Brothers and Sisters of the Connecticut State Grange,

As my second two-year term as President comes to an end, I reflect back over what has been accomplished in my four years as President. I am grateful for the support of all the capable people who have helped me make some improvements to our State Grange, and the experienced voices who have mentored me through my time in office. Jody Cameron and the Leadership Academy program, Dave and all his Lecturers’ Roundup Programs, and Terri and her work on Perseverance: Connecticut Granges Make Their Mark on History books (two 500-page volumes) and the virtual social hours as well as her publicity work for all our Granges. A special shout out goes to the main movers and shakers of the history book project: of course, the star of the show, Terri Fassio, plus Janet Haller, Todd Gelineau, Bob Charbonneau, Roy and Betty Jane Harrington, Kay Ruff, Joanne Cipriano, Lin Erickson, Ellen Pettit, and Marge Bernhardt who is sadly deceased.

I instituted the Mentoring Program to get our state officers out and involved with the Granges by giving guidance where needed. By instituting this alongside the National Grange Performance Improvement Plan, we were able to help lead the membership drive and to help strengthen Granges by making them believe success is possible. While many Granges have seen a membership gain, some of these Granges operate traditionally while others do not. I understand there is some resistance to our ritual, but I would still encourage Granges that don’t open and close in ample form to pick-up even a modified opening and closing to better set the mood for your meetings. Use the Order of Business and arranged officer and member seating will help meetings run more efficiently without the distractions of side conversations. We have seen the results of these initiatives in Oxford Grange #194 and it has made a difference. Among those that don’t, many are still having a significant impact on their communities and I commend them for that. This is what the Grange is; not a bunch of farmers or an old farming fraternity, but a modern community-based organization with agricultural roots composed of citizens interested in making an impact on their communities. There are several ways to skin the proverbial cat.

MEMBERSHIP

Thanks to Jody and Jodi Ann Cameron for taking on the Leadership Co-Director roles. They have offered you sage advice in regular monthly columns in the Granger. As I hope you are all appreciating, no one can tell you as a Grange how to do everything in your Grange and get new members. There are some general principles that you have to digest and apply to your situations.

In my term as President, unfortunately I have received charters from Glastonbury #26, Groton Community #213, Higganum #124, and Preston City #110. We are still working on Cawasa #34 and the disposition of its scholarship fund before the Grange can be formally closed.

There is and always will be some friction between some members. We are all only human and different individuals, but remember that we strive to work toward the common causes laid out in our degrees, Declaration of Purposes and by-laws. As we fall away from some of that, I would encourage Granges to distribute some of these documents to new and old members and review them. As few Granges exemplify degrees anymore, I have suggested to our Oxford Grange members that we do read throughs of a degree per meeting as a Lecturer’s program to acquaint people with the lessons contained therein. I suggest other Granges do this as well. Even better if the degrees can be exemplified as originally intended.

NATIONAL GRANGE

In November 2025, I traveled to Miami to embark on the Carnival Horizon for the 159th Annual Convention and cruised to Aruba, Bonaire, and Curacao. We had four days of work and three days of touring the islands. It was different than usual but all the work of the convention got done and we had plenty of time enjoying ourselves. The islands were beautiful and had many sights to offer. I chaired the Citizenship and Taxation Committee while Vice President Ted was on the Labor, Judiciary, and Transportation Committee.
This past May, I traveled with Ted to Sparks, Nevada for the National Leaders Conference. The seminars were fantastic and I have been sharing what we learned with you through the past several President’s Desk columns.

In January, Maggie accompanied me to the Northeast Leaders Conference in Colchester, Vermont. Going to northern Vermont in the deep of winter is always iffy, but the weather was great as was the conference. Again, the presentations were useful and the speakers very interesting. It is always nice to convene with our seven state Northeastern leaders’ group and share ideas.

POMONA GRANGES

I continue to be a strong supporter of Pomona Granges as the connecting glue between the community Granges and the Connecticut State Grange. It is a place where rituals are still strong and traditions are carried on. Mountain Laurel Pomona #15 has a new President in Dave Roberts who is fired up with energy. Pomona attendance is picking up and we are strong. I trust that there is still energy in Eastern Connecticut Pomona #14 and Nutmeg Pomona #16. With less member visitations, this is the one place we can bring community Grange members together to share ideas and socialize outside of State Session. I would encourage all to push Pomona membership advantages to their members.

EDUCATION

Education continues to be a Connecticut State Grange priority. The State Grange still offers scholarships and student loans through the Scholarship Committee. Scholarship amounts vary according to whether the student is full or part-time and in the first year of college or beyond that. Guidelines can be found in the Blue Book. We are also staunch supporters of the Vocational Agriculture educational system and FFA as well as 4H. Oxford Grange welcomed and sponsors a 4H Club run by member Lexi Gazy which has been quite well received in town.

An item of interest that affects education is the use of artificial intelligence (AI). The State of Connecticut this year adopted legislation to regulate AI. Our State Grange has adopted a resolution laying out a policy concerning AI.

AGRICULTURE

Agriculture in several forms is still important to the economy of Connecticut contributing $4 billion and supporting about 31,000 jobs. Residential and commercial development in the state continues to threaten prime farmland with solar farms at the top of the list of threats as the push toward green energy continues.

With the use of pesticides and herbicides in agricultural use being in the news and the subject of legislative efforts around the country, I continue to advocate for some level of control and limitations in the use of these toxic and harmful chemicals by writing frequently to our Congressional and General Assembly representatives. I also advocate for wildlife habitat preservation and protection of wildlife from unlimited eradication. I strongly believe in a balanced ecosystem.

OFFICERS & DIRECTORS

As one representative on the State Grange Board of Directors, I cannot speak highly enough of this dedicated group. Vice President Ted Powell has truly been my right-hand man between helping in Grange relations, conflict resolution, and the inspection process. Chaplain Charles Dimmick continues to inspire me with his writings and contributes greatly to the Northeastern Chaplains yearly summer program. Lecturer Dave Roberts is always available to help and offers the regular Lecturers Roundups. This year, he piloted our delegation to the Northeastern Lecturers Conference in New York. Thanks, Dave! Secretary Todd Gelineau and Treasurer Jody Cameron keep this organization running smoothly. Alma is a calm voice of reason in leading the Board while Ruel, Noel, George and Nancy all add their share of talents. The Past Presidents Phil, Jody, Noel, and George have been great mentors to me. Thank you also to Ruel for sage advice when requested.

This year, the Board tackled the issue of increasing costs of the State Grange session. With the cost approaching $35,000 per year, we the Board analyzed expenditures and found that many things could be cut or reduced don’t make drastic changes to the overall budget. We have trimmed costs as much as we could without sacrificing the quality of the event. The venue is the biggest cost and we just don’t feel like we can realistically move from the Holiday Inn to a Grange or other social hall and make the whole thing work as we wish. The bear in the room is the cost of lodging in our state being so high. This is also an issue with the Northeast Region hosting National Grange conventions.

COMMITTEES

Many folks deserve recognition for serving on committees. Dawn Percoski has led the Family Activities Committee for many years. Michelle DeDominicis likewise led the Juniors for quite a while. Thanks to Terri Fassio and Bob Charbonneau for co-directing Public Relations and working to get our name out in the media. The Camerons have offered inspiration and guidance in membership matters at a time where it is sorely needed. The Donihee family consisting of Christine, Chloe and Violet have resurrected the Agricultural Committee into a full program. Thanks to Noel for his legislative articles. Student Loans have been handled through the Central Office by Todd. Thanks to Dawn Anstett for your efforts on behalf of the Youth. I want to recognize these people as several will not continue in the new administration.

CLOSING COMMENTS

As I come to the end of my four years as President of your State Grange, I realize this has been the largest honor of my life to lead the Connecticut State Grange. I thank my wife Maggie for both allowing me to take on this role and appreciate the help she has been able to give out of her busy schedule in visiting Granges and various Grange events.

I have loved attending the National Grange conventions in Sparks, Niagara Falls, Bettendorf, and the ABC Cruise, as well as Wichita as State Grange Vice President and I will be attending in Broken Arrow this year as well. It has been an honor to serve the State Grange as a delegate on my various committee assignments: Agriculture and Conservation, Grange Law and two years on Citizenship and Taxation. This year, I am secretary for the Labor, Judiciary, and Transportation Committee at least until our elections. I have made many friends across the nation through Grange.

While I have closed more Granges than I wish to have closed, I finally feel as if membership numbers are making a gain. While we still are losing to attrition, I hope the gains will start to overcome the losses and we will grow as we continue to be Grange Strong! As we will be electing new officers to lead the State Grange, I wish them well in their coming terms and will gladly offer help when needed.

Fraternally,

Robert Buck
President