By Kitty O. Locker,
1995
Updated 2002
The First Year
"In December of 1935," Andy Anderson said, "[we] decided
that it was time for business writing teachers to have their
own association" (Weeks, 1985, p. 15).
They had tried other organizations. In 1917, The Better
Letters Association had been founded for teachers as well
as business people. In the second year, however, the focus
changed to "strictly business," and in the third year the
organization folded and merged with the Direct Mail Advertising
Association (the precursor of today's Direct Marketing Association).
For a few years, the National Association of Teachers
of Advertising seemed helpful. But, Andy reported, "it soon
went over into marketing, changed its name to National Association
of Teachers of Marketing, and later to the American Marketing
Association in which even the advertising teachers got badly
squeezed" (Anderson, 1960; 1985, p. 11).
The only other available organization, The Modern Language
Association (MLA), focused on literature, not writing. (About
the time of ABC's 25th anniversary, the Conference on College
Composition and Communication would be created by faculty
who felt that MLA did not represent their interests.) In
the first membership solicitation letter, Andy wrote, "For
many years, we have had a tenuous connection with such associations
as the M.L.A., the D.M.A.A., and the N.A.M.T., and have
existed only on the fringe of activities" (Anderson, 1936;
1985, p. 27)
The decision to start a new organization was made after
asking business writing teachers if they wanted to form
a new organization. Fran Weeks describes the "lengthy letters"
which accompanied some of the survey responses:
The correspondence was not encouraging.
One of the questions was, "Should we form our own association?"
Seventeen respondents said "Yes," thirty-one said "No,"
and seven said it was a good idea but the time was not right.
Some of the objections were:
"We're in a depression. Professors can't
affor[d] $2.00 to join another association." . . .
"You can't find enough teachers to join."
(Andy had said that if he could persuade twenty or thirty
to join, he would go ahead.)
"If you pull us out of the NAMT, you
will throw us into the arms of the English Teachers." (Some
body did not know that Andy was a member of the Illinois
English department [Weeks, 1985, p. 16].)
Though the "Yes" votes
were distinctly in the minority, six organizers decided
"it was time." The organizing committee comprised C. R.
"Andy" Anderson, University of Illinois (chair); Edward
J. Kilduff, New York University; Nathaniel "Nat" Waring
Barnes, Columbia University; Alta Gwinn Saunders, University
of Illinois; Robert Ray Aurner, University of Wisconsin;
and Louis W. "Mac" McKelvey, Northwestern University.
They printed up letterhead for the "Association of College
Teachers of Business Writing" and on May 29, 1936, mailed
out the first membership solicitation letter. On June 2,
the first dues payment of $2.00 came in from Mac McKelvey
of Northwestern. A total of 36 members responded to the
first mailing; a second letter brought an additional 30
by the end of December.
The 1936-37 membership roster lists 72 members: one from
Canada and 71 from the United States. The names on the list
include those of 36 men and 27 women--and 9 names whose
initials do not enable me to identify gender. One member
lists a business affiliation.
The names on this first membership roster and the list
of people who have served as President of the Association
bear testimony to Andy's statement, "Practically every leader
in the field of Business Writing is a long-time member of
ABWA. Very few textbooks are authored by non-members" (Anderson,
1951; 1985, p. 46).
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