It would indeed be remiss if no mention were to be made this evening of a unit in our business which is very close to my heart — The American Savings and Loan Institute, the organization for education within our field of endeavor. With its 60 chapters, its seven study clubs and its home study courses, it continues each day to broaden its sphere of sound influence. We must have leadership to carry forward the tremendous good which lies within our business. Probably the best way to achieve that end is to develop within our own ranks those who will carry on in the posts of responsibility. For years, this is just what our Institute has been doing to an ever-increasing extent. As of October 31, 1949, there were 3,409 students in the Institute. Of this group, 404 were pursuing home study courses in those areas where there were neither Institute chapters nor study clubs. With such a proven need of and demand for the services of the Institute, each of us in the management phases should extend our active support to that unit dedicated to the perpetuation and further development of our business. For an annual cost so small in amount, $25 for a $5,000,000 association, it is indeed an astonishing tong to find only several hundred of our thousands of savings associations having a sustaining membership in our Institute. And what a great difference .it would make if they all did. With its splendid record of service over the years, it cannot be that we do not value and believe in the essentialness of our educational facilities. Might it be that we take far too much for granted and do too little to justify that certainty? If we give credence to the necessity for developing soundly trained men and women for the staffs of our organizations; and if we believe in maintaining the very life blood of our business, then we cannot help but give even greater support to our Institute. The additional income flowing from sustaining memberships will do a great deal to establish more firmly and expand the necessary and essential work of our local chapters and our national headquarters. We have but scratched the surface of the possibility of fulfillment of the essential need for and work of The American Savings and Loan Institute