Top county organization directors for 1948 pose above farm Bureau membership banner, left to right: C. J. KIrchhofer, OallaHn/ 

 Carl K. Cox, franklin; Ruls H. OarrlMOn, Jefferson; Hovrard J. Struck, Jackson; Alonzo Bowyer, Wllllamtoni A. LouIm Kelm, Monroe; Her' 



man Johnson, Will; and Raymond Thompson, Kendall. 



1949 Membership Goal -165,000 



"We Can Reach This New Goal If We Repeat Successes of 1948. We Have Most 

 Influential Farm Organization in The Nation " — Brissenden 



OUR goal for '49 — 165,000 mem- 

 bers. 

 This was the challenge thrown 

 out by O. D. Brissenden, lAA di- 

 rector of organization, during the 

 annual meeting in Chicago. 



"We can reach this new goal if we 

 repeat our great membership successes of 

 this year. We have the most influencial 

 farm organization in the nation. Let's 

 keep her strong with 10,000 new mem- 

 bers," Brissenden said at the annual or- 

 ganization conference. 



He praised the workers in organiza- 

 tion for their part in making 1948 the 

 most successful year in the history of the 

 lAA. 



This success was reflected in the 50- 

 foot-wide banner that hung in the general 

 assembly hall at the Hotel Sherman dur- 

 ing the lAA convention. 



On the banner in large numbers was 

 displayed the lAA's record membership 

 attained this year — 155,791 Illinois 

 farm families. 



This record of 155,791 Farm Bureau 

 members represents an increase of 9,940 

 members over last year, and maintains 

 the lAA's position as the largest state 

 farm group in the nation. In 1947 

 membership in the lAA stood at 145,851. 



Actually an entire "city" of farm fam- 

 ilies were signed in county Farm Bureaus 

 and the Illinois Agricultural Association 

 this year. There were 17,525 new mem- 



The 10 high counties on the basis of 

 a percentage increase in membership 



were: 



Art Page (right), WIS Dinner Bell hour an- 



nouncer Interviews Asa B, Culp, Mclean 



'County C.O.D, during convention. 



bers signed for the net gain, mentioned 

 above, of 9,940. The difference between 

 these two figures represents cancellations 

 due to deaths, delinquency, and other 

 causes. 



Southern Illinois deserves special men- 

 tion for their achievements this year. 

 More than any other section of the state, 

 they have made possible the record mem- 

 bership in 1948. 



This year southern Illinois exceeded 

 their quota of new members by 151 per 

 cent, an almost unheard of achievement. 

 In addition, iiine of the 10 high counties 

 on a basis of a percentage increase, and 

 seven of the 10 high on a quota basis, 

 were southern Illinois counties. 



Cumberland, 23.7 per cent; Monroe, 

 19.3; Jefferson, 19.2; Wayne, 18.7; Perry, 

 17.2; Jackson, 15.4; Marion, 14.8; Ver- 

 milion, 14.3; Hamilton, 13.8; and Rich- 

 land, 13.3. All but Vermilion were in 

 the southern Illinois district. 



The 10 high on the basis of exceeding 

 their quota were: 



Jefferson, 298 per cent; Jersey, 278; 

 Williamson, 252; Will, 250; Monroe, 

 234; Gallatin, 216; Franklin, 209; Ken- 

 dall, 205; Jackson, 204; and Logan, 204. 

 All but Will, Kendall, and Logan were 

 in the southern Illinois district. 



Most of the 10 high counties in total 

 membership were located in northern 

 and north central Illinois where counties 

 are larger in area. 



Cook county at the end of the fiscal 

 year still maintained its lead over McLean 

 for first place although Asa Culp, McLean 

 county organization director, said at the 

 lAA convention in Chicago that he 

 thought McLean at the moment was lead- 

 ing Cook by a narrow margin. 



The 10 high counties were: Cook, 

 4,067; McLean, 4,017 La Salle, 3,920; 

 Champaign, 3,645; Will, 3,008; San- 

 gamon, 2,906; Whiteside, 2,886; Iro- 

 quois, 2,804; Henry, 2,789; and Liv- 

 ingston, 2,760. 



One of the best skits presented at any 



14 



L A. A. RECORD 



