LEADERSHIP COMMITTEE
ALAB AMA F ARM BU REAU
ALABAMA FARMERS FEDERATION
1921
2021
The farm family stood as a bulwark of freedom, Gov. Lurleen Wallace observed at a 1967 meeting of the Alabama Farm Bureau Women’s Committee where she was a luncheon guest. From left are Dot Smith, Tuscaloosa County; Annie Ruth Loyd, Jackson; Judi Coers, Dale; Nell Guthrie, Bullock; Mabel McDale, Limestone, chairman; Wallace; Clara Bell Dial, Sumter; Caroline Bacheldor, Russell; Alice Gregg, Marion; and Gay Langley, Talladega.
Politics, Policy, Promotion And Education Women Plow The Way For Organizational Growth
By Debra Davis
olicy, politics, promotion and P education. Those are the building blocks of the Alabama Farmers
Federation Women’s Leadership Division. As the Federation celebrates its centennial, it’s also a time to reflect on the role females played in parlaying the organization into a political powerhouse
with grassroots members as its core strength. In 1924, Mrs. John S. Morris of Alpine in Talladega County became the first woman to hold statewide office in what was then known as Alabama Farm Bureau. Two years later, she was elected the first president of the State Women’s Council, a forerunner to the State Women’s Committee. The group became the Women’s State Women’s Leadership Committee Chairman Kathy Gordon, right, and longtime member Lillian Slay of Chambers County discuss the organization’s history during the Women’s Leadership Conference earlier this year in Birmingham.
alfafarmers.org
Leadership Division in 2010. The new name reflects women’s contributions and is more closely aligned to its American Farm Bureau counterparts. The headline in the Alabama Farm Bureau News Sept. 6, 1965, read: “On Their Way! Farm Bureau Women Organized To Carry On Important Duties.” Formal organization of the Women’s Committee was completed during the group’s first meeting at the state headquarters Aug. 26-27 that year. That was in accordance with recommendations made by the 1963-64 Study Committee and approved by the Special Delegate Session in February 1965. The late J.D. Hays, state president at the time, was quoted in the article saying, “Farm Bureau from this day is going to be a better organization.” His prediction was spot-on. Women’s Leadership committees across the state continue to organize county events to educate a growing urban population about the importance of Alabama agriculture. County leaders also help with statewide projects like Alabama Ag In The Classroom December/Winter 2021 | NEIGHBORS
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