ILLINOIS Rural Youth members 

 and leaders are on the lookout for 

 ways of giving definiteness and 

 direction to county and statewide 

 activities, and to methods of gearing 

 programs to the needs of farm youth. 



In the first place, goals are necessary. 

 A study of the desires, needs, and activi- 

 ties of Illinois Rural Youth in 1945 by 

 the lAA State Committee of Young 

 People revealed the necessity for six 

 objectives in the Illinois Rural Youth 

 program: (1) Citizenship training, (2) 

 Leadership development. (3) Training 

 in cooperation. (4) Rural life apprecia- 

 tion. (5) Better human relations, and 

 (6) Solution of vecational problems. 



In many counties, programs are 

 planned around these goals. Often 

 reference is made in the county organ- 

 izations to these six goals toward which 

 members are working. They are stated 

 on the green purse-size Rural Youth 

 membership card. Definite emphasis 

 has been given to some of these specific 

 goals in the youth conferences of the 

 lAA annual meeting. 



In the 1948 Rural Youth Conference 

 of the lAA annual meeting, the theme 

 was citizenship training, with consider- 

 ation given especially to democratic 

 living in the local community. The 



1947 conference was planned around 

 the theme of rural life appreciation. 

 The state committee is considering bet- 

 ter human relationships for the 1949 

 conference theme. Of the short course.* 

 in 1947 and 1948. training was given in 

 cooperation. Through district meet- 

 ings, leadership development has been 

 the main emphasis for a number of 

 years. 



County and community groups may 

 pursue many interests under the six 

 goals of Rural Youth in their various 

 activities, if the organizational structure 

 is sound. Here is the second big item 

 to consider when a group divides its 

 memberships into five active standing 

 committees, in order to provide oppor- 

 tunity for leadership development. 



These standing committees are educa- 

 tion, recreation, community service, 

 publicity, and membership and hospi- 

 tality. By placing members on these 

 various committees for a six-month 

 period and rotating them to other com- 

 mittees, members have opportunity for 

 new experiences and further develop- 

 ment. 



The 1949 State Rural Youth "49ers 

 Camp" was planned around this com- 

 mittee system. The approximately 17.t 

 campers were divided into wagon trains 



or groups. Each train was divided into 

 these five committees and each day each 

 wagon train carried one of the activities 

 of education, recreation, community 

 service, publicity, or hospitality. By 

 this method, responsibilities were not 

 too great and each camper cooperated 

 with his wagon train in one of these 

 activities. Counties that have tried this 

 system like it. It has many advantages. 



Planning ahead from six months to 

 a year is the established procedure of 

 the most active county organizations. 

 Fall activities should prove helpful in 

 building the local groups. County talk 

 fests and skilled drivers' contests, fol- 

 lowed by state and district participa- 

 tion, will serve as incentives to joining 

 and maintaining interest in Rural Youth. 



Several counties have quickly taken 

 young people from foreign countries 

 into their groups this summer. These 

 young people, visiting from other lands, 

 have talent and provide educational 

 value to the groups which they attended. 

 Rural Youth has in turn provided group 

 life and companionship for them. 



Each year many Rural Youth mem- 

 bers in all Illinois counties go away to 

 college. Should not the home group 



(Continued on page 26) 



Volley ball provides strenuous exercls*. 





Rural Youth at 



'49 STATE CAMP 



By ELLSWORTH D. LYON, Director 



Young Peoples Activities 



20 



I. A. A. RECORD 



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