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Annual Meeting Provincial Board Directors Federated Women’s Institutes of Ontario President Mrs. Harvey Noblitt welcomed the Directors to the 1972 Annual Meeting of the Federated Women‘s Institutes of Ontario. with a special word for seven newly elected Senior Directors and the one new Director represent- ing the Ontario Junior Women’s Institutes. Mrs. Noblitt expressed her regret that Mrs. N. Sinclair who is now to represent the Rainy River Districts was unable to attend due to ill- ness. The President urged the Directors to exâ€" press their ideas freely and take part in the discussions. She said that although the Direc- tors represent and hat/e the best interests of their subdivisions at heart they must now learn to think in terms of the best interests of all the Women’s Institutes in Ontario. THE PRESIDENT’S REPORT The time since the Semi Annual Board Meeting has gone quickly. From reports com- ing to me the Officers” Conference was very successful. I extend my gratitude to Mrs, We- ber for her efficient work as Secretary. Thanks also to Mrs. Houston for her able reâ€" porting of the Semi Annual Meeting and the Officers’ Conference, and to the leaders of discussion groups and th0se who arranged dis- plays. I attended several District Annual Meetings in May. In June attended my first Federated Women’s Institutes of Canada Board Meeting in Ottawa. I found enjoyable and enlightening the experience of meeting with the representa- tives of the other provinces, sharing an ex- change of views, opinions, ideas. hearing re~ ports and helping to f0rm policies. The National Conveners‘ reports were very inter- esting. In June, on behalf of F.W.I.O. I attended the funeral of Mr. Everett Small in Essex. In‘Iuly, as F.W.I.O. President, I attended the A.C.W.W. Council Meeting in London, England. I enjoyed meeting Mrs. Farquharson again and Mrs. Cauldry who arranges our In- ternational Scholarship Fund through A.C.W.W., Mrs. Gibson, editor of the Counâ€" trywoman, Mrs. Bradbury our Ontario repre- sentative in England, and the Council Mem- hers. WIN'IER 1973 Mrs. Cauldry asked me if I would like hos- pitality in an English home and as a result my husband and I accepted an invitation from a charming and hospitable couple Mr. and Mrs. Kingston of Essex. I was taken to a lively I0» cal Women‘s Institute meeting. and shown through the Federation of Essex Women‘s In- stitute Building which had been purchased by the Essex members. It was a large. airy. well equipped brick structure. made up of a hall. demonstration kitchen, committee rooms. etc. I was told that they have 90,000 members in Essex and 400,000 members in England. Starting September l9 Miss McKercher and [ attended ]4 Area Conventions and the con» vention of the Junior Women‘s Institutes. In many cases attendance exceeded that of other years. all were up to standard. I found all of the Conventions. without exception excellent. and well planned with a good balance of busi» ness and entertainment. Conveners’ reports were good. In some areas there were mim- eographcd Copies for the delegates. The reâ€" ports were handled in different ways â€"« panels and discussions and in one case the report ma- terial was presented by means of a skit. There were Conveners' displays. and displays of handicrafts and other items of interest. It appears that there is a sincere effort in response to our membership drive. An esti- mated 85 Branches have reached their 20 per cent increase, a few have surpassed it. A few new Branches have been organized but a few have disbanded. We need an earnest and con- centrated effort on the part of everyone to turn the curve on the membership increase chart upward. I was privileged to attend, with Mrs. Pardy, the Annual Meeting Conference of the Van- ier Institute of the Family in Quebec City. Here Dr, Margaret Meade was presented with the Wilder Pcnfield Plaque given by the Van- ier Institute of the Family by Dr. Penfield himself. in recognition of her contribution to the advancement of humanity. A highlight of the Conference was a speech by Mr. Bill Dyson. Executive Director of the Institute who expressed the thought that more emphasis should be put 0n learning in the homes and more consideration given to huâ€" man emotions and to understanding the feelw ing of others.