For Better Community Meetings 



By D. E. Lindstrom 



^TIT-NIION to cij;ht prin- 

 U-L ciples for guidini; commu- 

 /^^^• ^ / nity orqanizations will help 

 materially in makint; meetings of inter- 

 est and value. 



I'irst, the members of a .uroup them- 

 selves should feel a need for community 

 or^i^anization. One 

 w a y of aroiisint; 

 prospective m e m - 

 hers to a realization 

 of this need is to 

 cet from them their 

 idea of what such an 

 or^'anization couhl 

 ^^ ~^'^^^ ilo for them. I"re- 



^^H i ^^^^^^ 

 1 only their wants. 



I • D. E. Lindstrom Mj^y ,o|(^.^ ^^.jH ^ ,y 



\ that they want to have a ^ood time and 



will look to such an organization to help 

 them get it. In many cases, of course, 

 these wants may be tlie same as needs; 

 our people may need to have good times 

 planned for them. Many of them, how- 

 ever, have other needs, such as a true ap- 

 preciation of the opportunities in farm- 

 ing. Therefore, in asking prospective 

 members of farmer organizations what 

 their needs are, care should be taken that 

 they express their needs as well as their 

 wants. In drawing 

 out and building 

 up among folks a 

 true appreciation 

 of their needs, dis- 

 cussion technicjue 

 comes into play. 



The second prin- 

 ciple is that an or- 

 ganization should 

 have a framework 

 or structure that 

 provides for ad- 

 ministration, t h e 

 keeping of records, 

 the care of fi- 

 nances, the plan- 

 ning of programs, 

 and the care of 

 special duties. 

 Most organizations 

 provide for two or 

 three officers only. 

 I"or example, every 

 community unit or 



farmers' club has a president and secre- 

 tary, but many of them fail to provide a 

 committee to plan programs over a pe- 



APRIL, 1937 



Here are Eight Steps to Success in Making Commu- 

 nity Organizations of Interest and Value to Members. 



nod of months which will meet the needs 

 and wants expressed by the memliership 

 A program planning committee is cs 

 sential to the effective fundioning of an 

 organization. It can he inade up ot two 

 or three of the most alert of the mem- 

 bers who cooperate with the president, 

 vice-president, and setretary in building 

 long-time jirograms and- in developing 

 policies and special activities. This small 

 executive group should meet lrec|uentl\ 

 to discuss ways and means of making the 

 organization more etfettive aiul more 

 valuable. Out ot\their deliberations will 

 grow much more interesting programs 

 than can be developed by the presitlent 

 alone or by the president in consulta- 

 tion with the county farm and home ad- 

 visers. 



Third, the pur]'oses of the group 

 should be kept in mind and the activities 

 ot the group consciously directed to the 

 fulfillment of those purposes. In de- 

 veloping purposes for the organization, 

 the members themselves should, through 

 discussion, be given full opportunity to 

 develop their purposes built around their 

 own needs and wants. 



Fourth, groups can best fulfill their 

 general purposes by performing specific 



In Fu 



OLD TIME FIDDLERS CONTEST 

 "'ing at Pllte County Farm Bureau Picnic, Near New 



functions. Tor example, if a community 

 unit wishes to develop a higher apprecia- 

 tion of the opportunities in farm life. 



It might organize a chorus or an orches- 

 tra, make a tour to some of the Ix'tter 

 farms, cooperate with a memlx-r in home 

 Ixautitication, or develop a recreational 

 program which tan be used in rural com- 

 munities Hxj^erimentation in activities 

 which enhance and improve farm life 

 tends to develop a higher appreciation ot 

 the opj^ortunitics which the average rural 

 commimity has for m.ikmg farm lite 

 more interesting and valuable. 



I"itth. progr.ims must Ix; planned with 

 the organization's objectives in mind if 

 they arc to be interesting and valuable. 

 We assume, of course, that the purjxjscs 

 •ire built upon the needs and wants of the 

 membership. The programs, then, in 

 order to carry out those purposes, will 

 meet the needs and wants of the mem- 

 bers. The meetings will Ix- interesting 

 and valu.ible, but technicjue must be em- 

 ploved to make them so. Strive to get 

 .1 large participation from the mcmlx-rs 

 themselves. T his can be done by again 

 relating (he purposes and activities to 

 the needs as expressed by the members. 

 If a certain person expresses an interest 

 in folk games, it m.ty be wise to put him 

 in as a leader of folk games. TTiis gives 

 him an opportunity to express his self 

 ncx-d for that kind 

 of activity T h c 

 program should be 

 varied and bal- 

 a n c e d." l-\cryonc 

 attending the meet- 

 ing should fe-el 

 that something of 

 interest and value 

 was provided. A 

 one - feature meet- 

 ing is sonKtimes as 

 fatal to the organ- 

 ization as a one- 

 crop farm is to a 

 farmer \ little 

 business, a t e w 

 educational t e a - 

 tures ( not too 

 long ) . some enter- 

 tainment w h i c h 

 provides tor an ex- 

 pression of cul- 

 tural abilities in 

 music. dramatics, 

 and art. and some social activities where 

 young folks can get better aci|uainled 

 and play together constitutes the pattern 



23 



Canton. 



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