The Connecticut State Grange is pleased to announce that National Grange Executive Committee member Walter Hartley, and his wife Danielle will be the National Grange Representatives to our Session in October.

Walter Hartley was elected to the Executive Committee of the National Grange in 2025, after serving as Assistant Steward from 2023-2025. He is also the 35th President of Rhode Island State Grange and President of the Rhode Island State Grange Foundation. He had previously served as Vice President and member of the Board of Directors and Vice President of the State Grange Foundation.

Walter was born and “Raised Right Here”.

Having grown up in a multi-generational Grange family in West Greenwich, he joined his older brother and sisters at Moosup Valley Junior Grange #27 in Foster, RI. After almost being born at their Halloween party, he later joined when he turned 5 and worked his way to become the Junior President. His youngest daughter, Nettie is a past National Junior Grange Ambassador as well as the Past President of their Junior Grange, alongside the same Junior (Matron & Patron) Leaders that he had.

As a teenager, he joined Moosup Valley Grange #26 and serves as President there as well as President of the Rhode Island State Youth Grange and State Grange Youth Ambassador. He is a member and current President of Kent County Pomona #3. Along with his wife, they successfully run the Rhode Island State Grange Corn Dog Booth at the Washington County Fair where they are affectionately known as “Mr.& Mrs. Corn Dog”. He is currently serving as a Trustee of the New England Grange Building within the Eastern States, BIG E fair, in Springfield, MA where he is also a trustee. He also served as President of the Northeast (region) Connection where he still sits on that team of Presidents and Vice Presidents of the region’s State Granges.

Walter says that being elected to the Executive Committee by his delegate piers is a true show of honor with their confidence they have in him to serve in this position.

Walter is a graduate of North Kingstown High School and furthered his education in the Police, Fire & EMS fields in Maine, where his daughters, Rebecca & Heather, along with granddaughters Aria & Dakota, still reside.

Walter’s leadership skills that he’s learned during his lifetime in the Grange have greatly helped and guided him as the Grand Knight & Faithful Navigator of the Knights of Columbus, Past President of the City of Warwick Municipal Employees’ Union, and currant State Municipal Vice President with AFSCME/Council 94.

He currently works for the City of Warwick, RI Police Department, assigned to the Prosecution Division as a civilian administrative clerk. He and his wife are Eucharistic Ministers at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church with their daughter serving as a senior Altar Server and Eucharistic Minister.

Walter lives in North Scituate, RI, with his wife Danielle, their daughter Annette Grace, aka “Nettie,” and their twin cats, Jack and Jill.