Betsy Huber first woman elected as Chairman of the Board of 141 year-old National Grange

By Carl Meiss, P.R. Director

 

Our own Betsy Huber, President of the PA State Grange, is the first woman in the 141 year history of the National Grange to be elected as the Chairman of the Board of Directors (Executive Committee).

Jeanne Davies of Colorado was the first woman ever elected to the Executive Committee in 1986 at the 120th annual National Grange Convention in Madison, Wisconsin. At the 140th annual convention in 2006 Betsy was the second woman to be elected to the Board of Directors.

At the recent 141st annual National Grange Convention in Sparks, Nevada in November, 2007, Betsy was elected as the new Chairman of the Board of Directors, the first woman ever to hold that office.

She was elected to the position on the second ballot of the newly elected Board of Directors which includes National Grange President Ed Luttrell of Oregon, Vice-President Jimmy Gentry from North Carolina and Board members Huber of Pennsylvania, Marty Bilquist of Montana, Phil Prelli of Connecticut and Pete Pompper of New Jersey. (On the first ballot she was the only member to get more than one vote.)

After her election, she said, "This is an exciting time for the National Grange, with a new President and 10 new officers. I look forward to working with the new Board of Directors and other officers through the next year to advance the Grange to new heights of service to our members and our communities."

Huber is now serving in her 6th year as the PA State Grange President. She was elected as the first woman to that office in 2002 after serving as the Vice-President for 6 years. (PA State Grange By-Laws state "With the exception of Secretary and Treasurer, no office holder's name shall be printed on the ballot for an office if that officer shall have held the same office continuously for six years immediately preceding.")

Betsy was born and raised on a dairy farm in Chester County. She graduated from West Chester High School and attended Millersville and Lincoln Universities.

From 1992 to 2002 she was Legislative Assistant to State Representative Arthur D. Hershey (R-13) in his district office. Prior to that she was employed by Lincoln University for three years and by the National Grange for seven years as secretary to the Women's Activities Department.

She is serving her third term as a Supervisor of Upper Oxford Township, Chester County, and serves as Treasurer of the Chester County Association of Township Officials. Other board memberships include PA Farmlink, Ag Awareness Foundation, PA Department of Agriculture Ag Education Board, Fertilizer Advisory Committee, The Pennsylvania State University Board of Trustees, PA DEP Ag Advisory Committee, and the Chester County Water Resources Task Force. She has also represents the PA State Grange on the University of Pennsylvania Veterinary School Board of Overseers since November, 2002.

Betsy is the widow of Henry Huber and the mother of three adult children. She has eight grandchildren.

National Grange By-Laws state, "It shall be the duty of the Executive Committee [Board of Directors] of the National Grange to exercise general supervision of the affairs of the Order during recess of the National Grange which shall include those acts pertaining to the execution of the laws, rules, regulations, and policy established by the delegates of the National Grange. It shall have the authority to act on matters of interest to the Order when the National Grange is not in meeting but any such action taken shall be in accord with the established laws, rules, regulations, and policy established by the delegates of the National Grange, unless a policy does not exist."

It continues, "The Executive Committee shall present a recommended budget to the Audit and Budget Committee, which will recommend a budget to the Delegate body for action. The Executive Committee will then have oversight of the disbursement of the funds of the National Grange in accordance with the budget guidelines adopted by the Delegates at the previous annual meeting and shall have authority to allocate funds necessary to maintain a viable program within the income of the National Grange. The Executive Committee shall report its acts in detail to the National Grange on the first day of its annual meeting or as soon thereafter as practicable."