1937 - Convention Report

              22 ALBERTA WOMEN'S INSTITUTES
P R E S I D E N T ' S R E P O RT
Mrs. J. P. Ferguson
In bringing this, my last report to you as President, I am moved by feelings of
pleasure and regret; pleasure at the thought that so many rural women have been
able to come to this Convention to assist in planning the future of our organiza­tion,
and regret that now the time has come when I must sever the bond which
has knit me so closely to you during the last four years.
These have been years of rejoicing at aims achieved and objectives reached,
but, of course, there have been disappointments too.
I wish to dwell for a few minutes on some of the things it has been my
privilege to do, or to assist in doing, since our Convention in Edmonton in 1935.
Within a couple of weeks after that Convention I was on my way to attend
the Biennial meeting of the Board of Federated Women's Institutes of Canada,
at Charlottetown, P. E. I., as one of your representatives. For four days the
Board discussed plans for Institute work throughout the Dominion, in the
Confederation Room in the Legislative Buildings. I am told that is the first
women's meeting ever to be held in that historic room, which gives you an idea
of the respect shown our group by the Government of " The Island." As each
Branch has already received a cop} r of the printed report of the meetings, I need
not take time here to say anything further about them, except to pay tribute to
the very friendly welcome the members of the Board received from everyone in
Charlottetown and other parts of the Province which we visited.
At a meeting of Constituency Conveners and Conveners of Standing Com­mittees,
held at the close of the last Convention, the attention of the Council was
drawn to the difficulty which many Institutes experienced in raising money to pay
their Provincial Fund allotment, owing to the general condition of depression then
existing throughout the Province.
It was then decided at this meeting that as a Jubilee gift to those Institutes
which had suffered in this way, all arrears of Provincial Fund dues should be
cancelled. So that, beginning in May, 1935, every Institute in the province started
off with a clear slate so far as Provincial dues were concerned.
At this same meeting discussion took place as to the material to be sent out
to the Branches by Conveners of Standing Committees. It appeared the consensus
of opinion that insufficient assistance had been given by the Conveners in the
past. It was therefore decided that each Convener should prepare and forward
to the Branches one Bulletin during the winter of 1935- 36 with as much subject
matter and plans relative to the work of her committee as she should think
necessary.
As you know this was done and so great a need did these bulletins seem to
fill that when the Institutes were circularized as to the advisibility of repeating
the plan the following year there was an overflowing majority in favor of so
doing.
The Council learned that for practically the same expense it would be
possible to have bulletins from the Conveners of the Committees, together with
other material, printed in the form of a four- page magazine. So during the
winter 1936- 37 " Home and Country" was launched. Four issues have been
printed and a copy of each sent to every Institute.
The expense of publishing " Home and Country" has been paid out of the
Provincial Fund. The Council thought it well to do this in order to give the
Institutes an opportunity to decide whether they wished the magazine to become
a regular part of Institute activities. However, I believe, that should this Con­vention
decide to carry on " Home and Country", it can very easily be placed on
a paying financial basis at a very low cost to each subscriber.
It was my privilege to attend the closing exercises of the School of Agricul­ture
at Olds and to speak at the annual banquet for the graduating class.