Piatt County HCE members attend conference in Effingham

Seven Piatt County HCE members were able to attend the IAHCE 2020 Convention. Pictured from left to right are Nora Hanover, Nancy Jo Carle, Miriam Seevers, Martha Lynch, and Carol Drayton. Not pictured is Frances Kurr.

Seven Piatt County HCE women attended the Illinois Home and Community Education Association (IAHCE) 96th Annual Conference that was held on March 10-12, 2020 at the Keller Convention Center, Effingham, Illinois. The 2020 theme for this convention was “Power of the Past – Beacon to the Future”.

IAHCE was first known as the Home Bureau Federation for farm wives. Due to the power of its members, Home and Community Education Associations have continued to change with the current times, trends, and needs related to the social and economic well-being in our homes and neighborhoods in both rural and urban areas. The organization is an education and community service organization comprised of over 6,000 men and women from 72 county associations.

IAHCE programs continue to cross the boundaries when providing unique and innovative ideas with educational materials providing members the opportunity to learn current and relevant information. This organization strives to provide the state and county officers with important information that allows them to work with, support, and promote the communities in which they serve.

The IAHCE Annual Conference offered attendees the opportunity to work with quality instructors in 42 different share-shop sessions such as, “Well Armed Women”, “Ultimate Health the more Natural Way”,” Modern Trends in Clothing/Textiles”, “Emotional Eating”, and the “Anti-Ouch Mastectomy Pillow”. All of these 42 share-shop sessions were available for our members to attend and gather information to take back to their own counties to share with those members who could not attend the conference.

This IAHCE experience was more than your traditional conference. It was also about learning and sharing with your peers, both formally and informally, through hallway conversations, the development of life-long friendships, and the recharging of a passion for learning.

Even if you didn’t get to attend this conference, you can still participate in our Piatt County HCE projects. The dues to join our Piatt County HCE are small. For more information, drop by the Piatt County Extension Office located at 210 S. Market Street in Monticello or call Carol Drayton at 217-520-4676. HOPE TO SEE YOU SOON!