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HEN the seventh annual Officers’ Con- ference of the Ontario Women’s Insti- tutes met at the Ontario Agricultural 011ege on May 11, 12 and 13 the Ontario Min- ster of Agriculture, the Honourable F. S. homas, came to pay tribute to the organi- - pledge the support of his De- artment. Previously the Minister had dis- ussed with the Provincial Board plans for he future of the three colleges on the cam- us â€"â€" the Ontario Agricultural College, the ntario Veterinary College and Macdonald nstitute, and plans for co-ordinating all ex- ension services of the Department. Welcoming the delegates to the College, the resident, Dr. J. A. MacLachlan, asked the romen as mothers and women interested in he good of Ontario, to try to assess the oppor- unities the College offers in agriculture and 11 home economics, then to take it upon themâ€" elves to see if any young persons in the wimmunity have the interest and the aptitude n qualify them as students in these courses. yr, MacLachlan said he had made the same ‘wquest last year and, whether or not as a esult of the women’s efforts, the attendance in the diploma course in agriculture had inâ€" ‘rcased by thirty per cent this year and the legree course by thirty-five per cent. Because he business of farming is becoming more ulnplex all the time, the President said, :ll‘ll’leFS need all the knowledge they can get u cope with conditions In the professional mid, the demand for graduates in agriculture or exceeds the supply and more will be 'ugeded in the years ahead. Dr, Margaret McCready, Principal of Mac lunald Institute paid tribute to the Women’s nstitutes for all they had done for this school I Home Economics from the time Mrs. loodless persuaded Sir William Macdonald .nd the Government to establish the school, up n today when so many Women's Institutes ire providing scholarships. As in the case -l agriculture, there are more positions open n Home Economics graduates than there are .l'uduates to fill them, and Dr. McCready ingested that Institute women might discover '.u'ls with a talent for home economics and night let her know about these girls. Looking forward to the development of \lacdonald Institute, Dr. McCready spoke of Hans in the areas of child study and personal ‘elations, graduate research in food and nutriâ€" 'IOIl, textiles and household equipment. Speakâ€" Ing of the farm home, Dr. McCready said: ’We feel it is as important to mechanize the firm home as it is to mechanize the form; f women are going to do the double job 0f iomemaker and citizen." Mrs. W, T. Ewen, formerly Miss Anna P. m r: o :l to :1 De 1-!- 0 SUMMER 1955 The Oflicers’ Conference Lewis, Director of the Women‘s Institute Branch, brought greetings to the conference. Mrs. Ewen thanked the Institutes for their expressions of good wishes in cards and letters and for the F.W.I.O. Board’s gift of a crystal set on behalf of the Institutes. Her ten years as Director had been an enriching and rewardâ€" 1ng experience, Mrs. Ewen said, and she would still be with the Institutes heart and soul. Her final word was to “keep up the good work for friendliness and social service in the local community, the nation and the world com- munity.” The President’s Address “A Brighter Women’s Institute Future" was the subject of Mrs. MacPhatter's address, Mrs. MacPhatter said: “Each of us who are the V.I.P.’s (very im- portant persons) in Women‘s Institute work has a part to play in building for a brighter future. In the first place the future will be brightened immediately upon the recognition of the fact that each member of every Branch in the province is a very important persona a link in a chain which is comprised of 45,000 links. If one link in that great chain is weak. does not hold up her end, the whole chain is weakened. Ask yourself today: “Am I a strong link or am I the one which will weaken the chain?” For a successful future we must have 45,000 strong links who are continually looking toward lengthening the chain which is named F.W.I.O. Each of us can develop characteristics which will strengthen us as a link. I am going to mention four of these characteristics and I have developed them from the four letters, F_W.I.O.: Fâ€"for forthrightness, Wifor wisâ€" dom, Iâ€"integrity, Oâ€"Organizational ability. First of all let us consider the first characâ€" teristic whose development will brighten our Women's Institute future. Forthrightness 7 the dictionary gives the meaning of this word to be “straightforward” or "direct." A Women's Institute member with this characteristic will be the person who speaks her considered opinion in a meeting. She will not wait til] the meeting is over, and then discuss, on the way home, how the matâ€" ter should have been settled, She will be honest in her opinions and dealings and of course never, never will she be two-faced, or a fence-straddler. It is not easy to be forth- right in your opinions, for often there are those who cannot agree with you. But the Women‘s Institute member who is direct and straightforward, who goes behind no one‘s back, who has a forthright manner of express~ ing her opinion and in sticking to it, will do H