 However, at a second meeting on June 5, 1944, representatives from nine churches voiced their support; this group of supporters became the MEI Society churches.At this meeting, Mr. C. Toews, Mr. G. Sukkau and Mr. A. Bauman were elected to go to Victoria to present the plan to the provincial government.The committee met with Dr. Samuel John Willis, British Columbia's long-serving Deputy Minister of Education, who pointed out the advantages of integration into the public Canadian school system for students of Mennonite origin.