First State Grange Session as Master

Well, here it is Monday evening, October 17, 2011. The 139th Annual PA State Grange Session ran from Friday, October 14 through this afternoon...my first State Grange Session as Master! And I survived!

Last week was nerve racking. I kept discovering things that I should have done weeks before and now was working at the last minute. I stressed myself out over-thinking the 6th Degree Opening of the Session. I was sure that I would make a major mistake, standing in front of all those delegates and guests, while performing the 6th Degree Salutation...I just could not remember it! And then I figured that if I did actually remember that portion, that I would forget the rest or just freeze...and I'm not usually the nervous type! You don't really realize what is going on at Session from the perspective of a delegate...or a Membership/PR Director...I should have paid a lot more attention!

After arriving at the hotel around 10:oo a.m. Friday, we held an Executive Committee Meeting all Friday afternoon, then dove right into practice for the Opening march and 6th Degree Opening (oh yea...I messed up the 6th Degree Salutation!), prior to the 6th Degree Team practicing ( I reduced a bit of my stress by having Anna MayNauss serve as Master for the 6th Degree Conferral!) I finally got checked into my room (naaaaaa - the Host Committee put me up in a huge suite!) around 6:00 just in time to get ready to head to the Host Committee Dinner. Immediately after dinner we went back to practice (this time I got the Salutation right...I think). After our practice, our Youth Officer team practiced and I finally went to my suite to complete working on my scheduling and practice the Salutation some more. I made it an early night...hit the sack at about 1:00 a.m. and only got 2 hours sleep!

After breakfast Saturday morning, we were back at practice again (and this time I got it rght!). I looked over everything in the Session meeting room and it looked like we were ready to go! At 10:00 a.m. the State Officers began to march in! And everything with the march and Opening seemed to fall into place! Before I knew it we were opened in the 6th Degree and welcoming the honored guests. My Grange and Law Enforcement Brother Duane Scott from Wisconsin was our National Grange representative. Duane is on the National Grange Executive Committee along with our own Betsy Huber, one of our other Honored Guests. Fay Snyder, past First Lady of the PA State Grange was also honored, I read a letter from Past Master Wayne Readinger, we saw a video "Welcome" from National Grange Master Ed Luttreell, and we got under way.

We had 130 Subordinate Granges and 40 Pomona Granges represented by delegates that first day. After my Master's Address and reports from the Officers, we had the Junior Grangers come into the Session before they headed out for their Jamboree. They put on a great demonstration, named Beth Downey as the annual Friend of the Junior Grange and gave everyone a small gift before they headed out. It was great to have the delegates get the opportunity to see the Juniors in Session!

After lunch the 6th Degree Team conferred 24 new candidates. Then we got down to the business at hand...73 total resolutions (resolutions are how the Grange sets their legislative policy for the upcoming year)...but we only got through 17 resolutions before the end of Saturday afternoon! I was worried that we could be there late into the evening on Monday...Prior to breaking for the day, we had suggestions for the office of Executive Committee. Beth Downey was at the end of her term limit and was leaving the committee. Marty Dinsmore, David Carlson and JV Lamb were suggested. Our fabulous Youth Team closed the Session for the day and our State Officers gave each of their Youth counterparts a PA Grange lapel pin.

At 5:30 we held a Milk Punch reception hosted by the PA State Dairy Princess Gabrielle Murphy from York County and the PA First Alternate Dairy Princess, our own Deidra Bollinger from Elizabethtown Grange in Lancaster County. Then...

The All Granger Banquet...with a little twist this year - we moved our Talent Contest from State Session back three months to July and our Annual Family Festival. So we had the winners from the Talent Contest perform and entertain us throughout the All Granger banquet. Our National Grange representative Duane Scott was our keynote speaker. Our Royalty was introduced and each gave a little background on themselves: Junior Princess Catarina Darmofal and Junior Prince Derek Snyder; Youth Ambassadors Samantha Gourley and Tyler Sattazahn and; Young Couple Miranda and Matt Irons. Stacy Bruker, our Membership Director drew the winner of the $250 membership drawing and then came the highlight of the evening...the announcement of the PA State Granger of the Year. I tried something a little different this year (my first)...rather than reading the bio of the winner and people guessing who it is after two or three sentences, I talked about the award itself as I walked through the tables, ending up behind the new 2011 Granger of the Year - Braden Gourley! (At 19, Braden just might be the youngest PA State Granger of the Year ever!) The evening closed out with the annual Youth Party...And I again got to bed around 1:00 a.m.

Sunday was a relatively easy-going day for me. We began with a very nice Worship Service conducted by our State Grange Chaplain Jennifer Nauss and Pastor Tim Hoffman, Chaplain of the Valley Grange #1360 in York County. I went directly to the Junior Grange meeting and Junior Degree Conferral...absolutely amazing! The Berks County Junior Degree Team (and others involved in the Opening and/or Closing) were great! And the State Officers presented their Junior Grange Officer counterparts with the same PA State Grange lapel pins that we had given to the Youth.

At the annual Youth Luncheon, Beth Downey was named this year's Friend of the Grange Youth. Beth is an unbelievable supporter of the Juniors and Youth! After lunch, the Public Speaking and Sign-A-Song competitions were held followed by the Master's Workshop, presented by National Grange Communications Director Amanda Brozana on "Communicating the Values of the Grange," as she previewed the new National Grange website. The rest of the evening was Free Time with a movie and game room available to everyone. Yep, I got to bed at about 1:00 a.m. again...this time I had to review the Fourth Degree Opening that we would be performing Monday morning (you see, my Grange uses the new Opening and Closing and I had to make sure I remembered the "Traditional" Opening).

Monday morning - 7:00 a.m. for the Family Activities Breakfast and awards. The...Fourth Degree Opening went well...but I was worried about the remaining 56 or so resolutions. We actually began with the approval of the Salary Committees Report then went right into the resolutions...I still wasn't sure when we broke for lunch if we could finish before 5:00! But before lunch, we had the presentation of the Lecturer's awards, Deaf & Community Service Awards, Family Activities Quilt Raffle winner, and the raffle winners for the State Officers' baskets to support the Scholarship Foundation. On the way out of the Session room the 196 voting delegates cast their ballots for the new Executive Committee member.

Following lunch, JV Lamb was announced as the newly elected Executive Committee mmber. Then the delegates approved the proposed 2012-2013 budget and again returned to the remaining 30 or so resolutions. To everyone's amazement (at least my amazement), the final resolution and Committee Report was completed just BEFORE 4:00 p.m.! I then presented Duane Scott with a special basket for his wife Kymm and a Pennsylvania State Police travel mug and T-shirt for himsef.

Susan Tau from Hayfield Grange in Crawford County and her Installation Team of Fay Snyder, Joyce Snyder and Bob and Jean Hollobaugh did a commendable job installing Brother Lamb as Executive Committee member.

There were so many flowers given away as door prizes it was almost hard to believe that I still came away empty handed...as usual. After recognition of the 2011 Host Committee, it was a huge relief to have Dick Mangel and Nettie Martsoff invite us to the 2012 140th Annual PA State Grange Session in Butler County (on Friday we had no idea who would host the 140th Session).

And I was never so glad to hear the Worthy Overseer reply to my question of, "Worthy Overseer, are the labors of the day completed?" with a hearty, "They are, Worthy Master." It wasa definite relif to close my first PA State Grange Session as the Master! Now I am actually looking forward to my second...well maybe...