| OCTOBER 2, 2020 -- State Session is just about here. While it will be very different from what we have come to expect from our Convention, we have done our very best to ensure that we accomplish the most essential work with minimal “glitches.”
By now the election ballots should have mostly been returned to the Election Chairperson, Maureen Prelli. I was only made aware of one case of delayed delivery of a ballot to a delegate. So far so good!
The State Public Relations Director has been holding “Social Hours” on Zoom every Thursday night at 7:00 P.M. with a wonderful variety of experienced and novice Zoom users taking advantage of the time to get used to the technology. These events will continue every Thursday until State Session. A special Halloween Zoom Party has also been planned. See the publicity for it elsewhere in this issue!
With all of the planning and work involved with State Session being moved up into August and September, the annual printing of the Dues Receipts got lost in the shuffle. They are in process and I hope to have them to all Granges very soon.
The Public Relations Committee is also taking orders for new State Grange t-shirts that sport a very attractive design. Orders will be accepted starting October 1st. There is an ad for the shirts elsewhere in this issue and it will also be included in the Session Books due out to all delegates and State Officers soon. The ad says they have to be purchase online, however I will accept shirt orders through the mail by sending your order accompanied by a check made payable to the “Connecticut State Grange” with the amount required for the shirt purchase along with the shipping charges. The shirts will be navy blue with white lettering. We are using a new process to print these shirts which will be much more durable than previous shirts. A small profit on the sale will go towards fundraising necessary to balance the State Grange’s annual budget.
Thank you to the officers and committees that have forwarded their Journal of Proceedings reports well in advance of State Session. Please keep them coming.
Granges should be meeting again, either in-person or on Zoom, so it should be possible now to fill out your Officer and Committee Information Sheets required for the annual State Directory printing. If your Grange has not submitted its form yet, please do so as soon as possible. It has been two years since the last Directory and I’m sure many of you would love to have updated contact information for our Granges and Grange members.
As I have mentioned in the September column, the third quarter closed as of September 30. This means Granges have 30 days from that date to file their quarterly reports without incurring the $25 late fee.
It would be wonderful to have all of our Granges in before the deadline. Actually, September 30 is the deadline. The thirty days that follow are the grace period. Any Granges still outstanding after the grace period ends will receive a bill for the late fee. I’m sure your Grange’s treasury can use every dollar, so please get those reports in!
Following State Session (and the Election of Officers), all committees and officers that contribute information for the Blue Book should be working on that information. It would be greatly appreciated if the new information for the Blue Book could be in to me by the end of November. It has been two years since the last Blue Book so I’m sure our Granges and Grangers are looking forward to seeing what the program for 2021 will be.
I apologize for the long list of “asks” in this report. Until next time... stay well! |
