| DECEMBER 4, 2010 -- The Public Relations Committee is hitting the ground running. We announced our action plans for the year at the recently held Leadership meeting, and would like to review them here for everyone.
There are two specific areas that we will be concentrating our efforts this year - Community Grange Support and Committee Support. The Community Granges across the state have been divided up by Pomona between committee members Maggie Schofield, Don Offinger and Frank Forrest. The breakdown is as follows:
Maggie - Pomonas 4, 7, 11, & 13
Don - Pomonas 1, 5 & 9
Frank - Pomonas 2, 3, & 6
Maggie, Don and Frank are available to help and support Granges with their PR needs, and will soon be in touch with each Grange. Remember that they are only a phone call or an e-mail away.
Public Relations Information Packets were handed out at State Session for all Subordinate, Pomona and Junior Granges. (Packets were also distributed to Committees at the Leadership Meeting.) If packets were not given to a representative from the Grange itself, they were given to either the Pomona Deputy or someone who could help make sure the packet makes it to its destination. We urge those who have packets that still need to be distributed to please do so as soon as possible. It is imperative that this information arrive at its Grange destination.
As part of the Information Packet, details were provided regarding the new Community Grange website program – which gives each Grange the possibility of developing their own unique website, featuring information ranging from Calendar of Events and News Articles, to Scrapbooks and more, and features four choices of layout design. Winchester Grange already has completed their new website -- visit www.WinchesterGrange.org to check it out. Will your Grange be next?
Support for the individual committees will vary depending on their activities and programs. Terri Fassio and Robert Charbonneau, as well as the rest of our team, are available for assistance for all committees with planning support or materials for the purpose of distributing press releases, creation of promotional material for special events, community displays, and/or other hands-on assistance as necessary. For example - if a committee needs assistance with a brochure, we can take their supplied information and design a professional piece suitable for public distribution.
Here’s a look at some of our specific PR initiatives.
• Official E-mail Addresses for all Community Granges, Officers, Committees and representatives of the CT State Grange.
• GPS Map Listings for all Community Granges
• Development of Social Media for all Community Granges
• Frequent deployment of Press Releases and Media Alerts for all Community Granges
• CT State Grange Mobile App for Smart Phones (such as the iPhone, Blackberry, Android, etc.)
• Maintaining the Grange Trademark through identity and branding by use of official logos, clip art, and more
The PR Committee is offering a total of six contests this year --
1) “Spot On” - 30-Second Grange Video Commercial Contest
2) “Spreading the Word” - Connecticut State Grange Website Participation Contest
3) “Show Us Your Stuff” - Grange Marketing Contest
4) “Convey the Message” - Best Grange-written Press Release Contest
5) “Let’s Advertise” - Best Grange Event Poster
6) “In the News” - Best Newspaper Article Contest
All of the details, rules, and information for the contests will be available in the BlueBook, as well as online from the CT State Grange website. We hope that the variety of contests will appeal to Granges of all sizes - as the saying goes, there’s something for everyone.
Public relations is vital to the success of the Granges across Connecticut. You may have heard “I see the building every day but never knew what it is used for,” or “Aren’t they a group of farmers?” No matter how important you personally feel the Grange is to your community, you should not expect that everybody will know what the Grange is, or even know that the Grange exists.
The more visibility the Grange has, the more positive community support it will attract, the more pride the membership will have in the organization, and ultimately the more members it will gain. We are enthusiastic about working with all of the Granges and Committees in achieving our common goals. |
