From the Sertoma International Web page.

“On April 5, 1912, 26 area business men attended the first organized meeting of the Stand Together Club, as referred in to the minutes. The first official luncheon, with the club now referred to as the Co-Operative Club was held on April 11, 1912 at the Coates Hotel in Kansas City, Missouri – the date and location now recognized as our founding. The founders of the first Co-Operative Club were George W. Smith, M.D., Charles E. Allen, M.D. and William R. Rowe. They are recognized as the Founding Fathers of The Co-Operator Club of Kansas City, Missouri, and Sertoma.”