Welcome, from the National Junior Grange! As the National Junior Grange Director, I want to take a moment to tell you a little about myself and what the Grange and Junior Grange has done for me.
I am a south Texas country girl who was born and raised on her family’s farm. My entire family has been Grange members for as long as I can remember. My Junior Grange Leader at the time, Rosena Gayle, who we all affectionately called Aunt Doll, expected each Junior to work to the best of their abilities. She encouraged us and taught us all lessons that I have carried on throughout my entire life.
That is what the Junior Grange does, it encourages children to strive for the best, it produces leaders, it inspires kids to learn in fun and innovative ways. As the times have changed, the Grange still works to promote hometown values. Baking, sewing, canning, public-speaking, deaf awareness, farming, agriculture, Grange fairs… These are just a few of the ways that our Juniors learn. We also want to teach our Juniors to be aware of the needs of their communities. By participating year round in different community service projects it promotes a sense of pride that these children build for their homes and communities.
My husband, Glenn, and I cherish the values that the Grange teaches and work diligently to instill those values in our four children. Glenn, ‘married’ into the Grange and he now wouldn’t trade it for the world. We are both active in our Subordinate Grange and Church, as well as State Grange. In our church, Glenn serves as a Trustee and I as the Church Youth Director. Our oldest son is homeschooled, and therefore we run a homeschool co-op from our church for homeschooled children in our rural community. Our Boys Daniel, Zachary, Tilden, and Jacob are excited about their life in the Grange and we look forward to seeing them grow and be products of what the Grange can produce!
I believe that the lessons I have learned in the Grange are what have helped me to become the person I am today. My degree is in Theatre and Communications Studies; which is a true product of the lessons and skills I learned within the Grange. In all things I do I have worked with children and developed programs that are geared towards the interest of today’s youth and children while still trying to maintain a sense of history within them.
If you are looking for something the entire family can do that enhances your own interests while learning new things, then this is the organization for you. Please stop into your local Community Grange, check us out on the web or Facebook and find out what we are all about.
For more information, or to submit contest entries, please write to:
Samantha Wilkins
National Junior Grange Director
21578 Pleasanton Road
San Antonio, TX 78264
Email: junior@nationalgrange.org
