SOROPTIMIST FOUNDING HISTORY
The roots of Soroptimist were actually, unknown to anyone at the time and still seldom recalled, in Buffalo, NY in 1911. In that year the first Optimist Club was formed, a men's service club whose mission was to "Bring Out the Best in Kids". The first club was so successful that it was decided to promote the chartering of new clubs in other cities around the country. So, in 1921 an entrepreneur named Stuart Morrow visited the San Francisco Bay Area of California in search of leaders who might be enticed to charter either an Optimist or Rotary club, since he had interests in promoting both.
 Stuart Morrow, Organizer, and Charter member Adelaide E. Goddard of the Parker-Goddard Secretarial School. |
In Oakland, Mr. Morrow called on the Parker-Goddard Secretarial School. Presuming men ran the business, Morrow found to his surprise that the school was owned by Miss Mabel Parker and Mrs. Adelaide Goddard, and not by men at all. As Morrow explained his mistake and was about to leave, Mrs. Goddard remarked "When the men admit women as members of their service clubs, I would be interested". This remark sparked an idea for the entrepreneurial Mr. Morrow, and he got together several of the outstanding businesswomen in Oakland to pursue the idea of forming a service club for women.
The preliminary meeting was held Tuesday, May 31, 1921, at 4 p.m., in the Rose Room of Hotel Oakland. Of the six women in attendance only one, Adelaide Goddard, is recorded as showing real interest. Undeterred, Mrs Goddard immediately began recruiting her acquaintances. Less than a month later, on June 21, the historic First Meeting of Members Committee Luncheon, comprised of 10 women, met at the Hotel Oakland to officially launch the club. The core group met once a week, and in three short months they had gathered the support of 80 women in Alameda County, the number stipulated by Mr. Morrow as minimum to form a charter club. The group also chose the name Soroptimist for the organization at this time, which historical Soroptimist records list as a word coined from the Latin soror meaning sister and optima meaning best, which was interpreted as The Best Of Women. In current usage Soroptimist is interpreted as Best For Women. This change shifted the focus away from the early qualifications for Soroptimist membership, to the lives of the women and girls whose betterment is the worldwide Soroptimist mission.
 Hotel Oakland - the location of the first historic meetings, and installation of Soroptimist club Founders. |
The Articles of Incorporation of this first county-named Soroptimist Club of Alameda, were filed and signed by Stuart Morrow in Sacramento, September 26, 1921. The charter contains the names of the first club officers: President-Violet Richardson; Treasurer-Nellie M. Drake; Directors-Edna B. Kincaid, Doris C. Tilton, Gladys R. Leggett, Blanche Rollar and Adelaide Goddard. At the bottom of the document are the names of the 80 professional women required to file the charter. Significantly, the charter designated that additional clubs would be founded and operated throughout the United States, with the principal business of ALL clubs transacted in Oakland. This immediately set the precedent for an arm of control and cohesion as the organization grew, represented today by Soroptimist International, Inc. located in Cambridge, UK.
The presentation of the Charter and the officer installation ceremony took place in formal style at the Hotel Oakland a week later, on October 3, 1921. This installation date, October 3, is officially celebrated as Soroptimist Founders Day.
 Upper Row (L to R): Edna Brown, Life Insurance; Violet Richardson Ward, Physical Education; Eloise Cushing, Attorney at Law; Emily Wilkie, University Press; Gladys Leggett Penland, Insurance Broker. Bottom Row (L to R): Sarah Hammond, Cafeteria; Helena Gamble, Campaign Manger; Cassie Moreland, D.O.-Osteopathic Physician; and Isabel Jenkins, Jewelry. |
The real significance of this first-ever women's service club may today be underappreciated, but at the time it was revolutionary. By the beginning of the 1920s women in North America had established themselves in the political arena through suffrage, and in the professional world as a result of World War I. But the idea of a service club exclusively for women was unheard of. Thus with the advent of this first Soroptimist club a major social divide had been bridged.
One of the most notable facts about the charter is that Mr. Morrow was the only signer. History also records that Mr. Morrow named himself as originator, founder and general manager of the corporation, retaining 90% of the voting power, property rights, and interest in the corporation. In other words, he owned Soroptimist. This, of course, had to change.