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THE FLORIDA FEDERATION OF WOMEN'S CLUBS Mrs. John G. Kellum 1936-1938

Mrs. John G. Kellum, Tallahassee, Florida, who served as President of Federation of Women's Club and as the Director for Florida in the General Federation in 1936-1938, has played important roles in the club life of her State for over thirty years in her own local club and the State Federation. She has been a leader among leaders in all phases of Florida civic, social, religious and philanthropic life. Besides serving as President of the Florida Federation, she was a County Home Demonstration Agent for ten years, President of the Garden Club of Tallahassee, was a member of the Leon County Welfare Board, Presbyterial President of the Women of the Church, and is on the City Planning Board. She works diligently and with a deep rooted faith in the cooperation of her contemporaries and has accomplished much of a structural nature in all phases of her activities.

Mrs. Kellum took for the theme during the two years of her administration "Building for Good Citizenship". Around this theme she was constantly urging the club women to become more conscious of their responsibilities to be good citizens to help build for the future by having study groups, better programs and to take an active part in community activities.

The most outstanding accomplishment during her administration was the promotion of club institutes which were schools of instruction in club work. WIth the wonderful help of her First Vice-President, who was the Chairman of "Club Institutes", Mrs. Mildred White Wells, institutes were held at most of the district meetings and several were held for individual clubs. Also at the State Convention early morning institutes were held on different topics which were of timely

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interest to the delegates. As plans were made to have more and better institute programs, the President and her Vice-President enlisted the help of our institutions of higher learning in Florida to hold institutes of Public Affairs. Splendid cooperation on the part of our colleges and universities made this one of the most successful projects.

One theme was chosen for all the programs "Techniques in Making our Democracy Work". The arrangements of the individual programs was left to the faculities of the universities.

Institutions were held at Rollins College, Florida Southern College, University of Florida, University Miami, John B. Stetson University, Florida State College for Women and University of Tampa. The annual summer institutes were held in June at the Florida State College for Women and a short course at the University of Florida in February. These Club institutes proved to be training schools for club women and created interest in having better programs from year to year.

A survey was made in 1938. She found there were 93 club houses with a valuation of $1,383,120.00. The club houses were the centers of social and cultural life in every city or town. More than 60 of these club houses had libraries with 145,544 volumes.

During the depression years, there were a great many memberships dropped, and even clubs withdrew from the Federation but there has been a steady growth ever since 1936 showing an increase in membership and the addition of eight new clubs and the reinstatement of nine.

The Department of Junior Club Women made great strides forward during the two years of Mrs. Kellums administration. There were fifty eight clubs sponsoring

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Junior membership of two thousand and ninety young women. This includes three hundred and sixteen new members. One hundred and twenty seven had been promoted to the Senior clubs during the period. The Junior Women of the State sponsored a Musical Education Scholarship for a blind girl of the Florida State College for Women. Many fine things were done by the individual clubs.

It was a great privilege and pleasure to be the hostess president to the General Federation Board Meeting which was held in April, 1936.