our history
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Weekly Meetings
We have weekly lunch meetings every Thursday at noon at the Sertoma Event Center. Local community members are invited to speak to share their experiences and offer professional development. We have an open invitation to anyone that would like to visit our club to learn more. Oh, and lunch is on us. Come see us at our weekly meeting!
Monthly Board Meetings
Our Board of Directors meet on the second Wednesday of each month, and all interested Sertoma members are encouraged to attend.
Since being charted in 1941, The Springfield Sertoma Club has a rich history in fundraising events and chartering other clubs. Take a walk with us down memory lane.
July 12, 1941
The Sertoma Club of Springfield, Missouri (commonly known as the Springfield Sertoma Club) was chartered by the Joplin Sertoma Club for the original purpose of supporting the Springfield Boys Club (which later became the Springfield Boys and Girls Club).
November 19, 1969
On November 19, 1969 The Springfield Sertoma Club chartered the Heart of The Ozarks Sertoma Club for the original purpose of providing a broader base of support for the Springfield Boys and Girls Club, as the Musgrave Unit was then in the planning stages.
February 1981
The Sertoma Chili Cook Off began in 1981 after being taken over from the Kidney Foundation. That first year the club raised a profit of $1,000 which came in the form of a check from Darrel Love who didn’t want to see it fail since it was his idea. In 1995 they reached a record $22,000 in profit, which has since increased exponentially. Today the Sertoma Chili Cook Off raises over $100,000 each year.
May 18, 1990
The Sertoma Building Corporation was formed as a charitable corporation to be the holding entity for real estate located at 318 S. Campbell, Springfield, Mo., for the purpose of conducting Bingo games. Control of the Sertoma Building Corporation was split equally between the Heart of the Ozarks Sertoma Club and the Springfield Sertoma Club, with each Club having three members on the board. The Sertoma Building became an instant and wildly successful profit center, hosting Bingo games five nights a week, with games every Monday night conducted by the Springfield Sertoma Club, and games every Thursday night conducted by the Heart of the Ozarks Sertoma Club. The other three week nights the Sertoma Building was leased to other local charities for Bingo.
1995
The Springfield Sertoma Club and the Heart of the Ozarks Sertoma Club raised $200,000 annually through Bingo at the Sertoma Building for many years. The building was dedicated as the Darrel L. Love Sertoma Building after his passing in 1995. Eventually the Sertoma Build was sold in 2014 with proceeds being donated to the Springfield Boys and Girls Clubs.
February 15, 1999
Queen City Sertoma Club was chartered on February 15, 1999 by the Heart of the Ozarks Sertoma Club for the original purpose of supporting the Boys and Girls Club, primarily the Stalnaker Unit.
November 14, 2001
Wingapalooza began in 2001 with the help of Craig Read. That first year $8,000 was raised with 14 restaurants and over 900 attendees. Today there are over 30 restaurants, over 8,000 people and over $80,000 raised each year.
April 17, 2013
The Grant Program began in 2013 where 10 grants were awarded to 9 organizations. The grant awards totaled $22,625 for the first year. Since then, our local youth grants have remained around $25,000 each year for The Grant Program alone.