A3B-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, Pennsylvania (Continued from Page A 1) service has included finance com mittee member and lecturer for Pomona Grange #26, president of Hayfield Grange, and chairman for the Grange exhibit at the Crawford County Fair. According to William A. Steel, outgoing president of the Penn sylvania State Grange, Merritt has taken on a very active role in the organization since joining in 1982. “He has much enthusiasm for the Grange,” Steel said. “He exemplifies what a Granger is. For that reason, we are proud to name Mr. Merritt as our Granger of the Year an honor he is much deserving.” When it comes to Grange ac tivities, Merritt is always willing to pitch in. He has sewn, cooked, baked, decorated, built, per formed, and educated for his Grange. Merritt’s community service is not just limited to Grange activi ties. Even with a career as a fu neral director, Merritt always finds time to reach out to the community, especially through his service as Junior Achievement consultant. For, his Junior Achievement service, he was awarded the Junior Achievement Consultant Recog nition Award this past year. Fluent in Arabic, Merritt has assisted the Arab-Kurdish popu Nationwide* Insurance & Financial Services Nationwide Is On Your Side * Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company and Affiliated Companies • Home Office Columbus, OH 43215-2220 kV »TaT*T^ Agriculture - Residential - Commercial ( • All Types Of Plat Work Authorized Dealer For Ke] E) P) E (1 CONCRETE It walls, me. November 2, 2002 Grange News lation in his region a service that has been especially in de mand since Sept. 11. In addition to Arabic, Merritt is also fluent in Spanish. “He has touched so many lives in a positive way,” Steel said. “He has used his Grange as a community outreach tool and made a difference on our behalf and for the good of all. For that reason, we honor and thank Ken neth Merritt.” “I was shocked,” Merritt said after receiving his award. “I thought the award would go to someone who has been with the Grange for 30, 40, or even 50 years.” Merritt encourages nonmem bers to consider joining the Penn sylvania State Grange. “It is a family organization where parents don’t just drop their children they can be a part of the organization with them.” Merritt is the funeral director at Roofher - Collins Funeral Home, Inc. located in Meadville. Last year’s honor went to Ruth Walker of Washington County. State Grange Opens 130th Annual Convention Hundreds of members of the Pennsylvania State Grange gath ered Saturday at Trinity High School in Washington, to hear William A. Steel, president of the Harrisburg-based organization. Steel’s remarks came during 601 Overly Grove Rd., New Holland, PA 17557 America's Choice for Farm Insurance. Contact your local Nationwide* Agent todayl For All Your Concrete Walls And Construction Needs 'stone Concrete Products the opening of the 130th Session of the Pennsylvania State Grange Convention. Pomona Granges in Washing ton and Green counties hosted this year’s convention. The Pennsylvania Sate Grange is a grassroots organization with approximately 20,000 members in 360 chapters across the com monwealth. The goal of the or ganization is to improve the lives of rural Pennsylvania through many vehicles, including legisla tive action. The four-day session lays the groundwork for legisla tive initiatives for the 2002-2003 year. The closing of this year’s con vention marked an end to Steel’s six-year reign as president of the Pennsylvania branch of the na tional organization. In his final address, Steel said the closing legislative year began on a good note with Gov. Mark Schweiker signing into law SB 100, the newborn hearing-testing bill supported by the Grange. “The law now allows all new borns to be tested for hearing loss, and requires that hospital ization insurance pay for the test ing,” Steel said. “Technology has advanced to the point that a sim ple test can be done on newborns before leaving the hospital, and if a hearing loss is detected, treat ment can begin very early in the life of the child.” Another Pennsylvania State Grange success this past year oc curred when delegates approved a resolution last year seeking reg- & Pennsylvania State Orange named Crawford County’s Kenneth Merritt, left, Granger of the Year at the 130th Annual State Convention. Merritt is Joined by last year’s recipient Ruth Walker of Washington County, and William A. Steel, outgoing president of the Pennsylvania State Grange. ulation of the viatical industry. A bill was introduced by Senator Hal Mowery and has help turn a Grange resolution into law. “The bill licenses viatical pro viders and gives the insurance department of the common wealth the authority to approve settlement contracts and disclo sure procedures,” Steel said. “Due to the drastic downturn in business within the state and nationwide, there were many cuts and holds on the current state exclusive hydraulic servo mechanism - better control, greater productivity and smoother performance, the FST with fully synchronized main transmission or the exclusive GST (Glide Shift Transmission). ✓ 2WD or 4WD, 22.5 PTO HP with tilt steering wheel, 3-point hitch and cruise control. ✓ An optional foldable ROPS, operator comfort reclining seat and an ISO-mounted flat deck. ✓ Optimum versatility with performance-matched front loaders, backhoe, mid-mount mowers, front blade, box scraper, snow-blower and much more. See Keller Bros. Kubota and 1/ out our L3OlO all-purpose power Kubota. YOUR FULL LINE KUBOTA PRODUCT HEADQUARTERS • INVENTORY • PRICE • KNOWLEDGEABLE SALES STAFF « SERVICE EXPERIENCE • PARTS •SALES • SERVICE We Shwarts ( TRACTORS *SQMIPI»gMT j L«t*nofi. F# 17&2 Rt, 419 1 MiteWMt Of Sch«*fferato»«i 717-949-2000 orTol) Free 877-4Kubota Visit our wob otto it wunu.llubßlup9rts.eonl • E-mull us it kubotiOnbn.nst KpURBRQS. MkHUftiJLA* MONDAY - FRIDAY 0:00 - 8:00 SATURDAY 8:00 -12:00 Serving Central PA Since 1921 >ILOTSI KELLER BROS. AIRPORT jissiy HUNWAY 600' From D—iTShil budget, as well as much debate on how to finance the year ahead. About three-fourths of the state’s rainy day fund was spent to make ends meet. The Grange re quested additional funding for agricultural research and exten sion at Penn State, and we are pleased to see more than two mil lion dollars added to the pro posed budget. “The Pennsylvania Depart (Tum to Page A 39) Financing Or Cash Discount* Available
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