NORTHERN CALIFORNIA – Ed Luttrell, National Grange president headquartered in Washington, D.C., and Bob McFarland, California State Grange president headquartered in Sacramento, will be speaking at three Granges in California Aug. 11, 12 and 13.

The purpose of the meetings is to garner support for Grange activities and the public is invited to attend and learn what the Grange is advocating for their communities.

Luttrell and McFarland will be appearing at Chico Grange, 2775 Nord Ave. in Chico at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 11.

On Thursday, Aug. 12, they will be at Aromas Grange located at 361 Rose Ave. in Aromas starting at 6:30 p.m. On Friday, Aug. 13, they will be at Grover City Grange located at 370 S. Manhattan Ave., Grover Beach starting at 6:30 p.m.

Luttrell is on a national tour to rally 200,000 members to get behind legislation that supports rural broadband initiatives.

A recent study by the FCC on broadband adoption shows that rural America still lags behind urban and suburban communities in home, farm and small business broadband connections. Communities stand to benefit from online applications like telemedicine, distance learning and telework.

The entire nation stands to gain from the economic and environmental benefits that full integration of farming, tribal and rural communities into a national, high speed Internet will bring.

In addition to broadband, California Grangers are advocating strong, self-sustaining communities wherein such things as food supplies and services are available within the local community. Everything from farmer’s markets to a strong local business community is included.

The National Grange was founded in 1867 to help Civil War-ravaged farmers recover and has evolved to being one of our nation’s leading rural advocacy organizations.

The National Grange has over 200,000 members in 2,700 communities spread over 40 states.

The California State Grange was formed in 1873 in response to shipping and storage monopolies of California’s agricultural products.

California has more than 200 Granges in local communities which offer such diverse activities as community gardens to theater arts, and offer strong support for local communities through education, legislative advocacy of issues, and social interaction.

For further information, please contact the California State Grange in Sacramento at 916-454-5805 or visit our Web site at www.californiagrange.org.