By Mike Adams
NAFB Historian
At the first meeting of the National Association of Radio Farm Directors (NARFD) on May 5, 1944 in Columbus, Ohio, membership fees were set at $10 for those affiliated with commercial stations and $5 for any member with a non-commercial station. Members unanimously supported the position that any regional group having funds be asked to turn that money over to the national treasurer except for what was needed for expenses already incurred. Time was granted to Barney Monahan of the U.S. Treasury to outline members responsibility in national War Bond sales in rural areas.
The national organization soon started to take shape. Following that first meeting, the first official newsletter was issued in July followed by several more issues that year. Regional groups were encouraged to hold meetings while leadership of the organization met in Des Moines and Chicago to conduct official business. A directory was developed with names of no less than 85 people eligible for membership. A letterhead was prepared and distributed, membership cards and certificates were also prepared and issued.
Membership fees continued to come in and by the end of the year NARFD had paid members from across the country and not just in rural areas. Early members were also located in cities including New York, Boston, Los Angeles, San Francisco, St. Louis, Pittsburgh and Washington D.C.
The organization had come a long way in less than a year and as 1945 approached NARFD members, like the rest of the country focused on winning the war.
