North Carolina Grange

Fundraiser | Cape Fear

2011-03-04T05:30:00.001-08:00

On Tuesday night I ventured down to Fayetteville for Cape Fear Grange's first big fundraiser. The hosted a "White Bean Chicken Chili" dinner. Tickets were $6 and you could take it to go, or eat there. They sold well over 250 tickets prior to the night & sold even more at the door! It was a huge success for their Grange and I hope they continue to do this fundraiser in the future.

It was my first experience with white beach chicken chili and it was YUMMY!!

State Convention Registration Forms Available!

2010-07-09T06:48:00.001-07:00

Your State Convention Registration Forms are now online available for download!

GO HERE to get them!

There are 3 different ones, pick the one that fits your role at the convention. See you there!

Allison Makes Our Voice Heard!

2010-05-27T12:30:00.001-07:00

Here's a short video clip from the NC House Public Hearing. The topic budget, something everyone has an opinion on.

Grange Camp Promo!!

2010-05-03T13:11:00.001-07:00

By none other, than our own Cody Stevens!

2010 Scholarship Renewal Applications Now Available!

2010-04-27T10:24:00.000-07:00

Today the 2010 Renewal Scholarship Application is available for our members! Click HERE to get it! Make sure all required info is postmarked by June 30th!

Washington DC Trip!

2010-04-12T06:36:00.000-07:00

This summer the National Grange is celebrating the 50th anniversary of the National Grange headquarter building!

The March/April Issue of Grange News has been mailed and should be in your mailboxes soon. However, we did make a mistake... the dates for this trip are listed incorrectly!!!

Print your registration form here!

2010 Youth Team & Ambassadors Announced!

2010-03-01T05:43:00.000-08:00

This weekend was Winter Youth Conference the new 2010 Youth Team and Ambassadors were announced! Congratulations!!!

Top: Ana Mari Parker, Cody Stevens, Katie Stevens
Bottom: Ken Presnell, Courtney Gray, Andrew Martin

2010 Ambassadors
Dewayne Craft, Camille Harrison

2010 Scholarship Applications Online!

2010-02-11T11:35:00.000-08:00

Here they are, kids!

Don't forget to include EVERYTHING asked, and get them in on time.... if you fail to do either of these, you'll be disqualified!

NC Ag Forum

2010-02-05T06:07:00.001-08:00

Yesterday, the NC State Grange sponsored the Ag Development Forum held at the fairgrounds. Lots of Ag Professionals were on hand to discuss many issues facing agriculture today. Here are a few photos!

All photos by JJ Horton Photography

Somethings Brewing in Greenville!

2010-01-26T07:18:00.000-08:00

One of our fantastic youth, Dewayne Craft, contacted me and asked "How do I start a Grange here in Greenville?" I said it's easy! This led me to make a visit to Greenville on Saturday and meet up with him and a few other Grangers and nonGrangers. We had a nice little time chatting over pizza and soda. Mark your calendars people in Greenville! March 6 will be a BIG night! :-)

Want to attend? Email me!

Agriculture Development Forum

2010-01-15T06:29:00.001-08:00

On February 4th, 2010 the NC State Grange is sponsoring the Agriculture Development Forum! This is a FREE event and is open to the public! Please come out and support Agriculture and show your pride for the Grange!

For more information visit THIS SITE. Please RSVP for this event!

When: February 4th
Time: 9:30AM-12:30PM
Where: NC State Fairgrounds, Governor Holshouser Building, during the Southern Farm Show

Disaster Relief for Haiti

2010-01-13T06:07:00.000-08:00

In light of the recent earthquake in Haiti, the North Carolina State Grange will hold an auction on Friday evening at Family Conference. We encourage everyone to bring an item, or a service (if you own a business and can donate time/talents) to be auctioned.

Please contact me, Jessica, at jlhorton@ncgrange.com to attend or donate!

Winter Youth Conference Time!

2010-01-11T06:35:00.001-08:00

When it's cold outside, you know it's Winter Youth Conference Time!!!

February 26-28 will be this years Winter Youth Conference, held at Camp Caraway in Asheboro, NC!

It will be a great weekend of workshops, sign a song contests, speech contests, and interviews for Ambassadors and Youth Team!

Click HERE for your registration forms!

Make sure they are turned in by FEBRUARY 5!!!

Family Conference Time!

2010-01-08T06:54:00.000-08:00

It's that time of year again!
Family Conference is right around the corner, April 9-11th! Please mark your calendar to be there with us. You'll notice on your registration form that prices are lower this year, we hope this helps more of you to be able to attend. See you in April!

Click HERE for the registration!

Christmas Parties Galore!

2009-12-21T12:55:00.001-08:00

Last week, I had the privilege of attending two Grange Christmas parties!

The first, was Monday night at Arcadia Grange. They were celebrating Christmas, but also, honoring the Hege's and all they have done for the organization over the years. The children sang and signed songs for everyone and a few of the women performed as well. We really appreciate them inviting us there!

Then, on Tuesday I attended Cape Fear Grange's (Adult) Christmas party. This new Grange planned TWO Christmas parties! One for the adults, and one for the teenagers after school, the following day. The adults gathered at Sammio's restaurant in Fayetteville, for a fun night and good food! Thanks for having me!

2010 Places Announced!

2009-12-14T05:35:00.001-08:00

At the Board meeting in Lake Junaluska this past weekend the Board has decided to host Family Conference at Lake Junaluska, April 9-11th!

They also decided to host State Convention at the University Hilton in Charlotte, September 16-19th!

Pack your bags and mark your calendars :-)

Grand Rapids Wrap Up!

2009-11-23T09:28:00.000-08:00

Well, it's Monday, and were back at work in NC. Here's a few photos from Friday and Saturday night at National Convention. It was a wonderful time, in a nice city!

Jimmy Gentry, NC Grange President, and his wife Anita at the dance

Curtis and Evelyn, NC members, at the dance

NC members after the banquet

Courtney Gray, our NC talent winner performing at the Evening of Excellence

*All photos by JJ Horton Photography

2009 National Convention Update!

2009-11-20T16:15:00.000-08:00

We've been keeping busy here at the National Grange Convention! Here are a few of the highlights!

They delegates have been busy with session. This is the same room the National Grange Convention was held in, in the 1950's!

David and Crystal Allen have been manning the 2010 National Convention booth in the Idea Fair. Here they are posed with the banner, displaying the logo for next year.

Today the Junior Grangers went to the Van Andel Museum in downtown Grand Rapids. There, they have a 1928 restored carousel, and our Juniors had a fun time riding it! Here's our own Taryn Wevil, and a new Granger friend she's made this week.

Here's Josh Dixon, having a good time at the museum with some other Juniors.

Greetings from Grand Rapids, Michigan!

2009-11-17T07:53:00.000-08:00

Hello all!
National Convention is well underway here at the Amway Hotel in downtown Grand Rapids. The committees have been busy and much fun is being had. The NC bus is touring Cleveland, Ohio today and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. They'll be arriving here in Michigan shortly after noon tomorrow. We haven't heard from them, so we'll assume things are going great!

On another note, it's cold here. It's windy here. I do already miss the 70+ degree days we've been having in NC. But this trip did give me the opportunity to spruce up my winter wardrobe. So far, those fleece lined pants have already been handy!

That's all for now. I'll leave you with the view from my hotel room :-)

Welcome Leslie Rush!

2009-10-19T07:18:00.000-07:00

We have a new face on board with us! Leslie Rush is our newest team member, filling the role of Administrative Assistant. She is in high spirits and very enthusiastic about her new job. She is a California native, and moved to NC in 1999. She has been a legal secretary, and was looking for a new opportunity, and found us! She currently lives on a dairy farm in Cleveland, NC.

We're excited to have you here, Leslie!!

We Have New Officers!

2009-09-28T08:32:00.000-07:00

We survived our 2009 State Convention! We had a very busy time getting all our business taken care of this weekend, but we made it!

We had a full election this year, so we have some new exciting officers to announce!

Here's the full list: The bolded ones, are NEW! :-)

President: Jimmy Gentry, re-elected
Chairman of the Board: Charles Forrister, re-elected
Vice Chairman of the Board: John Suther, re-elected
Vice President: Ned Hudson, re-elected
Treasurer: Jack McKee, re-elected
Secretary: Deb Welch, newly elected
Assistant Steward: Valentin Deleon, newly elected
Ceres: Dianne Hudson, re-elected
Chaplain: Josh Barfield, newly elected
Flora: Carolyn Jernigan, newly elected
Pomona: Francis Suther, re-elected
Greeter: Martha Suther, newly elected
Lady Assistant Steward: Crystal Allen, re-elected
Program Director: Margaret Davidson, re-elected
Steward: Sidney Albright, re-elected

Greetings from the 81st Annual State Convention!

2009-09-25T18:42:00.000-07:00

Hello All! We are having an exciting time here in Fayetteville. Many of us arrived yesterday, we were busy setting up contest rooms, exhibits, and registering the delegates and nondelegates.

Today, we've been busy debating issues in committees, listening to workshops and doing some tasting of some wonderful sweets tonight at our tasting party of all the fantastic baking entries!

Tonight we presented some awesome awards at dinner and heard from our National Grange Representatives, Jeff and Nancy Swainston.

Here's a few pictures!

Get In the Giving Spirit!

2009-08-25T11:46:00.000-07:00

Head over here to read about how bad the Wake County Salvation Army needs our help! Take a moment, make a small (or large!) donation to help them get this building to look like this!

National Convention Bus Trip!

2009-08-24T12:45:00.000-07:00

Hello All!
Here is the tentative rundown for our trip to Nationals this year....

Where? Grande Rapids, Michigan- pack those coats!
When? November 16-22
Who? Anyone who wants to ride!

Join us on our bus trip this November, you'll see the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, take a sight seeing cruise on Lake Erie, and see what Grande Rapids, Michigan has to offer!

Cost?
Quad Room- $385
Triple Room- $459
Double Room- $609
Single Room- $1095

This cost covers your ride on the bus, hotel accommodations for 6 nights and all attractions. You will need to bring money for food and spending.

Email Jessica at jlnewton@ncgrange.com for registration forms!

August Heat!

2009-08-24T12:38:00.001-07:00

Our office is hot with commotion from all of us getting ready and gearing up for State Convention!
It officially starts one month from today! Wow! Where has the time gone? Seems like yesterday, we were in Hickory!

Remember to get those resolutions turned in by SEPTEMBER 1st!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Allison might have to hurt you if those hit her desk late!

Please send in your registrations ASAP for convention. We need counts for meals and rooms!

Hello Again!

2009-07-16T18:33:00.000-07:00

Us here. Still at Grange Camp!

We have all survived the misquotes, but we've almost lost a few!

Here are a few more pictures :-)

"Super Hero Night" (Tuesday) The Youth Team were the "Power Grangers"

Climbing the Wall!

High Ropes!

Beautiful Blue Skies on Thursday at the High Ropes Course!

Model Grange

State FFA Officers were our special guests this week!

Youth President, Josh Barfield

Jr Grangers Marching

Youth Officers

Juniors

Youth

Youth Team

Staff! :-)

Hello From Eastern 4-H Center!

2009-07-14T06:17:00.000-07:00

Greetings!

We are having a wonderful time here at Grange Camp! We made it through Sunday and Monday, and are now tackling Tuesday! Here are a few pictures so far.

Youth Team Introductions

Kayaking

Low Ropes

NC Zoo Honey Bee Exhibit

2009-07-02T06:15:00.000-07:00

Allison and I got up early to leave Beaufort County and head to NC Zoo in Asheboro. The NC Grange made a monetary contribution to the new Honey Bee Exhibit, and Allison and I got to attend the opening! It was really neat to be a part of an exhibit opening at the zoo! (even if it was almost 100 degrees!!!)

Here are some pictures!

Playing Catch up....

2009-07-02T05:58:00.000-07:00

Lots to fill you all in about!

First- The Board Meeting in Washington, NC

We (the NC Grange Board of Directors, Allison, Mark and I) all made the trip out to Beaufort County for the Board meeting, a tour of the PCS Phosphate Plant, and to attend the Beaufort Country Grange Meeting. We had lots of fun and learned tons! Here are some pictures from our trip out east!

PCS Phosphate Plant- They use these big machines to take off the first 40 feet of sandy dirt.

They use these to take off the 2nd 40 feet to get down to the phosphate.

Then on to the Grange meeting that night!

Allison gets interviewed by the local paper

The original charter signed by Oliver Hudson Kelly!
Beaufort County Grange was called Donnell Grange when it first chartered. It rechartered under the name Beaufort County in 1929/1930

Baseball Friday Night!

2009-06-16T12:31:00.000-07:00

kannapolis.intimidators.milb.com

Friday night is Farmers Night at the stadium! We will be out there with a booth to promote the Grange. If you would like some free tickets to attend the game, please let us know ASAP! You may also get them from us at the gate!

See you there!

State Convention Plans.....

2009-06-03T08:13:00.000-07:00

Are under way!

We have invited speakers to attend our meal functions. We've talked about some logistics. And, we've talked about some new fun stuff for the Young Adults!!! Stay tuned for more!

Trinity Grange Makes Plans!

2009-06-03T08:05:00.000-07:00

I had the opportunity to visit with the members of Trinity Grange on Monday night, and chat with them about their upcoming plans to gain more members! They are planning to have a booth at a local festival, and then host a gospel concert with a cookout. They are all so excited about what the next few months holds for them, and we are too!!

Southern Piedmont Pomona

2009-05-11T08:46:00.000-07:00

...... finished electing their officers!

Here they are:

John Suther- President, Anita Gentry- Program Director, David Allen- Secretary/Treasurer, Sidney Albright- Vice President, Mark Payne- Chaplain

Here's the whole group that was at Friday evenings meeting!

Davidson Farmers Market

2009-05-11T07:50:00.001-07:00

Saturday morning I got up super early to man my booth at the Davidson Farmers Market!

Lots of people that I talked to saw the article about us on Davidsonnews.net

I have a info meeting set up at the Davidson Library at 7PM on Wednesday!

My booth at the farmers market

My view from my booth

Fayetteville!

2009-05-05T09:03:00.000-07:00

We have a new Grange in Fayetteville, NC! A lively group of people met us at Georgia Brown's restaurant on April 28th for dinner and discussion.

At the end of the evening we had 16 people sign up as new members, they are leaving the charter application open through their next meeting, which is on May 19th. The location is to be determined.

We are very excited about this opportunity and can't wait to see what all this Grange does for the Fayetteville community!

A special thanks to the group from Westbrook Grange that came out and help support this effort, their input was greatly appreciated, and gave the new comers a better idea of what the Grange really is all about!

Arcadia Celebrates Grange Month!

2009-04-14T07:21:00.000-07:00

Last night I had the privilege to attend Arcadia Grange's Awards Night. The made many recognitions both in the community and within their Grange. They are doing wonderful things for Arcadia. Here are a few pictures from the evening!

Grangers and Guests line up for dinner!

Patty hands envelopes to all the Jr. Grangers

Fire Station of the Year

Firefighter of the Year

Family of the Year- The Jessups

Jr. Granger of the Year- Maria Rapp

Granger of the Year- Norine Swing

2009 Officers Meeting

2009-04-06T09:10:00.000-07:00

We held an officers meeting this past weekend in Clemmons. We wanted them to all be a part of growing the Grange, and understanding where we are now as an organization vs. how we want to be/could be/can be! Here are a few pictures from the weekend!

Jimmy started off by giving his presentation on Friday night called "The State of the Grange" He showed financial reports, and membership numbers from the last 8 years. He showed how we dropped from 17,000 members down to 3,000. Allison and I set up the Jenga blocks seen below to represent how we view the organization. There are many holes and instabilities that can be fixed with active particiaption from our members. It can be fixed by offering fun and entertaining programs.

Here groups work together on three of the National Grange Priorities- they identified ways to reach those priorities and then they made a plan of how to execute their plans!

Here's the list that they compiled of "problems" with active membership- they then turned those negative statements in to positive ones- and figured out how to accomplish those goals. They ranked them with stickers, we took the 5 with the highest votes and gave each of the 5 teams a goal to reach the priority.

Ways to develop new leaders!

Ways to start new Granges!

Here a group works together to brainstorm and figure out a way to reach their goal!

At the end of the weekend, the Officers and Department Heads signed this statement saying that they will work to accomplish the goals.

Allison and I showed this commercial, to remind everyone that we don't want to completely change the organization, we just need to figure out new ways to do things.

Pepsi's Forever Young Commercial

We also gave everyone Rice Krispy Treats to also give an example of a way to think outside the box- someone came up with the idea of making a dessert out of a breakfast product. That took some thinking outside the box!

Thank you to all those who attended this weekend. Know that we value your oppinions and we want and need your help to make the NC Grange better.

The information shared and accomplished this weekend will be sent to all the Granges. Remember we are all a team, working towards the same goal.

Legislative Day!!!

2009-04-03T06:30:00.001-07:00

Our annual Legislative Day has been set!!!

Date: April 28th

Time: 9AM-1PM

Go to the Grange Website for more information!!

Please RSVP by April 20th!

New Pomona!!!

2009-03-26T08:40:00.000-07:00

Tonight we will be meeting to hopefully form a new Pomona Grange!!! The following Granges have been invited to participate:

1. Troutman
2. Corriher
3. Patterson
4. St. Johns

We will be meeting at Corriher at 7 PM if anyone would like to attend! :-)

NC Cooperative Council Annual Meeting

2009-03-16T10:34:00.000-07:00

Last week, Jimmy, Allison and I represented the Grange at the annual co-op meeting ! Here are a few pictures from Tuesday nights reception.

Jennie Gentry, NC Co-Op President, and NC Grange Youth Director, Alice Graham Underhill, and Jimmy Gentry, NC Grange President at the reception

Alice G. Underhill talking with our own Allison Fowler :-)

2009 Family Conference Recap!

2009-03-09T07:29:00.000-07:00

It's Monday, we've lost an hour of sleep, and did lots of driving.... but all worth it for the great weekend we had in Myrtle Beach!! :-) Here are some of the pictures from the weekend....

Don't you wish you were here?

Crystal Allen gave an update on hosting the 2010 National Convention, interested in helping? Email her at onebeegirl@hotmail.com

Grangers headed to the Dixie Stampede for dinner and a show on Saturday night... here we are enjoying the pre-show!

Our own David and Crystal Allen, and Jonathan and Amanda Faggot from Corriher Grange got to participate in the show! "Go pick your horse, guys!"

hahaha... just kidding.... you don't get to ride those horses! Check out our Grangers racing for the South in the video below... David and Crystal on the far left, and Jonathan and Amanda next to them!

Untitled from Jessica Newton on Vimeo.

Some of us even ventured out to the beach on Saturday afternoon! The youth seemed to have a great time, getting wet and playing boccie!

Even our own Jimmy Gentry made it out there!

Our youth create friendships that last a lifetime!

A special thanks to Rusty Hunt, our National Membership Director for making a long trip out to Myrtle Beach from Washington State to lead us in membership activities on Friday evening and Saturday morning. We learned a lot talking in our groups, and gave us things to think about!

Greetings From Myrtle Beach!!

2009-03-06T19:27:00.000-08:00

This evening was the start to our 2009 Family Conference. We are down in sunny Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, enjoying our first taste of spring weather! It topped out some where in the low 70's today, and is supposed to be just as nice the rest of the weekend! Man! I'm glad I drive a convertible!

So far, we've had a great presentation from Rusty Hunt, our National Membership Director about choosing your attitude towards Grange. Is it a positive one? Is your attitude contagious? And, is it setting examples for other Grangers!? It was a great presentation, I am sure tomorrow morning's session will be just as good!

I've taken a few pictures, but left my device for getting them on the computer in my office... I'll be sure to upload them Monday morning!

Jessica

Welcome!

2009-03-05T07:47:00.000-08:00

Welcome to the North Carolina State Grange Blog! We love updating our members on the latest events occuring with the Grange, this is the quickest way to do it!

We hope to have membership, legislative and youth updates regularly!

Keep checking back for new stuff!