The PROFESSIONAL MEN'S CLUB OF CLEVELAND, an invitational organization for men, was preceded by the Cleveland Chapter of the Intl. Assn. of Torch Clubs, Inc. A preliminary meeting held at the Wade Park Manor on 3 June 1927 was attended by over 50 professional leaders of Cleveland to study the purposes of the national organization (started in 1919), and the club officially came into being at a dinner meeting held at the UNIV. CLUB several weeks later. THOS. L. SIDLO, attorney, was the first president. In 1930 the group withdrew from the Intl. Assn., formed its own independent organization, and changed its name to the Professional Men's Club of Cleveland. Dr. HARRY A. PETERS, headmaster of the UNIV. SCHOOL for boys, served as first president of the new club (1930-31). The purposes of the new organization were "to unite in good fellowship and understanding men engaged in the practice of recognized professions; to afford them a means of expressing themselves on civic, social and scientific matters; to give them a larger view of each other's professional problems and to make possible an interchange of knowledge and understanding gained from their own experience." Membership, which in 1985 was limited to 125, was based on invitation and selection by members. Meetings, held monthly from autumn to spring, usually consisted of an address by an authority in one of the professions followed by an open-forum discussion period.
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