Our History

The National Exchange Club had mid-west origins in downtown Detroit. A small group of men from the business and professional communities met regularly in a restaurant to eat a good lunch and enjoy the pleasure of each other’s company. They exchanged stories and ideas and advised each other on business matters. As time went on, it was organized as a local club, using the name “Exchange.” Community service became the focus of the club’s activity.

Word of the organization spread and three other clubs were soon established in Michigan and Ohio. In response to this growing interest, representatives of the four clubs met in Toledo in 1917 and formally incorporated as a national organization. Using inspiration from Psalm 133, “Behold how good and pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity…”, the motto “Unity for Service” was adopted and the basic tenets of organization and purpose were established.

The Exchange Club of Muncie recently celebrated its 100th anniversary. It has served Muncie since 1921 through its “four pillars” of Americanism, youth activities, community service, and, most recently, child abuse prevention. Weekly meetings provide fellowship and educational programs for its members.

A strong interest in civic affairs and programs of community service were (and continue to be) the Muncie club’s defining characteristics. The quality and variety of weekly meeting programs have always been a hallmark. Early speakers included U.S. senators and congressmen, Indiana governors, explorer Admiral Richard E. Byrd, and business leaders such as A.C. Roebuck, a founder of Sears Roebuck.

The Muncie YWCA’s Camp Sing-a-Long was an important part of the Club’s history. The Club learned of the YWCA’s developing camping program and in 1923, purchased land on Round Pond north of Columbia City, and gave it to the Muncie YWCA for a camp. Throughout the camp’s 70-year history, The Exchange Club of Muncie was directly involved in providing labor and generous financial support for the building and maintenance of camp facilities. In later years, the club enlisted the support of the Ball Brothers Foundation through a matching gift program.

Other philanthropies of the Muncie club through the years have included sponsorship of a Boy Scout troop at the Muncie Children’s Home, support of numerous programs in the Muncie community schools, a scholarship program for the Indiana Hearing and Speech Foundation, and support of the YMCA Safety Patrol Boys at Camp Crosley. Financial support has been provided to the United Fund, the Salvation Army Christmas Fund, the Muncie Mission, the Junior Achievement program, Muncie Boys and Girls Club, Cardinal Greenway, a Better Way, and The Cornerstone Center for the Arts, and others.  The current Flags of Honor program is a major fund-raising effort for the Club’s philanthropies.