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Geerda Van Beekhoff RS. GEERDA VAN BEEKHOFF. President of A.C.W.W.. who will be the Ontario Women‘s lnstitutes' guest t Guelph on June 20. lives in the Netherlands n a village called Kerk Avezaatl't. in the etuwe, the district that lies between the Rhine and the Waal. a lovely fertile land. full of ‘pple and cherry orchards. Her husband he- ongs to one of the oldest farming families in he Betuwe. and he is a Burgomaster and Count of the Dykes. an ancient title bestowed by the Queen. and a very re5ponsible job since i e and his board of landowners are responsible for the strength of the dykes and the height of the waterâ€"table in his district. He is a "Knight 'of the Order of Oranje-Nassau." an honour bestowed on him for his work for the rural cause in the province of Gelderland. They have one son. Diederik. aged twenty. who looks very like his mother. and theirs is a very happy home. Mrs. van Beekhoff is the daughter of a clergyman and her education includes nurses' training. She has been an active member of her Society, the Nederlandse Bond van Platte- ‘landsvrouyven. ever since she married: she be- came its president in 1952. She has always been deeply interested in international affairs and has been to every A.C.W.W. Conference since the meeting in Amsterdam in I947. She represented her Society on the Executive Comâ€" mittee of A.C.W.W. from 1957 to I959. She was elected World President at the Ninth Triennial Conference in Edinburgh and reâ€" elected unopposed for a further three years at the Tenth Triennial Conference in Melbourne. ‘Australia, October 1962. She has travelled widely and speaks English, French and Ger- man as well as her mother tongue. She has courage, integrity and a delightful sense of humour, and has many friends all over the world. Her first big assignment was to represent A.C.W.W. at a meeting of the Food and Agriâ€" culture Organization of the United Nations in Rome, which called together representatives of non-governmental organizations to discuss plans for the Freedom from Hunger Cam- paign. So great was her success that she was asked to serve on the Advisory Committee and Was, and is, the only woman to do 50. She has been invited to read a paper at the World Food Congress in Washington, D.C. in June this year. This Congress is timed to take place at: the mid-point of the five<year Freedom from Hunger Campaign and it is a great hon- our both to Mrs. van Beekhoff and to A.C.W.W. that she has been invited. After the SUMMER ‘l 963 Renew: ‘ t we“: Mn. Gecrdo von Beekholf, The Netherlands, President Associated Country Woman ol the World. Congress she will visit Member Societies in Canada. In February |‘)(il Mrs. van Beckhotl‘ under- took an extensive tour of Africa. visiting Uganda. Kenya. Zanzibar. Tanganyika. Nyasa- land. Northern and Southern Rhodesia. South Africa. Sottlh West Africa. Nigeria. (ihana. Sierra Leone and Liberia. Later in that year she visited all our Member Societies in Ireland. Scotland. England and Wales. During all ll'lt:\t.‘ travels she spoke to thousands of women. Everywhere the fact that she is a homemaker who shares and understands the concern of all wives and mothers for their families and homes. gives her a sympathetic understanding of their problems and projects. The Tenth Triennial ('ontercnce of A.C.W.W. was held in Melbourne. Australia. in October 1963 and before and alter the Conference. Mrs. van Beekhot't' travelled for seven weeks in all the States of Australia. She also visited New Zealund and toured both is- lands for two weeks. To be president of an international organiza- tion such as A.C.W.W. is a responsible and sometimes an exhausting job. but (iccrda van Beekhoff accepts her responsibilities and finds her work rewarding. Her colleagues in A.C.W.W. find her a delightful person to work with and for and are devoted to her. A.C.W.W. feels the work is safe in her hands. 19