The 1949 National Hural Youth Commltteo 

 pose« with It* advltart during memting In 

 Ch/cogo this fall. Left to right (*oatetl)t 

 Richard Volt, Wisconsin; Doreen Marti, llll- 

 nols; HoHIo Nelson, Oklahomp; Herb War> 

 ren, California; Mae Zarr, Iowa; Ruth Jor- 

 dan, New Hampshire; Albert Unkel, Indiana. 

 Standing are advlMert Carlysle OeLoCroix, 

 Rural Youth, AfBf; Mrs. Charles <^ ^well. 

 Assoclafed Women of AfBf; Boo^Hobper, 

 Tennessee; frank thntan. Young People'* 

 AttlvltleM, Iowa; Ellsworth lyon, lAA; Rich- 

 ard FItzslmmons, Minnesota; Verland Mc- 

 leod, Michigan; Ward McDuffy, Ohio; and 

 leroy Hoffman, Indiana. 



In Idgar county, a representative of Rural 

 Youth sit* In with the farm Bureau board 

 of direttors to familiarize young farm lead- 

 ers with Farm Bureau business procedure. 

 Rural Youther shown here Is Rural Youth 

 President Phillip DItkenson (wearing check- 

 ered shirt J. 



By ELLSWORTH D. LYON, Director 



lAA Young Peoples Activities 



Rural Youth Goal is Good Citizenship 



THE American Farm Bureau Fed- 

 eration, the nation's largest farm 

 organization with nearly 1 1/2 mil- 

 lion members, will hold its annual 

 meeting in the Stevens Hotel, Chi- 

 cago, Dec. 11-15. Representatives from 

 46 states and Puerto Rico will assemble 

 for the serious purpose of finding solu- 

 tions to the problems of agriculture. 



Rural Youth Day activities will con- 

 sist of an important conference, the 

 annual National Talk Meet, and an eve- 

 ning mixer on Dec. 12. Rural Youthers 

 will assemble from 15 states to make 

 new friends and meet the old, present 

 new committee members who will plan 

 programs for the coming year, and dis- 

 cuss the relationships 6f farm youth to 

 democratic government. 



Rural Youthers will be privileged to 

 attend some of the sessions of Associ- 

 ated Women on Sunday and Monday, 

 and the general sessions on Tuesday, 

 Wednesday, and Thursday. Those at- 

 tending the convention will hear many 

 outstanding leaders speak. Among 

 them will be Mrs. Raymond Sayre, 

 president, Associated Women of AFBF 

 and Country Women of the World; 

 Mrs. Charles Sewell, administrative di- 

 rector of Associated Women; Dr. Mrs. 

 Isabel Morgan Mountain, scientist in 

 the poliomyelitis center of Johns Hop- 

 kins University; Vijay Lakchmi Pandit, 

 ambassador of India to U. S.; Allan B. 

 Kline, president of AFBF ; Senator Clin- 

 ton Anderson, New Mexico; and Paul 

 Hoffman, ECA head, and Eric Johnston, 

 president. Motion Picture Association. 



16 



Rural Youthers of Illinois should take 

 advantage of this opportunity to come 

 in contact with leaders of such high 

 ability. Each county organization 

 would do well to send at least one mem- 

 ber to represent it at this big national 

 meeting. There will be much emphasis 

 upon good citizenship on the place of 

 young adults in making their country 

 more democratic. 



Much good material may be obtained 

 from the many discussions for educa- 

 tional programs at home. Stimulation 

 and information received at our AFBF 

 annual meeting will challenge all Rural 

 Youth members present to become more 

 adult and will influence action at home. 



One of the main goals of Rural Youth 

 is understanding and solving problems 

 on the local level. A number of county 

 Farm Bureau and cooperative boards 

 assist their young people to grow in 

 knowledge of local problems and solu- 

 tions by inviting representatives from 

 Rural Youth to become ex off'icio mem- 

 bers. 



One of the adult leaders of Edgar 

 county reports that the Rural Youth 

 representative has attended the board 

 meetings faithfully since the early fall 

 of '48. This representative highlights 

 the Rural Youth meetings by informing 

 the Rural Youth group monthly of the 

 previous Farm Bureau board meeting 

 holding back information of a confi- 

 dential nature. 



There is no doubt that local and pos- 

 sibly even state and national leaders are 

 being trained by these contacts to take 



the place of trained adults. Farm Bu- 

 reau boards now taking this personal 

 interest in the young men of their coun- 

 ties will soon be repaid by informed 

 and competent leadership. Rural Youth 

 members and groups appreciate such 

 confidence and personal interest and are 

 eager to prepare themselves for state 

 leadership. 



The Co-op Training Course for farm 

 youth of Rural Youth, 4-H, and FFA 

 started last January and scheduled for 

 February 1950 has stimulated much in- 

 terest among young men on our Illinois 

 farms. There is a realization that co- 

 ops are of vital concern to agriculture. 



The statewide programs of the talk 

 fest, skilled drivers, camping. Farm and 

 Home Week, and the fall conference 

 have all proven their value in influenc- 

 ing the growth of personality as ex- 

 pressed in leadership ability. 



The regular monthly meeting is a test 

 of the seriousness of purpose and the 

 production of leaders for agriculture, 

 home economics, and community life. 

 Here action must be uppermost in the 

 minds of the young people in positions 

 of leadership. Here the leadership 

 teams of education, recreation, commu- 

 nity service, publicity, and hospitality 

 can really go into action. 



Rural Youthers, do you want growth 

 of personality? If so, then go into ac- 

 tion in your county. Look toward the 

 wider experiences but focus them upon 

 home problems. i 



L A. A. RECORD 



