The Port Arthur Sertoma club finds its birth in an early civic club known as The Cooperative Club. In 1950 at the National Convention of the Cooperative Club, held in Port Arthur, Texas, the name was changed to Sertoma. The Port Arthur area Cooperative Club chartered on April 2, 1947. Dewey Knowles, extension counselor, was instrumental in ...chartering the club. In 1950, the Port Arthur Cooperative Club changed its name to The Port Arthur Sertoma Club. (at this time there is one active member of both The Cooperative Club and The Port Arthur Sertoma club, Mr. Virga "Red" Lusignan who has served as president for both clubs)
Dr. Roy Young was our charter president. We chartered in Roy Smith's Avalon Club. In 1948 we moved to the Goodhue Hotel for our weekly Tuesday meetings. When the club closed in the late 60's we moved to Wyatt's Cafeteria and from there to the Atrium Club. We then moved again to the Port Arthur Club and finally to the Pompano Club, where we meet to this day every Thursday at 12:00 noon. When the Port Arthur Sertoma Club was chartered, we were assigned to District 6 of Sertoma International and we remained this way until 1956 when the International organization was restructured and we went from districts to regions. We are now in the East Texas District of the Heart of America Region. Sertoma's main sponsorship is Speech and Hearing. A major beneficiary of the Port Arthur Sertoma Club's efforts is The Capland Center for Communication Disorders in Nederland, Texas. We also provide academic scholarships for speech pathology students attending Lamar University Beaumont, hearing aids for needy children and adults, and other related services to those with hearing or speech disorders. Some of the outstanding fundraising projects our club has conducted over the years include out-board and in-board boat races, fishing rodeos, and annual air shows. We are a sponsor of the Port Arthur Cavoilcade since its inception and we sponsored the Cavoilcade Theives Market. We currently hold an annual Golf Tournament and we are one of the original charter organizing groups of Mardi Gras Southeast Texas. We participate in the Nederland Heritage Festival, The Groves Pecan Festival and have recently organized an annual Brisket Sale. Other sponsorships of the club are the Immigration and Naturalization Ceremonies of newly inducted American citizens where we hand out copies of The Declaration of Independence, The Port Arthur Summer Reading Program, The Jefferson County Foster Childrens Association, Lamar State College Port Arthur scholarships and the Fetters Center for Adult Retardation are among other yearly receipeients of finacial support from our club. The Port Arthur Sertoma club was originally comprised of only men until April of 1997 when Mrs. Hazel Turnbull became the first women to join the club. Membership in our club is presently at 63. We are a diverse group of business men and women from all walks of life. Our 15 member Board of Directors meets monthly to direct a wide variety of club activities in our community with the goal to always be in SERvice TO MAnkind.
