Civitan History and Founders

Civitans in the United States

In 1917, a group of business and professional leaders were meeting in Birmingham, Alabama, as a part of a national civic club. They were dissatisfied, feeling that the club focused too much on personal gain. They were concerned about their community, but also about world events. They were dreamers, too, wanting to make a difference. They believed that their actions could help build a better world.

Giving up the charter they had purchased, they set out to make a more suitable club. On March 17, 1917, these men formed an independent service organization. Eventually they settled on the name Civitan, coined from the Latin word civitas, meaning citizenship. "Builders of Good Citizenship" was a natural motto for the civic-minded group.

World War I began just over a month after the club formed. Civitan continued on a purely local basis during the frantic war years. Many of the club’s early efforts were in support of soldiers. Returning veterans were warmly welcomed back into the club, and the club's service activities broadened.

The dream of an international organization began with Dr. Courtney Shropshire, a local surgeon and the club’s third president. He shared his dream with a few close friends in the Birmingham Club, and the proposal was given unanimous approval by a small but enthusiastic group present at the Shropshire home. In that group were Jelks Cabaniss, Arthur Crowder, Reid Lawson, Percy W. Brower, H. E. Shropshire (Courtney's father), C. E. Woodrow, Kenneth C. Charlton, and John V. Mix.

The process to incorporate was begun. When the group met at the Southern Club on April 15, 1920, Civitan International was born. Officers elected included Dr. Courtney Shropshire, president; Rev. J. A. MacSporran, vice president; John Fry, treasurer; and John Mix, secretary. Charter Number One went to the Birmingham Civitan Club, later designated as "The Mother Club of Civitan International."

In the following months clubs chartered across the country. By June of 1921, when the first international convention was held in Birmingham, there were 30 clubs and more than 300 delegates in attendance. At the second convention in Chattanooga, Tennessee, delegates from 115 clubs attended. There were more than 3,300 Civitans throughout the United States. Delegates to the 1925 convention bestowed the title "Founder of Civitan International" on Shropshire, the only person to ever serve two terms as president. By then Civitan had 180 clubs.

From the very beginning, Civitan encouraged its clubs to seek out and meet needs within their communities. Some truly outstanding projects were undertaken by these early Civitans. Knoxville, Tenessee, Civitans raised $100,000 to build a three story hospital for indigent tuberculosis patients in 1923. When the local school committee was deadlocked, Rogersville, Alabama, Civitans secured $40,000 in funding to build to build a new high school in 1929. Other Civitans paid for operations so that crippled children could walk, built parks, served as big brothers to troubled boys, and registered voters. Their dreams were big, their sights high, and their accomplishments great.

Aid to those less fortunate was a significant factor in early projects. Concern for retarded children was a natural extension of the early efforts to assist crippled children. By the 1950s, Civitan work in this area had made giant strides. A significant milestone was reached with the decision to adopt the developmentally disabled as a major service focus.

One of Civitan’s signature fundraisers began in 1951. Civitan Earl Carver stopped by a small bakery in Claxton, Georgia. He purchased a loaf of the bakery's fruit cake. It was so good that he purchased others to take home to Florida. He suggested that his club sell the cake to raise money for projects. His club liked the idea—and the sample cakes! Since then, Civitan and Claxton Fruit Cake have become synonymous during the holiday season in the United States and Canada.

In 1960, the Civitan International Foundation was established. Courtney Shropshire’s death in 1965 provided the impetus for the foundation to become truly active. That year a scholarship fund for needy college students was established in his memory. Funds were collected through programs which honored outstanding members.

An informal ladies’ auxiliary had been a part of Civitan since the late 1920s, but women had never been true members of Civitan. In 1974 at the Boston Convention, membership was formally opened to women. Soon Civitans were building all-female clubs, and most established clubs began accepting both men and women.

Civitan’s other well-known fundraiser began in 1976. Louisville, Kentucky, Civitans approached the executive board about a project to place candy boxes in restaurants. Patrons would deposit loose change in return for a mint. Since then, the candy box project has raised over $50 million for Civitan.

Civitan’s flagship project is the UAB Civitan International Research Center. Dedicated in 1992 during the Birmingham international convention, the Research Center is located at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. It is the first institution of its kind in the United States to focus solely on researching developmental disabilities. Civitans are once again reaching out to those in need in new ways—this time not only by providing treatment but also by searching for ways to prevent mental and developmental disabilities.


International Club Growth

Dr. Shropshire always envisioned Civitan as a truly international organization. Unfortunately, early attempts at international growth were not successful. Civitan's first club outside of the United States was chartered in Geneva, Switzerland, in 1922. In May 1925, the Hamilton Civitan Club was chartered in Ontario, Canada. Both of these clubs failed to survive the worldwide Depression of the 1930s.

The first successful international club was chartered in Toronto, Canada in 1932. K. Y. Benson, a former president of the Birmingham Civitan Club, moved to Toronto because of his business. With the help of Major Frank M. Brown, one of Toronto's foremost citizens, a select group heard International Secretary Arthur Cundy tell the Civitan story. The group went to work recruiting more prominent citizens. On January 25, 1932, Cundy again traveled to Canada and presented the Toronto club with charter 264.

Civitan was now in two nations—Canada and the United States. Due to the high cost of maintaining clubs in foreign countries and poor economic conditions worldwide, Civitan would concentrate on Canada and the United States for growth during the next decades. It would take Civitan 37 more years to venture outside North America.

The first Civitan club in Europe chartered in Norway in 1969. Civitans attending the ceremonies in Oslo included International President Eddie Lunn and Executive Administrator Rudolph T. Hubbard. The Mother Club of Civitan International in Birmingham, Alabama, sponsored the Oslo Club. The new Norwegian clubs spread the Civitan message to other countries. In 1970, clubs chartered in Germany and Sweden.

Civitan’s growth in Asia began in 1974 when Civitan Howell Jordan, a career Army officer, was transferred from Georgia to Seoul, South Korea. Before leaving for his new post, the Georgia North District Governor-elect asked Jordan to establish a new Civitan club in Korea. Jordan sought outstanding Korean business and professional people and quickly connected with Dr. Young Seek Choue, an internationally known educator, author and president of Kyung Hee University. The Seoul Civitan Club chartered in August 1974.

Yoshio Nishimoto, an executive with the Coca-Cola Company, was transferred from Atlanta, Georgia, back to his native Japan. While in Atlanta, Nishimoto was a member of the Sandy Springs Civitan Club. In Japan he went to work building a club, and the Nippon Civitan Club chartered in June 1975.


Civitan growth has continued around the world. Clubs are now found in 25 countries, including Bangladesh, Jordan, India, Russia, Nepal, Ghana, and Pakistan. Courtney Shropshire’s vision of an international organization that would create “builders of good citizenship” around the globe has finally become a reality.