afraid the economy is going to collapse and want to be able to live off the land. Most simply enjoy cooking and meeting other people who love food. Our Grange is very close to the city, and some of the people consider themselves to be “rural residents,” but they value the skills of growing, cooking, and preserving food very strongly. It’s a great way to find common ground between rural and the more urban participants!

Perhaps the most common thing we hear from participants is “I never learned to can (or bake, or pickle, or garden) from my parents or grandparents, and nobody else is teaching this.” The Grange is full of people who never lost these skills. It’s a great way to preserve these traditions of rural self-sufficiency. And perhaps more importantly, it’s a way to start rebuilding communitysufficiency by sharing equipment,
work, and ideas.

Preserving Traditions has been a great success and we plan to keep having the workshops in the future. Some of the highlights are:

• Increased interest and membership in the Grange – men and women, ages 25 to 60+
• The activities are in keeping with the mission and traditions of the Grange
• Workshops afford time for conversations about where to buy food from local farmers and the importance of keeping small family farms in business
• Participants feel a sense of community
• We teach skills that “skipped a generation” and are in danger of being lost

If you are interested in starting Preserving Traditions at your Grange, please contact Emily Springfield at preservetrad@gmail.com or see http://pittsfieldgrange.org/ or http://preservingtraditions.org/ .

top

By Molly Thompson, Program Assistant

Last November’s National Convention in Grand Rapids, MI was an election year. As expected, there were new officers elected and others re-elected. What came as a surprise, however, was the announcement that John Valentine would not be a candidate for the office of High Priest of Demeter, and the subsequent election of Tom Severance as the new High Priest. John Valentine had been the High Priest of Demeter for fourteen years. In fact, only three other High Priests have served as long or longer than he has. However, after fourteen years, John Valentine decided to step down as High Priest in order to spend more time with his family.

John was born and raised on a dairy farm in Portland, Indiana. Not surprisingly, he comes from a Grange family. He joined his grandparents’ Grange, Portland Grange #2190, in 1955 and has been an active member from then on. Over the course of his years as a Granger, John has been active at many different levels. He was both the State Assistant Steward and Overseer before being elected to Master of the Indiana State Grange in 1985, a position he held until 1995. Following his role as State Master, he was elected and held the position of National Grange Treasurer from 1987-1995. Interestingly enough, says John, “I was State Master before I was ever elected Master of my local Grange.”

When John stepped down as Treasurer in 1995, he was expecting to no longer serve as a National Officer. What came as a surprise to him that year was being elected to High Priest of Demeter, a position he has loved holding for the past fourteen years. Holding this position, to him, was the highest honor and privilege. John is enthusiastic when explaining why he loved this position so much. According to him, “to me it was a great privilege and a great joy working with the people in the national cast. All of those people that worked under me, and freely gave of their time to serve as National Officers, gave me the most satisfaction as being the High Priest of Demeter.” The other aspect of this position he was extremely enthusiastic about was the ritual work. “Learning the ritual by memory and knowing that you were touching lives, to me that was a great honor.”

Although he feels very privileged to have served the Grange as High Priest of Demeter, it’s the relationships he has made over the years that have truly been his greatest joy. When he was in high school, a girl from another high school began attending Portland Grange meetings. That girl, Nancy, turned out to be his best friend and the love of his life and in March of this year, the pair will have been married for 48 years! And throughout those 48 years, they have enjoyed being members of the Grange family. According to John, “the best thing about being in the Grange is its family. Regardless of what part
of the country you’re in, you have friends. You can’t explain the feeling. You treat people like you’d want to be treated – with respect. And that’s what Grange members are all about.”

Outside of his Grange commitments, John has been actively involved in his community through his service as a city mail carrier and Trustee of Center United Methodist Church, and as a 4-H leader for 26 years. John continues to be active within the Grange, both locally and at the National level, as he currently holds the position of High Priest Emeritus, along with Woody Tucker. Together, Nancy and John have raised three children and in their free time, they delight in spending time with their four grandchildren.

“With John, what you see is what you get. He is a real gentleman and a true friend,” said Ed Luttrell. “His passion for the ritualistic part of our organization inspires so many members. It was a pleasure to work with him in so many different ways over the past years.”

The National Grange salutes John on his lifelong commitment and dedication to the Grange.

For more stories in this issue Click here for a FREE subscription!

top