Please talk up the Session to members of your Grange and encourage them to attend all or part of State Session. It’s not just for Delegates and State Officers.

• Donations Needed - The Family Activities Committee of the Connecticut State Grange is issuing a call for donations for the Hospitality Room at the 139th Annual Session of the Connecticut State Grange. The Session will be held October 19, 20, 21, 2023, at the Holiday Inn - Norwich, 10 Laura Blvd., Norwich, CT.

Water and snacks are welcome as well as fresh fruit like apples or oranges. Things that people can wash up or peel should not cause any issues but still no baked goodies are allowed.

For more information, email Family Activities Director Dawn Percoski at familyactivities@ctstategrange.org.

• Sixth Degree Time Change - We are announcing a change in the schedule for the 2023 Annual Session of the CT State Grange.  This year, the Sixth Degree will be conferred at 10:00 AM on Saturday, October 21st, where it had been previously held in the afternoon.  Candidates should arrive no later than 9:30 AM.  Lunch is available to candidates and guests coming in for the Degree for a fee, with advance registration required.  

All of the information and details for the Session will soon be mailed to all Connecticut Granges with the Call to the Session, and will be available on the CT State Grange website (www.CTStateGrange.org) shortly thereafter.

Questions should be sent to secretary@ctstategrange.org.

• Granges should decide on Delegates as soon as possible and get the Delegate Cards back to the State Grange office right away so we can get packets of information and Zoom information out to each delegate.

• 2023 Fundraiser: The Connecticut State Grange Foundation is holding a fundraiser at State Session and we need your help. In the place of the traditional raffle held at the close of the Celebration Banquet on Friday night, we are planning to hold a gift drawing. Tickets will be sold throughout State Session on Thursday and Friday.

We welcome any and all donations of gift baskets or individual items with a value over $5.00 to be used in the drawing. (We're suggesting the types of items you have traditionally found in the raffles held at Session in the past). Alma Graham has generously donated a homemade quilt.

Please bring your items to State Session and give them to the State Secretary. If you have any questions, please contact the State Secretary at 860-307-1522.

We thank you in advance for your support of the Connecticut State Grange Foundation. Your donations will help us raise additional funds to continue our mission and to provide financial assistance to Granges like the Grange Capital Improvement Grant Program.

From Legislative Committee Director Noel Miller --

We ask that all resolutions be submitted by September 15th to the State Secretary to allow time for them to be incorporated into the session’s booklet. Resolutions that are submitted by that date allow us to print them in the Granger for all to review prior to the session. This offers an opportunity for your Grange members to review and express their support or rejection of the topics to your delegates before the State Session.

If you have a resolution that you wish to submit after that date, submit it to the State Secretary anyway. It may not be printed in the session’s booklet, but it still can be brought up before the delegates. This is not ideal, and I encourage you to submit them by September 15th. Please note that if the resolution addresses a change to the by-laws it MUST be submitted to the State Grange by the September 15th deadline.

We encourage that all resolutions be passed from the local Granges to the Pomona Granges for their action before submitting them to the State Grange. All resolutions must be presented by a Grange, either Community or Pomona. They cannot be submitted by an individual without being adopted by a Grange.

• Room reservations should be made with the Holiday Inn Norwich no later than September 26, 2023 by calling the number in Norwich listed below. Please do not call the Holiday Inn corporate line. They will not be able to book your room properly under the guaranteed block rate we have arranged.

The rate this year is $109 plus taxes for Thursday, $129 plus taxes for Friday & Saturday nights. Anyone who has traveled during the last year or so has noticed a sharp increase in hotel costs. It is remarkable we are able to lock-in rates so low. Please book early -- DON’T WAIT FOR THE DEADLINE.

• Registrations for Session are due no later than September 30. Please keep in mind that if you are a Delegate who wishes to receive the Delegate Reimbursement payment from the State Grange, you must attend ALL sessions, including the Celebration Banquet on Friday evening. This does require the additional purchase of a banquet ticket. Tickets will only be punched at the door of each session.