FOOTNOTES:
[4] Now named Colby, this variety is a seedling of Crath No. 10.—ED.
TUESDAY AFTERNOON SESSION
(meeting called to order at 1:00)
DR. ROHRBACHER: We will have the secretary's report.
MR. McDANIEL: By count last Saturday, we had 568 paid members plus 21 subscribers—a total of 589, compared with 575 members and a total list of 596 a year ago and 653 in 1949. Maybe you need a new secretary who is a more successful salesman, to push the membership higher. Actually we still have more members than at any time before the late 1940's, but we need more salesmanship to double or triple the present number. The planting of hardy named nut trees is going up by leaps and bounds (ask any nut nurseryman) but membership in the leading organization to promote their culture is lagging. We need more members among the new nut planters, and I think we have plenty to offer them for their $3.00, but we are not getting the point over to enough of them. There are thousands that we helped to get started. If anyone has some new ideas on the subject, let him speak up in the discussion period, and we will try to put the ideas into operation if they don't cost too much—in money or time of the organization's officers.
Ohio still has the most members, and I think we can say the Ohio group is the most closely knit and active one in any state at present. There are 82 members in Ohio now. Several of them are new ones. Ohio is keeping up its membership percentage and it is always well represented at the meeting. How many here from Ohio today? Not quite half the group.
It is nip and tuck between New York and Pennsylvania for membership down through the years. This year Pennsylvania is one man ahead of New York, unless George Salzer has brought another new member's name with him. Pennsylvania is 58, New York 57. Two years ago it was New York 62, Pennsylvania 57. Then we had the meeting in New York state last year. Maybe some of the New Yorkers took a good look at us and decided it wasn't the crowd they wanted to be associated with! We haven't met in Pennsylvania recently, so the membership there is very steady. Dr. Colwell moved back home from Ecuador, so Pennsylvania moves from 57 to 58 members.
Will the members from these two states rise briefly? Pennsylvania first—at least three from Pennsylvania; then New York—three from New York State.
I might say the decline in New York members is not in the Rochester area. Mr. Salzer is seeing to it that they don't drop out in Western New York. A lady in his county won our $25.00 first prize for her Persian walnut, and George relieved her of $3.00 of it for 1952 dues. We need more members like Mr. Salzer, and Mrs. Metcalfe, too.
Illinois is fourth now with 38 members. I don't know what it'll drop to after this meeting. One member changed his address from Chicago to Indiana, but we are still seven up from the 31 of two years ago. Maybe Illinois is going to become a nut growing state after all, in spite of oak wilt, walnut bunch, spittle bugs, and the 1950 Thanksgiving freeze.
Will the Illinois people rise, both members and visitors? Not quite a fourth of the group is from Illinois.
Michigan is still fifth—32 members now, 30 in 1949. Take a bow, all you Michiganders—five or six from Michigan. We could afford to take a chance on a meeting there again before long.
Indiana is going up slowly in membership. It is now sixth with 27, supplanting Tennessee. It had 18 members in 1947 and 25 in 1949. How many Hoosiers here? Six or seven from Indiana.
Canada has 26 members listed now, putting it seventh. (There were 26 in 1949 also). Who's here from Canada—at least two.
Iowa is one of only two other states with more than 20 members, having 22 in the book now, compared with 26 two years ago and 30 in 1947. How many Iowans here?—three besides our President.
New Jersey has 21, Massachusetts has 17, Tennessee has 16, Virginia and Washington 14 each, Missouri, 13, California and Maryland 12 each, Connecticut and Oklahoma, 11 each, Kentucky and Kansas 10 each, West Virginia 8 and Georgia 5. There are fewer than five each in all the other states, except seven states with no members. Arkansas is a good nut producing state, but membership dropped from four to none. There are no members and seldom have been in Arizona, Colorado,[5] Maine, Montana, Nevada, and Wyoming. I believe we never had one in either Arizona or Nevada, but the others have occasionally had one.
Hong Kong is a new territory on our list of foreign members, though Mr. Wang, who now lives there, joined the NNGA from China around 30 years ago.
We are a little better off on the annual report now than we were a year ago. It is printed and members who are here can take their copies. The story is the same as usual with the printers, although they are new ones this time. Our job got behind some others which moved slowly and then was put aside for work on school annuals in which this company does a lot of business. With some more volunteer editorial assistants and proof readers maybe we can get the copy to the printers earlier, so as really to get the book printed in the winter I agree with all the members who said that a year between the meeting and the publication is too long.
Looking toward this the November 1 cut-off for accepting papers should still apply, with the suggested addition that no long ones will be accepted which were not read at the meeting. Composition is too expensive to permit publication of a book with unnecessary wordage, so I hope we can avoid as much as possible the duplication of material which appeared in recent reports. Boil it down, and please, for the sake of the editor's eyesight, don't try to put too much on a page. The editors appreciate some space between the lines. But if you have something new to report, don't hesitate to send it in.
The 1950 report is here. I think it's a good one. In the hope of having a still better one for this meeting, I'll stop now.
DR. ROHRBACHER: Thank you for your report. Any discussion and criticism both destructive and constructive?
MEMBER: I thought this 1951 circular of information was a handy thing to have. I was wondering if more are available.
MR. McDANIEL: Yes, we run off a surplus each year and any member may have more upon request.
MEMBER: If you were to mail two instead of one to each member, that member could give the extra copy to a prospective member.
MEMBER: I would like to make a suggestion on that card business. Why not follow the system of the National Geographic's recommendation card—you can't become a Geographic Society member any other way.
MR. McDANIEL: We will put a card or blank for nominations of members in the next issue of the Nutshell.
DR. ROHRBACHER: This is the time the secretary would like to have comments on this to give him help if he gets his job back.
MEMBER: It seems to me it would be a help in not only attracting new members but a help in stimulating attendance in our meetings if the annual report of the preceeding meeting could be gotten out something like two months ahead of the following meeting.
MR. McDANIEL: I believe we can do better than that this year.
MR. DAVIDSON: I do think it has quite an influence in stimulating interest not only on the part of our members but stimulating attendance at our meeting. I do think also that the suggestion of following the example of the National Geographic should be put in the form of a motion and the Secretary instructed to remind each member to please nominate his or her friends for membership in the Association. I would be glad to make that motion.
DR. ROHRBACHER: Do I hear it seconded? (Motion seconded). It has been moved by Mr. Davidson and seconded by Mr. Wallick from Indiana that we carry through this new project of securing membership. Any further discussion?
MEMBER: Please repeat the motion.
MR. DAVIDSON: I would move then that the secretary be instructed to send to each member a reminder of his duty to nominate friends for membership in this Association.
MEMBER: What do you mean by membership—members or officers?
MR. McDANIEL: Members first, officers later. If you stay a member long enough you probably get to be an officer.
MEMBER: I'd like to amend that resolution that the secretary send a card to each member in which he can nominate a new member. With the secretary just reminding the members nothing ever happens. I think the card has to go with the reminder.
MR. DAVIDSON: I accept that amendment.
MEMBER: I think this whole thing clarifies itself if you bear in mind that the application form and the nomination are one and the same thing. A card which says in effect "I apply for membership in the NNGA" and the blank for his name, occupation and address. The card says that remittance of the annual dues is made herewith and this applicant has been nominated by the current member of the Association. It is one card. I receive a couple of these from the secretary and write my name for a nominee. His name and address and that is sent in to the treasurer together with his dues and an application of someone who has been nominated. It is a good screening because you have people interested definitely in the work of this organization.
MEMBER: I would fear that too many barriers put in the way of it might tend to decrease the number of new members. It is hard enough to get people interested.
MEMBER: Mr. President, I don't see how that can be a barrier since one doesn't know unless a member tells him. One doesn't become a member until a member said "Look, you should belong, let me nominate you for membership."
DR. ROHRBACHER: If I want to become a member, this is just another source.
MEMBER: The National Geographic psychology is good. They have a circulation of one million, seven hundred thousand. If you want the National Geographic, some member has to sign a card. The psychology of that is that it makes it a little hard to get in and it works.
MR. RUMMEL: If there is a motion on the floor, I will second the amendment.
DR. ROHRBACHER: All in favor say "aye"—opposed "no". Motion carried.
Is there anything further to take up under the heading of helping our secretary? If not, we will go on and have a report from our treasurer.