A DETERMINATION to reach a 

 membership goal of 140,000 Farm 

 Bureau members in 1947 was ex- 

 pressed at the lAA organization-informa- 

 tion conference in Chicago, Nov. 20 by 

 lAA Organization Director O. D. Bris- 

 senden. 



Chairman Otto Steffey, lAA director 

 from Henderson county, challenged the 

 organization department to raise Illinois 

 Farm Bureau membership to 140,000 by 

 Sept. 30, 1947. Brissenden accepted the 

 challenge on behalf of the organization 

 department. 



The conference was held in conjunc- 

 tion with the lAA annual convention at 

 Hotel Sherman. 



The growth in Farm Bureau member- 

 ship during the past year has been phe- 

 nomenal," Brissenden said. "It should 

 continue through the present year and the 

 goal thrown out by Mr. Steffey should 

 be attained." 



lAA President Charles B. Shuman con- 

 gratulated the organization department 

 and all those responsible for the mem- 

 bership increase of 15,174 last year to 

 an all time high of 130,825 members. 

 This rapid advance." Shuman said. 



These county organization director* set the pace and wen the honors during the post 

 year. Leit to right: Claire Gsell, Whiteside; E. E. Sandali, Kendall; Ruis Garrison, Jeffer- 

 son; Earl J, Hays, la Salle; Carl Orr, Union; and Clarence Kirchofer, Gallatin. Not shown 

 is Castle Jordan who replaced Sondall for the last two months of the fiscal year. 



(See Story) 



with a net increase of 559 in total mem- 

 bership; Whiteside county and COD 

 Claire Gsell, with a net gain of 521. 



Menard county and COD L. C. Green- 

 wald, reported the highest percentage of 



W4T lA' 



imbe 



rsWpt®'* 



a tribute to the 

 our organization 



"is a tribute to the sound program of 

 service to farmers offered by your or- 

 ganization. It is also 

 ability and loyalty of 

 staff and especially to the thousands of 

 Farm Bureau members who have served 

 as volunteer workers." 



Counties and organization directors 

 singled out for special honors for their 

 accomplishments during the year were 

 La Salle county and COD Earl J. Hays, 



new member quota attained, 509.7 per 

 cent; Kendall county with E. E. Sandall 

 serving as COD for 10 months and Castle 

 Jordan for the balance of the year, was 

 second on this basis with 473.4 per cent 

 reported; La Salle third with 427.5 per 

 cent; Williamson fourth with 417 per 

 cent, and Whiteside fifth with 407.5 

 per cent. 



On the basis of percentage net gain of 

 total membership for the year, the honors 

 go to Jefferson county, COD Ruis Garri- 

 son, who reported a net gain of 45.5 

 per cent. Gallatin county and Union 



Charley Carrier, Macon county C.O.D., speaks with gestures before the Organization- 

 Information conference. Others are, left to right: Chairman Otto Steffey, Henderson 

 county,'' lAA Organization Director O. D. Brissenden, and Ruth Hartman, office secretary. 



county with Clarence Kirchofer and Carl 

 Orr as COD's tied for second in this 

 classification with a percentage increase 

 in total membership of 31.7 per cent. 



-uo,ooo 



Included among the organization-in- 

 formation conference speakers was lAA 

 Field Secretary George E. Metzger who 

 explained the membership policies that 

 guide the Illinois Agricultural Associa- 

 tion. Metzger traced the history of or- 

 ganization policy explaining policy causes 

 and results. 



In his talk to the conference audience, 

 Brissenden pointed out that there are 

 enough good, substantial farmers among 

 non-Farm Bureau members to make our 

 goal for 1947 possible if we study our 

 counties carefully. 



'Let's seek out these individuals," 

 Brissenden continued, "tell them the 

 story of Farm Bureau and give them a 

 cordial invitation to join with us. 



"Now is the time," Brissenden con- 

 tinued, "to .strengthen weak membership 

 sp)Ots in every county in the state. All 

 have them. It is our job to analyze the 

 membership situation and follow the 

 sensible course of action. 



"But to grow in numbers is not 

 enough," he said. "There must be growth 

 within the present membership if we are 

 to be strong in meeting the problems 

 that lie ahead for agriculture. This 

 means greater participation by more mem- 

 bers in all parts of the broad Farm 

 Bureau program and a fuller understand- 

 ing of the objectives of Farm Bureau. 



"To carry on an aggressive service 

 program that will attract all Farm Bu- 

 reau members is a challenge to all leader- 

 ship and all employes in the Farm Bu- 

 reau movement." i ■ 



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18 



I. A. A. RECORD 



