Donald Heikkila, a cattle rancher and tree farmer near Harrison, has been elected the Idaho State Grange president.

Heikkila, 65, said, "Grange members are some of the best people on earth. I'm looking forward to serving."

Heikkila, the recent vice president of the state grange, becomes the 17th president in the 104-year history of the Idaho State Grange.

His duties will include conducting the annual state grange meeting, in October, and assisting the state's 33 subordinate and six pomona granges with whatever they need. He also will work on legislative activities that are important to grange members.

Heikkila, a life-long resident of the Harrison area, has been a grange member himself for 43 years.

"My parents were lifelong member of the grange," he said. "I have been attending grange meetings virtually my entire life."

He is a past regional membership director for the National Grange, promoting grange activities and membership growth in Idaho, Washington and Montana.

He will serve as state president for the next two years.

"I'm very flattered that the members had confidence in me," he said. "I'll certainly do my best to serve them as well as I can."

Don Johnson, a Meridian resident who just completed another term as president, said, "Heikkila works with people very well."

Johnson said Heikkila will help recruit new members.

"He has many good contacts locally and on the state level," Johnson said.

Heikkila also will help strenghten the grange's influence in the state Legislature, Johnson said.

Johnson said Heikkila will be leading the Idaho State Grange at the National Grange meeting, which is being conducted in Boise next month. It will be only the third time the national meeting has been in Idaho, he said.

Some of the top grange issues, currently, Heikkila said, includes trademark protection of the word "grange."

"A number of companies have tried to use that name for commercial gain," he said.

Locally, grange members have been concerned that Congress hasn't passed a current farm bill.

"The farmers need that, or they can't make certain plans," he said.

Also, locally, grange members have been discussing traffic congestion, he said.

He raises beef cattle on his ranch, which is seven miles south of Harrison along Highway 97. He has 248 acres in timber and more than 160 acres of hay and pasture.

He was recognized as the Idaho tree farmer of the year in 2010.

For the past 42 years, Heikkila has been employed by Kootenai High School school district as a part-time driver's education instructor with more than 1,800 former students.

In his 43 years of grange membership, Heikkila has served in multiple offices, and held the position of National Grange western regional membership director.

He also currently serves as the president of the Harrison Grange.

The grange is the country's foremost family-oriented rural and urban community service organization with a special interest in agriculture-related issues.