We thank the leaders who have served before us and created a solid foundation for the NREA. We dedicate this page to them.

1900 - 1907 Organized by 28 people under auspices of National Education Association
The original letter was signed by Dick J. Crosby of the Department of Agriculture in Washington, DC
1908 David B. Johnson - First President Elected and Installed - Rock Hill, South Carolina - Meeting in Cleveland
1909 Kenyon Butterfield - Massachusetts - Meeting in Denver, CO

1910 James Barr - California - Meeting in Boston, MA
1911 B.M. Davis - Ohio - Meeting in San Francisco, CA
1912 Ernest E. Balcomb - North Carolina - Meeting in Chicago, IL
1913 E.C. Bishop - Iowa - Meeting in Salt Lake City, UT
1914 George Works - New York - Meeting in St. Paul, MN
1915 W.H. French - Michigan - Meeting in Salt Lake City, UT
1916 Charles Lane - Washington, DC - Meeting in Portland, OR
1917 H.W. Foght - Washington, DC - meeting in Pittsburgh, PA
1918 H.A. Allan - Maine - Meeting in Milwaukee, WI
1919 Officially became the Department of Rural Education under NEA
1919 Eli Rapp - Pennsylvania - Meeting in Salt Lake City, UT

1920 Ernest Burnham - Michigan - Meeting in Des Moines, IA
1921 C.G. Sargent - Colorado - Meeting in Boston, MA
1922 John M. Foote - Louisiana - Meeting in Oakland, CA
1923 Mary Campbell - Iowa - Meeting in Chicago, IL
1924 A.F. Harman - Alabama - Meeting in Indianapolis, IN
1925 Julian Butterworth - New York - Meeting in Philadelphia, PA
1926 N. Searle Light - Connecticut - Meeting in Seattle, WA
1927 William Robinson - Michigan - Meeting in Minneapolis, MN
1928 Mabel Carney - New York - Meeting in Atlantic City, NJ
1929 Helen Heffeman - California - Meeting in Cleveland, OH

1930 Kate Wofford - New York - Meeting in Detroit, MI
1931 Ray Snider - New York - Meeting in Atlantic City, NJ
1932 Agnes Samuelson - Iowa - Meeting in Chicago, IL
1933 R.E. Jaggers - Kentucky - Meetings in Washington, DC and Cleveland, OH
1934 Sue Powers - Tennessee - Meetings in Denver, CO and Atlantic City, NJ
1935* Francis L. Bailey - Meeting in Portland, OR
1936* Fred C. Fisher - Meetings in Detroit, MI and New Orleans, LA
1937* Katherine M. Cook - Meetings in New York City, NY and Atlantic City, NJ
1938 Norman Frost - Tennessee - Meeting in San Francisco, CA
1939 Norman Frost - Tennessee - Meeting in Cleveland, OH

1940 Frank Cyr - New York - Meeting in New York City, NY
1941 Daisy Howard - Michigan - Meeting in Boston, MA
1942 Barton Morgan - Iowa - Meetings in Denver, CO and San Francisco, CA
1943 Barton Morgan - Iowa - Meeting in Indianapolis, IN
1944 Lois Clark - Pennsylvania - Meeting in Pittsburgh, PA
1945 E.E. Stonecipher - Kansas - Meeting in Buffalo, NY
1946 E.E. Stonecipher - Kansas - Meeting in Cincinnati, OH
1947 Jane Franseth - Washington, DC - Meeting in Indianapolis, IN
1948 Jane Franseth - Washington, DC - Meeting in Milwaukee, WI
1949 Paul Norris - Iowa - Meeting in Memphis, TN

1950 John S. Carroll - Texas - Meeting in Columbus, OH
1951 W.A. Early - Georgia - Meeting in Dallas, TX
1952 Marjorie Leinauer - Illinois - Meeting in Dallas, TX
1953 M.L. Cushman - Iowa - Meeting in Omaha, NE
1954 Lucille Klinge - Oregon - Meeting in Washington, DC
1955 Cliff Huff - Kansas - Meeting in San Diego, CA
1956 R.E. Harris - Texas - Meeting in Atlanta, GA
1957 Ralph C. Norris - Iowa - Meeting in Denver, CO
1958 Ralph C. Norris - Iowa - Meeting in Dallas, TX
1959 Velma Linford - Wyoming - Meeting in Minneapolis, MN

1960 William E. Bishop - Colorado - Meeting in Seattle, WA
1961 Cliff P. Archer - Minnesota - Meeting in Louisville, KY
1962 J.C. Fitzgerald - Oklahoma - Meeting in Pittsburgh, PA
1963 Douglas MacRae - Georgia - Meeting in Dallas, TX
1964 Rosalie Farley - Nebraska - Meeting in Detroit, MI
1965 Donald Kruzner - Washington - Meeting in Washington, DC
1966 Burton W. Kreitlow - Wisconsin - Meeting in San Diego, CA
1967 William H. Dreier - Iowa - Meeting in Atlanta, GA
1968 Noble J. Gividen - New York - Meeting in Oklahoma City, OK
1969 Olin Gresham - California - Meeting in Spokane, WA

1970 Gordon Swanson - Minnesota - Meeting in Cincinnati, OH
1971 Thomas J. Quick - Oregon - Meeting in Des Moines, IA
1972 E. Roberts Stephens - Iowa - Meeting in Reno, NV
1973 Thoms J. Sommerville - Oregon - Meeting in Philadelphia, PA
1974 Everett Edington - New Mexico - Meeting in Springfield, MO
1975 Began separation from the NEA
1975 Tom Lawrence - Texas - Meeting in Portland, OR
1976 David Gilliland - Iowa - Meeting in San Antonio, TX
1977 Leo Soucy - New York - Meeting in Albany, NY
1978 Walter Turner - Colorado - Meeting in Denver, CO
1979 Ray Drage - Ohio - Meeting in Hyannis Port, MA

1980 Completed separation from NEA
1980 Anita Lohr - Arizona - Meeting in Madison, WI
1981 Calvin Bones - Iowa - Meeting in Portland, OR
1982 Glenn Thompson - Wisconsin - Meeting in Tucson, AR
1983 Roy Brubacher - Colorado - Meeting in Rockport, MA
1984 Rural Education Association Incorporated
1984 James Jess - Iowa - Meeting in Manhattan, KS
1985 Peter Schwalbenberg - Maine - Meeting in Olympia, WA
1986 Jerry Horn - Kansas - Meeting in Cedar Rapids, IA
1987 Fred Tidwell - Washington - Meeting in Little Rock, AR
1988 Dwight Bode - Iowa - Meeting in Bismarck, ND
1989 Charlene (Popham) Rudolf - Maine - Meeting in Reno, NV

1990 Patricia A. Laubach - North Dakota - Meeting in Colorado Springs, CO
1991 Dave Trujillo - Colorado - Meeting in Jackson, MS
1992 Bill Peter - Missouri - Meeting in Traverse City, MI
1993 Gerald Hanson - Michigan - Meeting in Burlington, VT
1994 Rene “Jay” Bouchard - New York - Meeting in Tuscaloosa, AL
1995 Dean Swanson - Minnesota - Meeting in Salt Lake City, UT
1996 Bennie McKay - Louisiana - Meeting in San Antonio, TX
1997 Paul Street - Arizona - Meeting in Tucson, AZ
1998 V. Pauline Hodges - Oklahoma - Meeting in Buffalo, NY
1999 John L. Sullivan - Kansas - Meeting in Colorado Springs, CO

2000 Mary Lou Gammon - Arizona - Meeting in Charleston, SC
2001 George Brown - Texas - Meeting in Albuquerque, NM
2002 Peter Kachris - New York - Meeting in Portland, OR
2003 Al Eads, Jr. - South Carolina - Meeting in Kearney, NE
2004 Mike Copeland - Oklahoma - Meeting in Indianapolis, IN
2005 J.M. Edington, III - Arkansas - Meeting in Tucson, AZ
2006 Robert Newhouse - Kansas - Meeting in Kansas City, MO
2007 Gay Molnar - New York - Meeting in Oklahoma City, OK
2008 Seth Adams - Texas- Meeting in San Antonio, TX 

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