The report of the President will be brief. Much of the activity of the past year will be covered in the other reports presented at this meeting. I shall, therefore, summarize some of the general developments in the associations and activities of the Board of Directors.

First of all I would like to express my own appreciation -- appreciation which is shared by all of you I am sure -- for the loyal and intensive effort of the many individuals who have worked for the RRA during the past year. I cannot call them all by name but they include the officers and committee members, the busy editorial staff of the RRR and the local group who have planned the details of this meeting. There is no way by which to estimate how much time they have given; without their help we could never have made the grade this far.

I want especially to refer to the work of our Secretary-Treasurer, Carolyn Odell. This is a volunteer job, as you know, but she has given long hours to it and her faithful service is the biggest single factor in our advance to date.

Now, just a quick look at the past year. Probably the most significant development has been the launching of the RRR. The Review began in a modest way and will have to continue that way for a while. However, there has been an excellent response to the publication and we believe that the RRA has made a significant contribution in establishing the Review.

A second important development is the growth of the organization. The membership has passed the 200 level and there is a continuous growth pattern which is very healthy. A special effort will be made during the coming year to build up our membership list still further. More will be said about this later. Not only has the RRA increased in size, but it has reached out to other disciplines and the inter-faith nature of the organization has moved toward a better balance. However, our roots in a Protestant past still tend to influence the makeup of the group. we hope that many more Roman Catholic and Jewish sociologists, scientists, and students will become members. There has also been a significant geographic outreach so that membership now represents all parts of the country.

As anyone would expect, growing pains have troubled us during the past year. Rapid growth, new activities and more member participation, have resulted in greater budget needs, more business meetings and the expenditure of more time by more people. However, the problems can be solved, we believe, and are being solved.

An important element during the past year has been the active work of the Board of Directors. Working under a new constitution for the first time, the board has met regularly and given much thought to the work of the Association and its committees. The continued success of the RRA will depend largely on the leadership of the Board.

Several activities of the Board should be mentioned here:

Incorporation -- application

Tax exemption -- "

Support of the HPDL sought by foundation sources

We have enjoyed the support of a number of agencies during the year, much of this support being earmarked for the HPDL. We need this support and we hope that there will be more organizational contributions to the basic support of the RRA, and more individuals who contribute over and above their regular member dues.

It is the belief of those of us who have worked during the past year on RRA activities that the Association is off to a good start, has a real chance to render valuable service and merits your whole-hearted support.

Respectively submitted,

Lauris B. Whitman