So we had another Grange meeting and made some more progress, thanks so much to Annie Heuscher for facilitating-in-absentia and preparing such detailed notes. Anne Little was kind enough to volunteer to host the meeting this time at the Sunrise Coffee Shop. For the time being her space could be used again, but a much larger group of people would require us to relocate the meeting. This was the meat and potatoes of our meeting, Annie provided us with an excellent framework to identify players in the local ag space, what they contribute to our community, and eventually identify holes that we can fill through the formation of our Grange chapter.
After refining our ideas we came up with a list to further consider, of areas that we can be beneficial to our community through a Grange:. Heritage and Tradition: The Grange is an organization with roots, with rich heritage and traditions. This organization is local, but also benefits from a network of time tested and resilient organizations with an eye to rural values and improvement of ourselves and each other.
All Under One Roof: A lot of the organizations we discussed during our brainstorming were very specialized, the Grange could be a platform for the individuals and organizations to work together more effectively to benefit the community. A Grange is a place where you could learn about bees, equipment, network with producers and consumers, talk to people about insurance, etc. Having access to all different sorts of people in one place could be beneficial to the membership and the community.
Scale: The Grange is a huge organization with a state and national leadership structure, which many organizations lack. Farm Product Transportation Rail : The Grange could be a vehicle for all sorts of cooperative effort amongst our members, and one of this could be arranging for transportation of produce in a more efficient manner to feed Missoula. Working With Other Granges: One of the great benefits of the Grange is a network of thousands of other community organizations.
Bulk Purchasing: Some organizations already do have bulk purchasing programs, but some are very specific or specialized, and a large Grange chapter could connect people with similar needs. Not only could we help each other through monthly barn raising style events, we could be a large group of volunteers to mobilize in reaction to specific local events. Promote Montana Outside our State: The national reach of the Grange, and the cooperation of our local Grange members, could be opportunities to promote Montana Ag and businesses outside our state.
