1925-Scholarship funds to help girls who wanted to prepare themselves to teach home economics, membership campaign with a newsletter three times a year, and organizing home economics clubs in all schools offering home economics.
1926-Copy of a constitution for the Arkansas Home Economics Association.
1927-Student clubs were assigned the duty of raising Arkansas' quota for the Ellen H. Richards Memorial Fund.
1929-Plans made to extend assistance to the African American workers in home economics and encouraged them in the organization of a state association.
1930- The motion was made to supplement the state meeting with strong district meetings.
1940-Home economists helped the National Defense Preparedness Program.
No matter what the era, concerns of home and family have been a priority of members, Special projects have reflected these priorities. Annual meeting programs in the Twenties and Thirties featured speakers discussing the effect of current legislation on home economics, ways to strengthen food and drug laws, understanding and guiding the adolescent, and strategies for broadening the curriculum to include family relations and public relations.
In later years, the program of work was strengthened through subject matter workshops and special projects. Area workshops were conducted in 1967 on working with low income families; on family life education in 1972, housing and interior design in 1974; and on adolescent parenting in 1977. Statewide workshops have included: In 1971, "Protection Through Knowledge", a two-day workshop on consumerism; three-day craft workshops in 1979 and again in 1981 "Housing Perspectives". Pre-convention events and public service activities open to the public have included "An Inflation Deflating Food Demonstration," the 1981 video tape bankruptcy program, and the placement of slide series entitled "History of Western Dress" in film libraries of all colleges and universities with home economics departments, the Arkansas Art Center, and the Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service.
Since the beginning of the organization, annual meetings have been held in all but a few years. These meetings focused on current concern of families and individuals and the interaction with home economists in various disciplines. A few themes included:
1951- "The Change to Home Economics for a Better World"
1952- "Family Living-Today and Tomorrow"
1967- "Breakthrough in Meeting Family Needs"
1969- "Utilizing our Strengths on Services to Families"
1970- "Focus on Individuals: Families-Home Society"
1978- "Forces for Families: Respond, Impact, Change"
1999- "Investing in Families: Maintaining a Healthy Lifestyle"
Other significant annual meeting features have been curricular showcases, commercial exhibits, and educational activities, presentation of "teacher of the year" award, concurrent sessions, and the active involvement of student members.
In 1982, the Arkansas Home Economics Association was one of five sponsors of public affairs workshop. The formation of an alliance of professional organizations of home economics and closely aligned fields to work together to strengthen Arkansas families through educational endeavors resulted from this workshop.
Student members are of great value to AHEA and to the home economics profession. As early as 1925, the Arkansas Association placed emphasis on raising money for a student scholarship fund. In 1983, encouragement to students continued to be of importance to the Association. A current scholarship fund is available to college students.
Students first became affiliated with the American Home Economics Association in 1923. In the 1925-26 Arkansas Home Economics Association plan of work, it was recommended that home economics clubs be organized in all schools offering home economics. At the 1929 Arkansas annual meeting, it was reported that "the number of student clubs was doubled from the year before."
In 1944, plans were initiated to establish the Future Homemakers of America. This ended the direct affiliation of high school students with AHEA; however, college chapters remained with AHEA until 1968 when the college name changed from College Chapter Section to Student Members Section. In addition to active involvement in AHEA meetings, student members sponsor annual leadership meetings.
A major change occurred at the national level in 1994-95 concerning the name of the organization. At the national meeting in San Diego, California, the membership voted to change the name from the American Association of Home Economics to the American Association of Family and Consumer Sciences. In turn, the Arkansas affiliate came to be called the Arkansas Association of Family and Consumer Sciences.
Countless significant contributions have been made by members of the Arkansas Association of Family and Consumer Sciences for thier organization and their profession on the local, state, and national level.