THE ORGANIZATION OF RURAL INTERESTS 527 



ment of a temporary chairman. The remainder of each com- 

 munity committee has usually been appointed by the president 

 on recommendation of the temporary chairman, executive com- 

 mitteeman, or the agents, after a careful survey of community 

 conditions to determine the chief problems needing immediate 

 attention. Each committeeman should be selected to direct 

 some important project or activity of the organization to be 

 undertaken in the particular community, such as farm-bureau 

 organization, home economics demonstrations, boys' and girls' 

 club work, food conservation, supplying farm labor and seeds, 

 live-stock improvement, etc. Each has been called a community 

 project leader. 



Before community committeemen are appointed the temporary 

 community chairman should hold a meeting of prospective com- 

 mitteemen at his home at which the following steps are taken: 

 A community map should be prepared ; a more detailed survey 

 of community conditions made ; projects selected and approved ; 

 a promise secured from each prospective committeeman to as- 

 sume responsibility for a project or activity; and a permanent 

 chairman and possibly a secretary chosen. Then the president 

 should notify each committeeman in writing of appointments for 

 a period of one year. The appointment of each committeeman 

 should have the approval of the executive committee. At the 

 end of the year the president should appoint committeemen to 

 assume the leadership for the next year's projects. It is usually 

 desirable to retain some of the previous year's committeemen for 

 at least another year, in order that the personnel of the com- 

 mittee may not be entirely new. 



The plan of having all farm-bureau members assemble at a 

 central point in the community for the purpose of studying com- 

 munity problems, planning a program of work, and selecting 

 project leaders to be appointed by the president as committee- 

 man, has been tried in a few counties. This plan has seemed 

 to necessitate the attendance at each meeting of the president 

 or an executive committeeman and one or more of the paid 

 agents of the organization, in order that the policies of the 

 organization may be clearly set forth. This plan has been more 

 successful in counties where the farm bureau has been organized 

 for some time and the work has become well established and 



