In its early history, the International Executives Association became known for taking a stand against bigotry and racism.
Our motto: People Do Business With People They Know. Building trusted relationships. This philosophy goes back to our founding fathers, three men who would meet for lunch in a San Francisco park in 1916 and who came up with an idea of banding together to assist one another in their business ventures. They conceived of forming a group that met at a restaurant for lunch once a week to exchange valuable ideas. At its inception, the organization was founded in San Francisco and called The 100% Club.
Between 1916 and 1922, 100% Clubs were formed in Seattle, Vancouver, Long Beach, San Diego, Victoria, Oakland, San Jose, Portland, Tacoma, Spokane, and Pasadena. As more associations came into existence, interest arose in creating an international association of member clubs. The first International Convention took place in San Francisco in 1920, then Seattle in 1921, then Los Angeles in 1922.
At the Winnipeg International Convention in 1925, the Denver Club pleaded with the other delegates for a name change. The reason was to dispel any confusion that their organization was associated with the Ku Klux Klan, a racist and radically dangerous group. The tagline of the Klan was “One Hundred Percent Americanism.” This led to the assumption, by a portion of the Denver public, that the Denver 100% Club was, in truth, a facade for the Ku Klux Klan. The Denver delegates said: “They have worn out our carpet trying to pay their dues in the Ku Klux Klan. At night, envelopes containing money are shoved under our door.” It was not difficult to convince all parties at the convention that a new name should be adopted. Eventually, by referendum, our organization became known as the International Executives Association.
For more than 100 years, the Executives Association of San Francisco (EASF) has been an active group of businesspeople, surviving two world wars, business set-backs, and depressions. Although we are a non-political association, we embrace cultural diversity and inclusion as essential to who we are. We do not tolerate any form of discrimination, bigotry, or racism. We only accept members who exhibit the highest level of integrity and business ethics within the community. EASF believes in the highest ideals of equality, justice, and freedom for all.
If you are a business owner in the San Francisco Bay Area and would like to know more about our organization, contact our Executive Director, Charee Lord: 415.890.3460 (executivedirector@sfexecs.com)
