Helen Long Fling

Helen Long Fling served as recording secretary from 1957 to 1963 prior to succeeding Marie Mathis as president of WMU, SBC, from 1963 to 1969. She was to preside over the most controversial era in WMU history: social issues such as racial issues and radically changing women's roles; changes in WMU structure necessary to cooperate with the Southern Baptist church programming movement.

After her tenure as WMU president, she continued to live a busy life for Christ. In 1968 she and her husband became home missionaries serving in New York; in 1971 she became president of New York WMU; in 1976 they became unofficial missionaries through the Foreign Mission Board in Munich, Germany, for a year; in 1977 the Home Mission Board and WMU selected her as the promoter for new areas of Southern Baptist expansion, traveling the country strengthening WMU; treasurer of the North American Baptist Women's Union for five years; and continued to serve on the board of directors for the American Bible Society after her formal retirement, January 1985.