Credit: Mary Jenkins
Community service comes naturally to Stanfordville native Ryan Orton. His father was the Stanford Grange secretary for over three decades and his mother sat on the board of the Pine Plains Central School District for many years. “The Stanfordville community was our family focus,” Orton said. “Volunteering for the town was just something we did.”
Orton is slated to be moderator for the Meet the Candidates Forum, scheduled from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct.18, in the Pine Plains Community Room, upstairs from the Pine Plains Free Library. The forum, co-sponsored by the Herald and the Millerton News, will give the public a chance to hear from each of the Pine Plains town candidates and to pose questions (submitted on paper and anonymously). Dutchess County legislature candidates Chris Drago and incumbent Gregg Pulver have also agreed to participate.
This will be Orton’s fifth turn as a moderator, the previous four coming at the Town of Stanford’s annual Meet the Candidates Night. “I’m an old pro at this by now,” he said. “Our forum is sponsored by local Grange 808; that’s how I first got involved.”
Orton joked that he’s been in the Grange since birth: “My mom and dad were both active members, so the meeting was canceled the night I was born—the fourth Tuesday in August, 1985.” By age 14, Orton had joined the local, county, state and national chapters. After graduating from Elmira College in 2008 with degrees in history and adolescent education, he was asked to serve as Grange secretary at both the town and county levels. “I couldn’t say no,” Orton said. “I already knew what to do from watching my dad all those years.”
Completing his masters in history at SUNY Albany in 2009, Orton worked for 10 years as a substitute teacher in the PPCSD. Orton had become such a fixture in the high school as a chaperone and adviser that when the eighth grade history teaching position opened in 2017, he was hired without an interview. Orton noted that his classroom experience has helped him be an effective moderator. “I know how to keep decorum,” he said, “I just put on my teacher hat.”
When the previous Stanford Grange moderator retired in 2019, “All fingers pointed to me,” said Orton, grateful that past Master Katie Fallon agreed to share the responsibility. He spoke fervently about the importance of holding candidate forums: “This is a service to the town. Locals need to get educated about who’s running, and why. It may be their only chance to access this information, and it helps them decide who to vote for.”
A self-taught organist, Orton plays at the Pine Plains Presbyterian Church. “I started piano in fifth grade and substituted for Cora Marie Shook at Milan’s Rowe United Methodist Church when I was in high school. I really wanted to try the organ, so I asked Cora. She looked at me and said, ‘Here’s the key {to the console}.’”
Volunteerism remains a top priority for Orton, a Stanford Town Board member from 2014 to 2018. He manages the Grange snack bar at the Dutchess County Fair and is co-advisor to the Stissing High School student council and the mock trial team. (“We won the Dutchess County championship last year,” he noted.) Orton loves to visit other countries and cultures: He is co-advisor to the Stissing High School Travel Club, which is planning a trip to Japan in 2025.
Two years ago, Orton was asked to serve as the New York state Grange secretary. “I accepted the position with the support of my local and county chapters,” he said. “Everyone’s been so helpful, they cover for me if I have to miss a meeting.”
Orton is looking forward to the Pine Plains candidates forum. “The biggest challenge will be if the audience or one of the candidates gets heated, or if there’s a hot-button issue,” he said. “I’ll remind everyone that we may have disagreements, but that’s OK. We enter the forum as friends, and we leave as friends.”