Victor's widow Florence Houteff, the Association's Secretary, immediately sought to eject E. T. Wilson, who had personally been appointed Vice-President of the Association by Houteff during the 1934 organization process, and would have become acting President by default. Florence Houteff convened an Executive Council meeting the day after her husband's death, with Wilson missing because of illness. In Wilson's absence, Houteff successfully convinced the Executive Council to appoint her Vice-President and remove Wilson. Her argument rested on the assertion that these actions "were in harmony with recommendations made by Brother Houteff prior to his death". This request seemed so unusual that, in a meeting the next day, an Executive Council member challenged her to provide evidence for her claim. Despite acknowledging that she could not provide any proof, the Executive Council yielded and continued to uphold her request. Once established as Vice-President, Mrs. Houteff announced that she had some procedural changes in mind, and increased the veto power of the Vice-President.