About our District

The first Kiwanis club in what is now the Texas-Oklahoma District, was officially completed February 10, 1917, at Dallas (00028), TX, with a charter membership of 200. The charter was presented March 28, 1918. Records indicate Dr. J. L. Holloway was the first President, with H. L. Kelley as Secretary. Following St. Louis, MO, the club was the only the second club to be organized west of the Mississippi, which set the stage for the expansion of clubs in Texas and Oklahoma.

The second club in the District was organized by Allan “Al” C. Stimers of Dayton, OH, national organizer of clubs, and officially completed on April 25, 1918, at Oklahoma City, OK (00087) with a charter membership of 200. The charter was presented by Orville Thorpe, of Dallas, who later served as an international trustee in 1919. Mr. Stimers continued his work on the Kiwanis Club of Tulsa, OK (00124) which began organizing on May 3, 1918 and was finalized on June 7, 1918. John R. Woodard was selected as President and W. B. Miller as Secretary.

The Kiwanis club of Fort Worth, TX (00044) was chartered November 2, 1918.

Due to the increasing number of clubs across the country, and realizing the value of a district organization, Kiwanis International requested that a district organization be set up. In October, 1918, the Dallas club selected one of its members to serve as interim Governor of the Texas-Oklahoma District until an organization conference could be arranged. The first meeting was held in Tulsa, OK, and on February 10, 1919, the Texas-Oklahoma District was organized. Joe A. Gerrity, Kiwanis Club of Dallas, TX, who was selected for the interim organization, was elected Governor.

In his capacity as International Secretary, O. Sam Cummings conducted the official organization meeting. His recommendation, that the clubs of the states of Texas and Oklahoma be combined to form the Texas-Oklahoma District, was confirmed at this meeting.

In 1918, an unwritten understanding was reached between the officers of the clubs comprising the District that the office of District Governor would alternate annually between the two states. Also, the selection of the District Convention city would be handled in the same way, provided any city entitled to the convention for the next year was an active contender.

The first District Convention was held on September 1-2, 1919, at Fort Worth, TX, and by this time, there were five more clubs: Houston, San Antonio, Austin, Marlin, and Corpus Christi, TX. At this convention, Mr. Edward Howell of Oklahoma City, OK was elected to serve for the next year. He served until September 6, 1920. Lieutenant Governors were: Dick O. Terrell, San Antonio, TX, and James L. Glass, Houston, TX.

The next convention of the Texas-Oklahoma District was held in Oklahoma City, OK, September 6-7, 1920, at which time Dick O. Terrell, Kiwanis Club of San Antonio, TX, was elected Governor.