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The Director Writes:â€" Mr. Ken Lantz was appointed Deputy Minister of the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food on June lst. 1978. succeeding R. Gordon Bennett who retired utter 35 years with the ministry. Mr. Lantz. well known to many members of the Women‘s institutes, joined the ministry in 1945. He has served as an A5- Listant Agricultural Representative in Midd|esex cj'ounty. as Agricultural Representative in Stormont and Kent Counties, and as Associate Director and Di- .eclor of Extension in Toronto. He was appointed As- .istant Deputy Minister of Agriculture, in charge of rhc Production and Rural Development Division. in 3963. Dr. George H. Collin. the former Chairman of the arm Products Marketing Board, was appointed {he aw head of the Production and Rural Development )ivision. Dr. Collin is a graduate in agriculture of the lniversity of British Columbia and received his doc- nrate in horticulture from Cornell University. Before wining the Farm Products Marketing Board. Dr. Coi- ‘n was director of the Alberta Horticultural Research entre at Brooks, Alberta. For six years prior to going it Alberta. he directed the Ontario Horticultural Reâ€" catch Station at Simcoe. Mr. R. Gordon Bennett, the former Deputy Min- ttcr. has been asked to conduct a study of rural fam- -iies. by the Minister of Agriculture and Food. the ion. Bill Newman. By the time you receive this edition of Home and ’armtry. our fall programs will have started. The ilume Economics Branch hopes that you are enjoying hem. Already. the specialists are planning some new ines for next year. These will be publicized at a later late. The year I979 has been declared the International Year of the Child by the United Nations. The LLN. urges the world to strengthen its concern for the pres- ent condition of its children. The focusing of universal attention on the child emphasizes the need for people everywhere to recognize that the peace and prosperity of tomorrow‘s world depends on the well-being of today's child. Through A.C.W.W.‘s Pennies for Friendship campaign. your organization does contriba ute to ensure a safe water supply and improved nutri» ttott for the less fortunate of the world. Although children in Canada do have ready access to Cican Water. good food. health and education. re- search findings indicate that some of our children still experience a lack of parental care. In order to ensure that future generations receive better care. there ap- pears to be a need for parenting education For men- agers. both boys and girls. through programs devel- oped and sponsored at the local level by both educational and non-educational agencies. under the leadership of properly trained personnel. i hope each branch sometime in I979 will hold one meeting on Children and/or parents. and support any programs held by other organizations in your local area. On another page of this issue. you will read about the characteristics of a typical 4-H leader. The Home Economics Branch again takes this opportunity to thank all ol~ the volunteer leaders for the tremendous contribution to the 4â€"H Homemaking Club program and the Women’s Institutes who help find the leaders and offer financial support. The help given is invalu- able and shows that members of the Women‘s lnsli» tutes are vitally interested in the well-being ot‘ chil- dren. An analysis of the data gathered from the senior programs in the spring is being studied by the statisti- cians at Central Statistical Services. The results should be ready for publication in the next issue of Home and Country. The area conventions are over for another year. It was good to travel across the province with Mrs. Dia~ mond, going to places I had never visited before and meeting new people. As 1 travel through Ontario. I never cease to be amazed at the size of our province and at the great variety of agriculture and Industry that takes place within our boundaries. The Christmas season is fast approaching and I hope that each member of FWlO has a very happy time with family and Friends. and a very successful new year at branch level. WNW Home Economics Branch