Grange Resources and Information Training (GRIT) was just held!

The twice yearly event where Illinois Grangers get together to learn about the State Grange and other activities.

Important Points from the Master – October 2024

Thanks to everyone for coming today to Turkey Hill Grange and Boone County Community Grange Hall for this Grange Resources Information Training. Thanks to all those who brought food for the potluck and to the Granges for serving as hosts.

Thanks everyone for making the 153rd State Session of the IL State Grange a great success. Thanks to the delegates and officers for working on the budget and resolutions. Thanks to the Bylaws committee and Good of the Order session committee for all of their hard work on the 31 resolutions regarding the Bylaws. Thanks to the Grangers from St Clair County Granges for all of their work in the hospitality room, display rooms and all around for the session.

The Bonding information has hit the email box of the Pomona/Subordinate Secretaries or President yet. Please get the money and form back to Brian Keller ASAP. The checks are made out to the National Grange. I have copies
available today.

Always remember if your Grange has a Grange Hall and need to make some improvements, the State Grange has a Hall Improvement Fund. The application form is on the website illinoisstategrange.org. Contact me, or anyone on the IL Ex Committee if you have any questions. It is important when applying for a Hall Improvement Fund please provide ALL information requested.

National Grange Session will be November 11 – 17, 2024, Isle Casino Hotel Bettendorf, 1777 Isle Parkway, Bettendorf, IA. We are looking forward to showing off what our Midwest Region has to offer. It is only two hours from the Boone County Fairgrounds and 4 hours from the Schaeffer home, it is about as close as it can be without being in IL. Don is on the Conservation Committee, and I am secretary of Agriculture Committee. We have started with zoom calls for the committees to review present policy. I sent three resolutions from our session on the Search Features for On-Line National Grange Policy Book, Electronic Links for Online National Grange Policy Book, and United States Postal Service. Next year session will be a cruise. I know that many of you have signed up to assist with the session, and we appreciate all your efforts. When you are at NG Session please find Emalee, Karie, Lana, Ruth and Robin or go to the Host office. Maybe the host group, which IL is part of will need assistance. Karie is working on a form for getting repayment. The sheets will be gathered, and you will be paid for hotel stays based on those hours, ½ room expense for 6 hours of work that day. The payments will be made asap after the session. Mary and David will be in Florida at that time. So payment information will be compiled and sent to her. Congratulations to The Prairie Grange, Turkey Hill Grange and County Line Grange were Distinguished Granges. Good luck to County Line, hope their Community Service book does well at National. Wishing best of luck to firefighter, teacher and police officer that we sent to National. Host table in showcase – 10 IL winning items. If you bring you take. Oldie and Goodie table – check it out. You can come to any of the events – after the meal if you do not have a ticket. Need Rose Drill people, please let me know if you are interested you will get several hours on Saturday for walking and looking pretty. Workshops, too late for signup for some tours or meals, Nov 1 is last day.

The Midwest Grange Leaders conference will be held in Indiana, could be June 20-23, 2025.

If your Grange is celebrating something special and would like me to be there please let me know.

Lana Korte, Don and I are planning to attend the Grange Revival 4.0 in Torrey, UT, and I bet that Karie will be going too, in July 21 – 27, 2025. Any questions about Revival just ask. Reservations can be made at National Grange website.

Make sure that all your members are getting a hard copy or an electronic copy of the Illinois Granger.

The Grange Foundation has voted to no longer accept donations for the Kelley Farm, send donations directly to the Farm if they wish. Interested in serving on the Grange Foundation Board – a resume should be sent to Chris Hamp and Joan Smith ASAP. Grange Foundation has a subgroup 1n1000 – donate $1000 and you have special meetings and help make decisions on spending that money.

“Reaching Rural Seniors with Pre- and Post- Surgical Information Through an Underutilized Trusted Messenger” (Grange).  Every Grange should have received materials to present a program on preparing seniors for surgery and questions to ask the doctor. And this program can be part of the Rural Life Initiative – is Pilot from Grange Advocacy. What Shiloh Valley Grange will be doing soon and if it does well. What SVG will be doing is taking the health workshops incorporating RRSS, Cancer, Rural Minds On a three or four workshop series we will be sharing information with the public. The Granges can work with other community groups to serve the community. Once IL State Grange gets the money a method to share the money from National Grange advocacy to the Granges who take part in the Rural Life imitative. ((Handouts)) National Grange News: Rural Minds is a 501c3 nonprofit organization with the mission to serve as the informed voice for mental health in rural America, and to provide mental health information and resources. Rural Minds collaborates with National Grange on initiatives to help end the silence, stigma and suffering that surround mental illness. Follow National Grange & Rural Minds in Facebook to gain information to share with your community.

Are you getting emails from the National Grange for the Grange Today or the View from the Hill? If not make sure your email is in the National Grange database. The new Grange Today, should be coming to your inbox monthly. Send information to Phil Vonada if your Grange is doing something exciting and different. One publication a month the articles will be about Community Granges and the next publication will be about National Grange.

Make sure your secretary, Brian Keller and I have the correct emails, so that the database is up to date. I recently sent emails to many of the email addresses that are in the Database – many of them came back – no longer a valid email. National Grange DATABASE, this information is needed for benefits that we could be eligible to get via National Grange. Look often at the National Grange for Benefits. Loretta Washington works hard to have new benefits available to us. http://www.nationalgrange.org Keep in mind that Grangers need a confident attitude .

Any Grange wanting to use the IL State Grange Zoom license just let me or Karie know. Granges can meet this way, State Committees and any other Grange group can meet this way. Just make sure we can set you up. It only takes a few minutes if you decide at the last minute to hold the meeting that way. (that you are getting today) and National Grange Digest of Laws, the book is on the NationalGrange.org. If you need a copy of the newest National Grange Digest just let me know – or check on the National Grange member page.

Promote your Grange in any public media you can – Let others know what you are doing in your community – that is the key to a happy healthy Grange – and a happy healthy Grange gets new members. Work with other Granges and Grangers it only makes us stronger.

Good Day Magazine – have you subscribed? I hope that all of you have subscribed there are forms here. Illinois appears in many of the magazines. Make sure you renew subscriptions in a timely manner. Look on the label to see when you will expire.

Taxes – eform 990 – keep them current. Need any help, please contact me

Trademark issues ever plague the National Grange. If you see a trademark infringement let me know. You as a Granger or Grange are allowed to use the logos and trademarks in any legal manner. Non-Grangers are not authorized to use the logos and trademarks.

Just remember that Grangers have a Confident Attitude while they preserve down life’s pathway.

Member	Position/Contact Info
Lynette Schaeffer	Lynette schaeffr@att.net lschaeffr@gmail.com 618-979-5546
Ruth Blasingame	Editor /Communicator
Karie Blasingame	Overseer
Marisa O’Dell	Youth
Mary Donley	Treasurer
Ethan Edwards	Lecturer
Heather Ellwanger	Community Service
Ann Johnson	Chair 2025
Trisha Renken	Chair 2026
Marilyn Coe	Chair 2027
Brian Keller	Secretary
Brian O’Dell	Ag Chairman 2025
Marilyn Hoffmann and Lana Korte	Co-Chairs – 2026
Lana Korte and Marilyn Hoffmann	Co-Chairs 2027
Mindy Schiefer	Junior Director
Bev Smith	Historian
Lynette/Karie/Emalee/Robin/Lana & Ruth/	Hosts

New By-laws

New by-laws were enacted this year; they can be found by clicking the link below.

ISG Journal

2024 Grange Contests

All Grange Contest application forms can be found here.