6 new officers elected to serve National Grange

WICHITA, Kansas — On Friday, November 12, during the 155th Annual Convention of the National Grange, Betsy E. Huber of Lincoln University, Pennsylvania, was installed as President of the oldest agricultural and rural advocacy organization in the country, after being elected to the position for a fourth term the day before.

Huber, who was first elected President in 2015, has established hers as a clear voice for rural interests both to legislative and regulatory bodies in Washington, D.C., and across the country.

As a leader of the more than 140,000 member, grassroots organization, Huber has often called on the members to advocate on issues ranging from agriculture to healthcare to infrastructure. The signature issue of the Grange for nearly two decades has been expansion of broadband to every American home.

She likens the organization’s advocacy on the expansion of rural broadband to the efforts the Grange led in generations past related to rural free mail delivery and rural electrification.

“Equity for rural Americans is our number one priority,” said Huber, who currently serves on the FCC’s Precision Ag Connectivity Task Force working group on Deployment.

She said the vast positive implications of ensuring all Americans have access to reliable, affordable and robust broadband cannot be understated.

“From increased crop yields to decreased pesticide use because of precision agriculture technologies, to quality, life-saving healthcare access through telemedicine, to the ability for a rural entrepreneur to fulfill their American dream of success through online commerce, broadband is essential,” Huber said. “This is not just for rural America – it’s for the benefit of our nation because with access, we have the potential to keep food costs low for every American; to increase our GDP by producing more food, fiber and fuel that can be shipped around the world; by reducing healthcare costs shared by taxpayers and policyholders because individuals have access to more preventative care, and affording individuals opportunities to succeed in order to thrive without public assistance.”

Huber has also spent considerable time since the pandemic urging individuals to protect their own health as well as their community’s by becoming fully vaccinated. Recently, she has called attention to the potential for a “twindemic” – with the potential for increased cases of pneumonia or the flu because of vaccine access issues all while COVID-19 is still disproportionately impacting rural communities.

In a recent op-ed published in The Hill, Huber called on elected officials and health care experts to “explore new ways to bring the care outside of the clinic,” building on a previous call to look to oral vaccines and more innovations that will allow all individuals access to care regardless of geography.

“The issues the Grange takes on are wide-ranging, but they are important to our members’ – to their livelihoods and their quality of life,” Huber said. “Our approach is well-vetted and common sense, and always nonpartisan. We strive to create partnerships that help build consensus and move our entire nation forward.”

Huber said she is proud to lead the organization and sees many parallels between our founding period and today.

“The Grange was established to help bring together a nation that had just been torn apart in a bitter Civil War. Our founders believed a fraternity for farm families – for rural individuals – could help connect individuals, promote civility and what we would consider today bipartisanship and compromise. Our nation needs that today – an organization that promotes getting to know our neighbors, being good, engaged citizens, and hosting discussions about issues without partisanship.

As President, Huber manages all operations and fraternal elements of the organization, which is based in Washington, D.C. Officers are elected for two-year terms.

Though the organization since its inception in 1867 has offered equal voice and vote to women, and all leadership positions have been open to women, Huber is the first female elected National President of the Grange. She was also the first female president of the Pennsylvania State Grange, a position she held from 2002-10. Following her term as State President, she returned to the State Grange as Government Relations Director until she was elected President of the National Grange.

She is a third-generation Grange member who was raised on a dairy farm in southeastern Pennsylvania.  She has often credited the organization with providing her opportunities and training from the time she joined as a Junior member at age 5 to advance her through life and prepare her for the various leadership roles she has held in Grange and in her community, in local government and as a Trustee of The Pennsylvania State University, a position she held for more than a decade.

She served 24 years as a Supervisor of Upper Oxford Township, Chester County, and served as Treasurer of the Chester County Association of Township Officials and on several committees for the State Association.  Other board memberships include PA FarmLink, PA Department of Environmental Protection Ag Advisory Committee, the PA Alliance for Livestock Care and Well-being, and the PA State Council of Farm Organizations where she served as President for two years.  She represented the Pennsylvania State Grange on the University of Pennsylvania Veterinary School Board of Overseers 2002-15.

Huber also serves on the boards of the USDA program Safety in Agriculture for Youth and National Coalition for Food and Agricultural Research and as Executive Secretary of the Pennsylvania Young Farmers Association.

 Chris Hamp of Washington, who has served as National Grange Lecturer/Program Director since 2016, was elected to the office of Vice President. “I look forward to engaging our members at every level,” she said, “as we collaborate to grow the Grange in every community across the country.

On the Executive Committee, Lynette Schaeffer from Illinois was re-elected for a second two-year term, and Buddy Overstreet from Texas was elected to his first term. “It’s an honor,” Buddy said. “There are a lot of issues facing the Grange right now,” he noted, stating that is ready to work with the rest of the Executive Committee to help guide the Grange.

Several other newcomers were elected to offices. Minnesota State Grange President Ann Bercher was elected to replace Chris Hamp as Lecturer/Program Director. “I am greatly honored by the confidence of the Delegates, and I am excited to see where this leads,” she said. Bercher is looking forward to continuing Hamp’s wisdom and legacy as Lecturer, and creating and fostering projects and programs nationwide.

Other newly-elected officers leading the National Grange are Kathy Gibson (MA) – Lady Assistant Steward, Joe Goodrich (VT) – Treasurer, Debbie Campbell (PA) – Secretary.

Re-elected to their offices are Steward – Chip Narvel (DE), Assistant Steward – John Plank (IN), Chaplain – Barbara Borderieux (FL), Gatekeeper – Christopher Johnston (MI), Ceres – Cindy Greer (CO), Pomona – Kay Stiles (DE), and Flora – Welina Shufeldt (OK). Susan Noah (OR) and Leroy Watson (DC) each have one more year in their two-year terms on the Executive Committee.