At the October Michigan State Grange Convention held in Bay City, two members of Home Grange won awards, and Home Grange received a third-place award in the Community Service contest.
Kathryn Hsu-Bishop of Kalamazoo won Best of Show in the photography contest, with her close-up entry of a sunflower. Her photo was chosen from approximately 45 entries. Kathryn has been submitting entries in the Michigan State Grange Photography Contest for more than 35 years.
Eric Bishop, Vicksburg, was awarded the Very Important Patron (VIP) Award. Individual Granges honor a member who has made an outstanding contribution to the Grange. Their nominations are forwarded to the State Community Service Director for judging with other individual Grange nominations. Bishop has been a member of Home Grange for 33 years. Previous to that time, he was a member of Home Junior Grange for about 10 years. He has been a very active member during this entire time, holding an office most of these years. Eric currently serves as president of the Michigan State Grange Foundation, a position he has held since 2018, and has served on the Foundation Board since 2009. He served as Vice President of the Michigan State Grange previously for 10 years, and has held other leadership roles as well. Eric was elected president of Home Grange in 2008, and continues to serve in this office. The major impetus for presenting Eric’s nomination for the Very Important Patron Award this year was his work regarding the sale the Home Grange Hall. He spent many hours from September 2019 through December 2020 in the coordination of business regarding the sale.
The highlight of the Home Grange community service entry was the 4th of July Parade, which included cooperation with Newton Township and the Newton Fire Department Auxiliary. Following the sale of the Grange Hall, many records were taken to Michigan State University Archives allowing the history of the Grange to be researched by others; some records and scrapbooks dated back to the 1940s.
Although Home Grange no longer owns a hall, the organization is still active. Monthly Zoom meetings are held where plans are made for community service projects and collaboration with other local organizations. Home Grange is accepting new members. For membership information, send a message through the Home Grange #129 Facebook page.