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The Blue Ridge Institute for Southern Community
Service Executives was founded in 1927 by Arthur
Alden Guild, Director of the Community Fund of
Richmond, Virginia. The Institute was conceived for
the benefit of voluntarily-supported and
public-supported agencies in the health, welfare and
youth-serving fields by having their executives meet
for discussion of topics that affected their daily
work. The avowed purpose was to improve existing
leadership and create a desire in communities for
better-trained people.
The first session, promoted as "A Vacation
Institute for Southern Social Work Executives," was
held on August 1-12, 1927, at the YMCA Blue Ridge
Assembly in Black Mountain, North Carolina. 56 social
work executives from 15 states attended. Since then,
the Institute has met every year except one - the
1944 session was cancelled due to a polio epidemic in
North Carolina. Each institute has been held at the
Blue Ridge Assembly, except for the 1943 session,
which was held at the Green Park Hotel in Blowing
Rock, North Carolina, due to wartime
difficulties.
The Blue Ridge Institute has contributed to the
national health, welfare, recreation and community
organization literature on a variety of important
subjects. For example, the 1957 proceedings on
"Staffing our Community Health, Recreation and
Welfare Services" was completely exhausted during the
fall of 1957, in preparation of the U.S. Report to
the United Nations on the use of personnel. Also, the
1967 proceedings, "The Thrust for Community
Betterment - Whose Responsibility?", became the
source of information for Public Affairs Pamphlet No.
413 - "New Ways to Better Communities."
The Blue Ridge Institute has been largely nurtured
and developed in a unique way by the volunteer
services of the Community Service Executives who
attended it. In the early years the national
association of Community Chests and Councils assisted
with some secretarial services and part-time
professional consultation. This relationship ceased
in 1968 and the institute leadership took over all
responsibilities.
Attendance at the Blue Ridge Institute is by
invitation only. The invitation list is developed by
the Board of Directors, which is made up of the
officers and representatives from each state
attending the conference, taking care to ensure broad
representation from all service fields. Programs have
covered all aspects of community organization and
human services, and after the first few years a
summary of the institute proceedings and
presentations have been published annually.
Chronology:
August 1-12, 1927 : 1st Institute. Five Courses
Given Around - Organizing the Social Forces of a
Community to Care for the Social Problems of the
Community. President: Arthur A. Guild
July 15-28, 1928 : 2nd Institute What Does the
Executive Want to Know About? President: Arthur A.
Guild
August 25-31, 1929 : 3rd Institute The
Apportionment of Funds for Social Work President:
Arthur A. Guild
July 21-26, 1930 : 4th Institute Objectives of
Social Work President: Arthur A. Guild
July 26-August 1, 1931 : 5th Institute Correlating
the Work of Public and Private Leisure Time Agencies
President: Arthur A. Guild
July 24-30, 1932 : 6th Institute Controls In and
Out of Social Work President: Arthur A. Guild
July 24-29, 1933 : 7th Institute Trends Toward
Socialization of Community Forces President: Arthur
A. Guild
July 23-28, 1934 : 8th Institute A Clinic in
Community Planning for Social and Health Work
President: Arthur A. Guild
July 22-27, 1935 : 9th Institute Elements in
Effective Community Planning for the Public Social
and Health Services President: Arthur A. Guild
July 27-31, 1936 : 10th Institute Interpreting
Social Work by Attacking Social Problems President:
Arthur A. Guild
July 26-30, 1937 : 11th Institute Organizing the
Community for the Prevention of Juvenile Delinquency
President: Arthur A. Guild
July 25-29, 1938 : 12th Institute The What and Why
of the Total Cost of Community Welfare Services
President: Arthur A. Guild
July 24-28, 1939 : 13th Institute Where the
Welfare Dollar Goes and What It Does There President:
Walter S. Criswell
July 29-August 2, 1940 : 14th Institute Public
Opinion and Social Work Interpretation President:
Walter S. Criswell
July 28-August 1, 1941 : 15th Institute Social
Work Assets and Liabilities of the South and Their
Implications in National Defense President: Mrs.
Florence Adams
July 27-31, 1942 : 16th Institute Social Breakdown
in Time of War President: Mrs. Florence Adams
July 19-23, 1943 : 17th Institute Preventing
Social Breakdown in Wartime President: Sherwood H.
Smith
July 23-27, 1945 : 18th Institute Organizing
Community Services for the Prevention and Control of
Problems of Behavior and Adjustment President:
Sherwood H. Smith
July 22-26, 1946 : 19th Institute Social Breakdown
Studies as a Guide for Prevention President: Fred L.
Huffman
July 21-25, 1947 : 20th Institute Use of
Statistical Tools in Community Organizations
President: Fred L. Huffman
July 26-30, 1948 : 21st Institute Getting Things
Done in Community Organization President: Arthur H.
Jones
July 25-29, 1949 : 22nd Institute Self Appraisal
of a Community Welfare Council President: Olin W.
LeBaron
July 24-28, 1950 : 23rd Institute What Role Can
Community Organization Play in the Solution of
Personnel Problems? President: Olin W. LeBaron
July 23-27, 1951 : 24th Institute What Does the
Public Think About Social Welfare and What Do We Want
Them to Think? President: Lester H. Robb
July 21-25, 1952 : 25th Institute Development of
Evidence for Use in Influencing Public Attitudes
Toward Social Welfare President: Lester H. Robb
July 27-31, 1953 : 26th Institute Methods to Use
in Influencing Public Attitudes Toward Social Welfare
President: Dr. Ruth Schiffman Besherer
July 26-30, 1954 : 27th Institute How Well Are We
Using Our Health and Welfare Dollar, Especially Our
Tax Dollar? President: Dr. Ruth Schiffman
Besherer
July 25-29, 1955 : 28th Institute How Well Are We
Using Our Health and Welfare Dollar, Especially Our
Tax Dollar? President: Harold J. Weekley
July 23-27, 1956 : 29th Institute Staffing Our
Community Health, Recreation, and Welfare Services
President: Harold J. Weekley
July 21-25, 1957 : 30th Institute Staffing Our
Community Health, Recreation, and Welfare Services
President: John G. Strohecker
July 20-25, 1958 : 31st Institute Why Do We Need
More and Better Community Services? President: John
G. Strohecker
July 19-24, 1959 : 32nd Institute Improving and
Using Measurements for Projecting Essential Services
President: William L. Leap
July 17-22, 1960 : 33rd Institute The Significance
of Voluntarily Organized Community Planning and
Action for Human Welfare President: William L.
Leap
July 23-28, 1961 : 34th Institute Who and What
Triggers Community Action? President: George E.
Rice
July 22-27, 1962 : 35th Institute How Does the
Community Service Executive Lead? President: Mrs.
Helen J. Lewis
July 21-26, 1963 : 36th Institute Chaos or
Order-Exploring New Patterns of Community Service
President: Mrs. Helen J. Lewis
July 19-24, 1964 : 37th Institute Engineering
Tomorrow's Community Powerhouse President: William
Kaufman
July 25-30, 1965 : 38th Institute Strategy for
Total Community Action President: William Kaufman
July 24-29, 1966 : 39th Institute Prescription for
Social Change President: Charles W. Fruit
July 23-28, 1967 : 40th Institute The Thrust for
Community Betterment-Whose Responsibility? President:
Charles W. Fruit
July 21-26, 1968 : 41st Institute Helping the
Community Provide Opportunity Health Services
President: K. C. Lattimer
July 20-25, 1969 : 42nd Institute Let's Look at
the Record. What Has Happened in the 60's?, What Are
the Implications for the 70's? President: K. C.
Lattimer
July 19-24, 1970 : 43rd Institute Blueprint for
the 70's, Social Goals and Priorities for the Decade
President: Mrs. Mary Free
July 5-30, 1971 : 44th Institute Rationale for
Effective Action President: Mrs. Mary Free
July 23-28, 1972 : 45th Institute Implementation
of Coalition Planning-Possibility or Dream?
President: Martin R. Barnes
July 22-27, 1973 : 46th Institute Effective
Delivery of Community Services President:
Commissioner John D. Needham
July 21-26, 1974 : 47th Institute
Accountability-The Doing-What Difference Does It
Make? President: Mrs. Eugenia Dobson Henry
July 20-25, 1975 : 48th Institute Effective
Executives-Better Service to People President: Mrs.
Irene H. Burnett
July 25-30, 1976 : 49th Institute The Politics in
Service to People in America's Third Century
President: Ashton Brisolara
July 24-29, 1977 : 50th Institute The Evolving
Relationship Between the Public and Private Sectors
in Meeting Human Service Needs President: Paul E.
Parks
July 23-28, 1978 : 51st Institute Local
Planning-How It Is Impacted by Federal, State and
Regional Developments President: Edwin C. Cotton
July 22-27, 1979 : 52nd Institute Continuity and
Change in the Family: The Challenge to Southern
Community Service Executives President: Mrs.
Elizabeth G. Gower
Jul. 27-Aug. 1, 1980 : 53rd Institute Health Care
in the 80's: A Dilemma for Human Services Executives
President: Dwyer C. Sump
July 26-31, 1981 : 54th Institute The Future is
Now: An Assessment of Forces that Will Shape the
Planning and Delivery of Human Services in the 80's
President: Tommy R. Perkins
July 25-30, 1982 : 55th Institute The Community
Service Executive as Community Catalyst President:
Myles MacDonald
July 24-29, 1983 : 56th Institute Tough Decisions
in a Tough Time President: Joe Medlin
July 22-27, 1984 : 57th Institute Human Services
and the Brave New World President: Charles
Fleming
July 21-26, 1985 : 58th Institute 1983-85: Social
Progress-A Prologue to the Future President: Mrs.
Wanda B. Phibbs
July 20-25, 1986 : 59th Institute To Serve the
Present Age Institutions-Implications and
Expectations President: Wayne R. Davis
July 19-24, 1987 : 60th Institute The Healthy
Executive-Key to a Healthy Agency President: Lee O.
Dees
July 24-29, 1988 : 61st Institute Today's Changing
Families-Society's Changing President: A. G.
Spizzirri
July 23-28, 1989 : 62nd Institute The South at the
End of a Decade President: H. Gene Herrell
July 22-27, 1990 : 63rd Institute The South at the
Beginning of a Decade: Coping with Our Environment
President: Mrs. Marcia Parker
July 21-26, 1991 : 64th Institute The Changing
World of Communications in the 90's President: Lt.
Colonel John Mikles
July 19-24, 1992 : 65th Institute America's Youth
President: Cecil Hayes
July 21-26, 1993 : 66th Institute Ethics: Easier
Said Than Done President: Phil Acord
July 24-29, 1994 : 67th Institute The Greying of
America-A Family Affair President: William J.
Knowles
July 22-28, 1995 : 68th Institute Managing
Change...Changing Management President: Harrison
Reardon
July 21-26, 1996 : 69th Institute Developing
Community-A Human Partnership President: Dr. Jay
Childress
July 21-25, 1997 : 70th Institute Transformational
Leadership for the New Millennium President: Larry G.
Betts
July 19-24, 1998 : 71st Institute Changing Rules
and Roles-Our Role in the New Social Policy Public
Social and Health Services President: Edward
Garrison
July 25-30, 1999 : 72nd Institute Alternative
Leadership Strategies for Changing Work Environments
President: Nan Selz Brown
July 23-27, 2000 : 73rd Institute Courage,
Competence and Community: Stories of Success and
Skill Building President: Leon Matthews
July 22-26, 2001 : 74th Institute
future.org/powering up President: Anne Kilpatrick
July 21-28, 2002 : 75th Institute Celebrating the
Past: Building our Future President: Robert C.
Reifsnyder
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