MICHIGAN STATE GRANGE MASTER/PRESIDENT
Christopher D. Johnston
6241 Grand River Road
Bancroft, MI 48414
(989)634-9350 (H) (989)666-6648 (C)
msgprez19@yahoo.com

MICHIGAN STATE GRANGE OFFICE
404 S. Oak Street
Durand, MI 48429
(989)288-4546
msgrange1873@yahoo.com



NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 202​5 GRANGE NEWS

State Session
I would like to give a big thanks to Region II for hosting a fantastic Annual Session of the Michigan State Grange. Much appreciation to Burns #160, Gratiot #1898, Studley #1174, Kinney #754, and Maple Leaf #940 Granges.

I would like to thank all the delegates and members for their continued commitment to attending and setting policy for the ensuing years. I appreciate your attention to reviewing the Legislative Policy on the floor and your help in making the updates. While we didn’t get through it as much as I thought we would, we certainly made great progress in the start of it. I would like to thank Rich Hazen for taking on the task of selecting a committee to continue reviewing the policy to bring suggested updates to the next session.

Congratulations to all the winners in the Department contests. I didn’t envy the judges on the hard task they had before them!

Connie (and I) would personally like to thank Rich Hazen, Oz, Jeff & Nancy Swainston, Randy Cebulski and Tim Johnston for unloading the trailer into the storage unit so that task wasn’t left up to her, Marc and myself.

While I’m guessing everything is right in the world as there were so few resolutions, we did pass three of them with two of them going onto the National Session. Resolutions are where our Grange policy starts, at the local Granges, to the State Grange and then to National. This is truly a grassroots organization.

National Session
As I write, Connie and I are in the process of getting ready to attend the National Session. This is definitely a first for the National Grange and will be an interesting adventure to have the session during a cruise. During the four sea days, we will be in session all day reviewing the resolutions and the present policy that the committees have been working on throughout the year over Zoom. While it’s no surprise we are not thrilled about this new venture, I’m hoping the work of the National Grange will continue without interruption.

This will also be one of the times that the Seventh Degree is not held in regular form at session. Instead, the newly videotaped Seventh Degree will be shown in place of the full production. The past couple years, the Seventh Degree has been slightly modified to be done without the costumes and will probably be the future way of putting on the Seventh Degree.

Holidays
As the holiday season approaches, I hope everyone stays happy and healthy. From Connie, the boys and myself, we wish you Happy Holidays.

JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2026 GRANGE NEWS

Happy New Year
Welcome to 2026, the beginning of a new year for new ideas, new programs, new members, new fun, and new fellowship opportunities. This is a great time of the year to be planning for the new year.
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One suggestion is to look at the National Grange Distinguished Grange Award application and use that as a platform to see what points you can earn and then plan your events so that your Grange can qualify for the award. With Connie as the coordinator for the program, she’s hoping to increase Michigan’s participation in the program. She would love to see 100% participation!
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Reminder to let the State Grange webmaster know of your events so she can get them on the State Grange website calendar to share with everyone!
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National Grange Recap:
Connie and I returned from a very interesting National Session aboard the Carnival Horizon. The session itself had many challenges that as Grangers we were able to overcome and proceed for a successful convention. The cruise itself shared a few of its own challenges, from a late departure from the port for one matter to a much later return to port due to mechanical issues. While the next few sessions are already set and will be firmly on land, this experience doesn’t appear to have eliminated the chance of another session aboard a cruise.
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The main news to report that will affect everyone is the $6 dues increase I mentioned at the state session has passed and will go into effect January 1, 2026. The Michigan State Grange Secretary is in the process of getting new quarterly reports ready to send to the Secretaries of the respective Granges across the state. For those not at the state convention, the delegates approve revisions to the dues structure within the Michigan State Grange bylaws to be $35 per member plus the National Grange Dues. The change allows for National Grange to change their dues and we won't have to change the By-Laws in multiple locations to allow for the change.
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In addition to the dues increase, the National Grange Executive Committee has divided the State Granges amongst themselves to work with the State Grange Presidents and select others on a Performance Improvement Plan. The plan is to work towards the common goal of improving Community Granges by increasing members as well as to increase the number of Granges in the state. I will be working with Walter Hartley who is newly appointed onto the National Grange Executive Committee from Rhode Island. In addition to myself working with Walter, I will be contacting a few others to assist in the PIP.
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Michigan State Grange Department Directors Day of Learning
Your MSG Department Directors are working together to set a date and location for the Day of Learning in the spring where they will share their ideas and goals and programs for this year. There will be food, fun and fellowship for all members. Plan to come and bring a car load of people for a day of learning.
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Until next time…..