The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1920-09-23

Of the Executive Secretary Is that from
May 18th to the C.ose Of the fiscal
year At the time that the new sec.
retary assumed the duties of the posi-.
tion the work Of the association was
div .ded up into fifteen departments
each headed by director appointed
Iby the Council. 1t was decided that
in addition to attending to the strict.
ly business affairs OF the association
the efforts OF the secretary should be
directed to developing the organiza,
tion as 1t already existed, cooperating
W tn and supplementlng the directors,
and In all ways possible increasing
the value OF the Welfare Association
to Bennington. The problem was not
to make fresh beginning, sor this
had already been done with large
measure of success II was to take the
plans which had been made and carry
them to an effective completion; to
lstudy the situation in order to dis.
cover what additional activities might
be undertaken to profit; to develop
leadership among the members; and
above all else TO stimulate the inter,
est of more people In the affairs of
the association so that the RESPONSE
bility would be shared by many, in
stead of carried by few faithful
workers. From this general statement
it will appear that many of the items
VII ch might be mentioned in sec.
retaries report are very properly
given in detail in the reports of the
the various departments.
One of the first matters requiring
consideration was the problem OF
housing the activities during the com
ing year. In cooperation with the di.
rector OF the Building department a
careful study of the per capita cost
Iof operating Welfare Hall was made.
This proved to be excessive and steps
were taken Immediately to find 10.
lcation that would yield a greater re.
turn in usefu ness. As no suitable
building could be found for rent and
as the time did not seem propitious to
start agitat on for tiis. long dreamed
Iof Community House il was decided
TO make another effort to secure the
Ievening use Of the high school build.
ing for community center purpose
on tile basis OF the Welfare Associa.
ton bearing the actual cost involved.
This request together with an outline
of the proposed program was present
ed to the school trustees at the July
Injecting with graf flying results. They
voted to grant such use two evenings
per week when school was In session
and one extra evening each month for
special events on the basis OF estImat.
ed cost for heat, light and custodian
service. This marks a real step for
ward in the community life Of Bennng
ton. For several years the association
had worked for the wider use OF the
school plant but had been unab to
accomplish tangible results. This year
the trustees manifest most liberal
and cooperative spirit and it is hoped
that the use made of the building will
Justify this expression of their conf
dence in the work VIII ch is being fos
tered by the Welfare Association. The
importance OF the opening of thC
school building for general community
Iuse is on a par with the annual appro
prlation by the village trustees oil
money to help finance recreationa
activities. Both mark the recognit on
of the vital Importance of a leisure
time program
The Fourth of July celebration, dis
IAt =
change from that of previous years
and was a success both as a community
Iatfair and financially Those who ex
Ipressed themselves as missing the pa
rade feature viii doubtless have an
opportunity at some future tine tC
help revive this Elective form Of cele
bration. Great credit is due to those
who took the lead in making the pre-
parations f0f the day and to the citi
zers manufacturers and business peo
lie who contributed food, labor and
money so generously. This same will
IingnesS to help has been demonstrated
in conducting the sur:mer dancing
and in making this an unusually success
sful season on the playground The
Isunmer camp for the Girls clubs wa
likewise made possible through donat
ed location and equipment, specia
price on transportation and volunteer
administrator and leadership.
Every effort is beng made to put the
finances of the association on firm
and businesslike basis. The budget
has been carefully planned and the
estimated amount is the minimum
with which the work Of the following
wear can be conducted. If the plan OF
securing sufficient pledges of money tC
meet the expenses of the coming yeal
can be pushed to successful com
pletion, a valuable precedent will
have been established. That this i:
the way the business OF the association
should be handled is the consensus o.
Iopinion and it only remains to put
it into operation. Once this plan hal
been established it VIII be compare
lively easy to follow the same policy
other years and increase the amount
as the scope Of the Welfare work re
quires more money. Every effor
should be made to bring the p,Gns o
The finance Department to success
tul culminstion for the efforts Of thost
bearing the burden CT respoSibllit.
slr carrying on he work art great,
handicapped by uncertainty with re