APRIL 2007 --
Your 2008 National Hosting Committee doesn’t WANT your help... we NEED your help! Many areas of the Convention need more volunteers to come forward and sign up and much more money is needed to satisfy our obligations as the host state.
We are very pleased to announce that Barbara Salisbury of Ekonk has volunteered to head up the Hospitality Room as Chairman. She has many great ideas and we know the room will be a hit with the delegates and guests.
An exciting project getting underway is the creation of a Convention Throw Blanket. The blanket’s design will incorporate the U.S. Mint State Quarter designs for each of the seven states in the Northeast Region hosting the Convention along with our National Convention logo. Colors in this woven piece will be gold, tan, blue and black and should be a unique keepsake of the session. A large number of the blankets will be used as gifts for dignitaries attending the convention and a number of them will be available for sale to our members. How many? You have to tell us!
If you are interested in purchasing a throw blanket like the one pictured above, please contact Marge Bernhardt as soon as possible. We are compiling a list of people interested in purchasing them to give us a better idea of how many need to be ordered. Expressing interest now does not mean you have ordered a blanket. This count is very important as it could be very costly to order extra blankets after the initial order is delivered. Please also note that the design above is just a general idea of what the blanket may look like. Marge Bernhardt, 424 Cedar Lane, Cheshire, CT 06410; Email: mbcb76@cox.net; (203) 272-4620
The price has not been finalized but we anticipate it to be between $40 and $60, a very reasonable price for such a beautiful keepsake. The blankets will not be available until at least the end of the year, but we do need to decide on a quantity to order and certainly do not want to have a large number of them that we HAVE to sell.
The Roast Beef Dinner is also coming up very soon on May 20 at Cheshire Grange Hall. Donation is $10 for adults and $5 for children under 10. The dinner is served family style.
The Convention also now has its own home on the world wide web! Visit www.nationalgrange2008.com for all of the latest information on the convention, as it becomes available. The site was just recently set-up, so please bear with us as content is added. Current plans are to make the site the first to include interactive features never before offered for a National Convention. Live streaming of public events and live updates on the proceedings will enable members from across the country and around the world to keep updated. Plans are also being formulated for the production of video tours of the convention site and a video “Welcome to the Connecticut State Grange” to also be available on the website. Stay tuned!
Another important fundraiser is the Connecticut State Grange Raffle. The raffle is similar to the raffle held by the Connecticut Agricultural Fair last year. Tickets are $1.00 each and the prizes are:
1st - $500 Gift Certificate redeemable at Stop & Shop 2nd - $300 Gift Certificate redeeemable at Mobil or Exxon 3rd - $200.00 Gift Certificate redeemable at Wal-Mart
The tickets list the Connecticut Agricultural Fair as the benefit. The Fair will vote at the April 1 meeting to give all proceeds donated to the Fair by the Raffle to the 2008 National Hosting Committee. The drawing will be held on Grange Sunday, June 10 at Good Will Grange Hall, 43 Naubuc Avenue, Glastonbury, CT 06033 at 2 P.M. Tickets should be arriving in all Granges very shortly so ask for them, buy them and good luck!
