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History of the Los Angeles Chapter
Fall/1938
Preliminary letter from H.
Lucille Johnson (Founder and President of Executives’ Secretaries,
San Francisco) sent to prospects in Los Angeles, explaining
purpose of organization and the possibility for forming a local
chapter.
April 14, 1939
Second letter from Lucille Johnson Perkins, establishing May 1 as
the date of the first organization meeting at Hotel Clark.
May 18, 1939
First dinner meeting at Hotel Clark to make arrangements for the
first business meeting and election of officers (Note: members
were requested to pay $1.00 per plate for dinner)
June 15, 1939
First Firm Program by Los Angeles Times. Mr. Paul Bell, personnel
manager, presided and presented the program
July 20, 1939
Second firm program by Union Oil Co.
Oct. 5, 1939
First “Bosses” night – costume party
May 15, 1941
Meeting held at LA Athletic Club (most meetings held at LACC May
1941 thru Jan 1948)
April 13, 1944
Firm Program LA Orthopaedic Foundation
In 1939 dues
assessments were $2.50/year. EWI pins $1.00 and members were fined
$.10 if they were late for a meeting.
The Annual
Convention in 1939 was held in San Francisco. Member firm Southern
Pacific arranged for round-trip tickets for $9.50.
Blanch Regan
Jones wrote some random memories: “In the early years, members
were required to wear hats to all meetings.”
In 1971
Executives night dinner was $17.00 – an unheard of price at the
time. One member refused to attend because of the exorbitant
price.
History of EWI
Executive Women International®
was established in California in 1938 when Lucille Johnson Perkins
recognized the importance and potential of an association of key
women working with their executives to promote their firms and
improve their community.
The organization achieved its "international" status when the first
Canadian chapter was chartered in Calgary, Alberta in August 1964.
During the 30th Annual Meeting of the corporation (May 1977), the
organization's name was changed to "Executive Women International®".
This change reflects the international expansion of the organization
and recognizes the changing roles of women in business and the
diverse careers held by its representatives.
Over 3500 companies and 4000 representatives are members of EWI®
today in 85 chapters located in major cities in the United States,
Canada, and Europe. EWI® is the premier organization for networking
and leadership development for today's professional businesswomen
and their firms.
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