| January 1, 2020 -- Happy New Year! I hope everybody made it through the holiday season and is ready for another Grange year. Let’s hope our New Year’s resolution is for your Granges to have a net gain in membership!
This year the Membership Committee is preparing to put on some workshops throughout the year. The committee’s first workshop under the Leaders and Learners program will be presented by Carmen Brickner in April. This is planned for Ekonk Community Grange Hall in Sterling, Conn. the workshop is open to all Grange members and also non-members. There will be a registration fee for this conference which will include lunch. The Membership Director will have more details on this workshop at the event gets closer. The Northeast Leaders’ Conference, hosted by the New York State Grange, will be on March 27-29. So save the date. We should have more information on this conference at the beginning of January.
I had the privilege to attend a reception at Ekonk Community Grange for Brianna Gervais, our National Grange Female Junior Ambassador. There was an excellent turnout of State Officers and National Overseer Phil Prelli. The Sterling Selectman, school principal and teachers and all of the speakers that night had encouraging words for Brianna on her long journey this coming year. We know she will be a great representative of the Connecticut State Grange.
The Connecticut State Grange has a Youth Travel Fund for the Juniors and Youth to use for travel expenses. If your Grange, or an individual, would like to donate to this fund, please make a check out to the Connecticut State Grange Foundation and mark your donation for the Youth Travel Fund. It can be sent to the State Grange Secretary at P.O. Box 3, Winchester Center, CT 06094.
On Jan. 18, 2020 I will be attending the annual Launch Meeting for the New England Grange Building on the Big E grounds in West Springfield, MA. At this meeting we will have a report from the Building Manager and the Store Manager and will go over improvements that are needed for the building. We will begin to make plans for the 2020 Fair season. Also that day the Northeast Connection will meet and discuss the merger of the Leaders’ Conference, Youth Conference, and Lecturer’s Conference. The State Lecturers and Youth Chairmen are encouraged to attend this meeting.
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