Deer Lagoon Grange celebrates “Grange Month 2011” with a special open house later next month that will feature two officers of the Washington Future Farmers of America as special guests.

The theme for Grange Month is “Connecting Communities through Service,” which continues to be the focus of Deer Lagoon Grange.

The open house starts at 7 p.m. Tuesday, April 19. Brianna Tasker and Karli Zwade of the Washington FFA will give the presentation, “The FFA in Washington.”

The Grange has 144 years of experience in serving American communities through legislative efforts, education and service projects. Whidbey Island’s first grange started in 1873 in Coupeville.

Zwade is a graduate of Ferndale High School and holds the office of secretary of the Washington FFA. She has developed a passion for livestock, agriculture, sports and the outdoors. Before her election to her current office, her supervised agriculture experience projects ranged from raising equine, alpacas, hogs, poultry, rabbits and cavies.

Her biggest supervised agriculture experience project in FFA was raising, working with and showing hogs. Every year she raises a hog for either the Puget Sound Livestock Show or the Northwest Washington Fair.

In addition, she raises an extra hog to donate to a local shelter for women and children. FFA has taught her to believe a quote that one of her FFA advisors shared with her: “Dreams are goals with deadlines.”

Being the 2010-11 Washington State Secretary is a dream that she said she is privileged to be living.

“Always remember that your dreams are never out of reach, you just have to set them with a deadline to achieve them,” she said.

Tasker is a graduate of Ellensburg High School and holds the office of reporter for the Washington FFA. She will attend Washington State University this fall and will pursue a degree in animal science-production management. Through FFA, she has shown swine at the Kittitas County Fair and has also participated in a variety of career- development events, including rituals, creed, agriculture sales, livestock evaluation and parliamentary procedures.

Deer Lagoon Grange is located at 5142 Bayview Road, Langley.

For more information, call Chuck Prochaska at 222-3110.