The Birth of Key Club in Florida

In 1932, the first Key Club in Florida was chartered at Palm Beach High School in West Palm Beach.  As word spread through the Kiwanis and educational communities of the effectiveness of Key Club to provide vocational guidance to young men, more and more Kiwanis Clubs sponsored Key Clubs in local high schools.  Within fifteen years of the founding of the first Key Club in Sacramento, California, in May, 1925, fifty clubs were active in California, Florida, Kentucky, Louisiana, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Washington.

In 1939, Key Clubs in Florida, with the encouragement of such legendary advisors as G. Harold Martin, developed a state organization. This state organization would promote the exchange of ideas and assist in starting more Key Clubs. When the International Constitution and Bylaws were adopted in 1946, the Florida Association became the first Key Club District.

Florida was instrumental in promoting the formation of an International Association of Key Clubs.  In 1943, the Florida Association invited Key Club members from Alabama, Louisiana, South Carolina, and Tennessee to the annual convention of the State Association held in Sanford.  There the representatives voted to form an International Association Key Clubs and elected Malcolm Lewis of West Palm Beach, Florida, as the first president.  Three years later on April 27, 1946, the third international convention approved the Constitution and Bylaws of Key Club International.  In 1984 the first Cayman Islands club was chartered at John Gray High School, making the Florida District a multi-country district.

The Florida District has continued to be a vital force in Key Club International.  With strong officers, cherished traditions, and a willingness to adapt to each new decade, the Florida District has been in the vanguard of Key Club in the world.

Malcolm Lewis Outstanding Key Club Award

Malcolm Lewis Outstanding Key Club Award

Video of the Florida District’s first Malcolm K. Lewis Key Club of the Year Award presentation made at the 2011 Florida District Convention.  This video features a clip from the August 2010 interview of Key Club International’s first president from West Palm Beach who was elected in 1943.  Mr. Lewis and Key Club International President XinLei Wang present the award to the Key Club of Tampa Bay Technical High School.