On September 5, 1963, ladies whose husbands were members of the Freed-Hardeman College Board of Trustees and Advisory Board met for the purpose of planning a women's organization to help support and encourage Christian education at Freed-Hardeman College in Henderson, Tennessee. Mrs. Neal Penny of Milan, Tennessee presided at the meeting and was elected the first president.
In late 1963 and early 1964, chapters of the Freed-Hardeman Associates were organized in west Tennessee and Kentucky, and north Alabama and Mississippi.
National presidents during the Associates first 56 years have been Margaret Penny, Rebecca Woods, Pearl Griffin, Louise Dixon, Hazel Bradfield, Sylvia Harris, Irene Taylor, Lynda Ruff, Delphia Thornton, Martha Alls, Rubye Dodd, Corine Taylor, Fran Davis, Jo Martin, Lora Edwards, Laurel Sewell, Genia Southall, Ann Watson, Diane Smith, Lana Pirtle, Debbie McLaughlin, Sylvia Scott, Jeanita Estes, Carole Childers, and Shirley Eaton.