| MARCH 5, 2024 -- In mid-February, my family and I journeyed to Slocum Grange in Rhode Island for the annual Rhode Island State Grange Game/Pizza Night event hosted by Rhode Island State Grange Lecturer Valerie Richard and her daughters Desiree and Jasmine. I so appreciated them reaching out to my family and me to attend. Immediate Past Massachusetts State Grange Lecturer Kristin Paulson and her husband also attended. We arrived around 4:00 PM (a 2-hour drive for us) not really knowing what to expect. (We told our kids NO ELECTRONICS for 4 hours!) Grangers from Rhode Island, Massachusetts and Connecticut came streaming into the historic Slocum Grange Hall, many bringing board games and appetizers. Rhode Island State Grange Master Walter Hartley and his family were there too. For the next two hours or so, attendees moved around the room to socialize and play various board games, enjoy refreshments, and socialize with other Grange members and guests. I learned to play a new game called Sequence. One member brought “traffic jam” dip and crackers and it was unbelievably good. Two Grangers showed me plates and cups that they are decorating for the Big E Grange Building. I was shocked that the basement of the hall and the parking lot was so full. About 6:00 PM, pizzas arrived from Kingston Pizza and they were just awesome. I had a “fully loaded potato” slice of pizza, and one of my kids had a piece of meatloaf pizza. My family and many others donated desserts. Desiree Richard made “cookie salad” which was to die for. This gathering was fun and I thought how awesome to try a social event like this with Connecticut State Grange. So please let me know if you might be interested in gathering for a few hours at one of our Grange halls for some fun, fellowship and food donated by my Department. As our new National President Chris Hamp says: “don’t forget to make Grange a fun experience for both your new and not-so-new members.”
Our NINTH virtual Lecturers Roundup was held on Sunday, February 18th, at 7:00 PM via Zoom. At this event, we featured an exciting new initiative launched at the 2023 National Grange Convention in Niagara Falls, called “Reaching Rural Surgical Seniors” or “RRSS” for short. Each community and Pomona Grange Master/ President should have received a mailing from National Grange on the details of this initiative. This program is funded through a Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) federal engagement grant awarded to the National Grange. Joan C. Smith, from Potomac Grange #1, serves as the RRSS Program Manager. At the invitation of National Grange, I am serving as the Northeast Region POC for this RRSS initiative for the next two years. For any Community Grange who participates in providing valuable information to your Grange friends and your community, you can earn a $100 incentive payment just by supporting this initiative. All you have to do is report in May and October of 2024 the total number of people you influenced. If you need more information, just ask me.
Speaking of incentive payments, both Granby Grange and Riverton Grange each just earned $100 for hosting informational events to spread the word on the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) under another initiative supported by National Grange. Granby Grange succeeded in placing a complimentary smart phone with three eligible individuals; and Riverton Grange succeeded in placing a complimentary smart phone with two eligible individuals. Riverton Grange hosted a session at the Barkhamsted Senior Center and Granby Grange helped host sessions at Waste Not Want Not and Stony Hill Village. This program is funded by the federal government to provide a smart phone and phone service to those on Medicaid or food stamps. All that Granges are asked to do is spread the word; and who better to help educate and spread this message thank Community and Pomona Lecturers. Or you can have a Lecturer’s program on one of these topics.
Some of my home Grange members have joined me on the “Pancake Circuit” supporting other community Granges. Seven members of Riverton Grange journeyed to Hillstown Grange for their January pancake breakfast and their February 1st Free Seed Event. Six members of Riverton Grange journeyed to Wallingford Grange for their February pancake breakfast. It is great when Granges support each other events (particularly their fundraisers) and it is so much fun to see members from other Granges and to meet new folks too.
In closing, please let me know if you need any help for your Grange or a speaker, as I enjoy visiting other Granges as your State Grange Lecturer. Also, if you would like help on performing a community needs assessment, I would be glad to help. |
