History of the Pachyderm Clubs

In 1969, Christopher Bond formed the second Pachyderm Club in his hometown of Mexico, Missouri. Christopher or “Kit” as he is better known, went on to serve two terms as Governor of Missouri and four terms in the United States Senate. Senator Bond has never lost his passion for the Pachyderm movement and continues to be one of our finest advocates.

The concept of the Pachyderm Club movement was developed in 1967 in Columbia, Missouri as an informal gathering of citizens with their legislator. Pachyderm Founder, George Parker had just become the first Republican elected to the Missouri legislature from Boone County since reconstruction and he had a strong desire to keep in contact with his supporters and constituents. He laid plans that each Friday he would return home to Columbia and have a luncheon with whoever chose to join him. The intention was simply to create a consistent forum for the interchange of ideas between himself and those in attendance, but it ultimately became much more. The unofficial gathering became known as the “Noon at the Boone” Group, in recognition of the Daniel Boone Hotel where they met each week. In 1968 the members decided to formalize their organization. They incorporated under the laws of Missouri and held a naming contest. The winning name was the “Grand Order of Pachyderm Clubs” a play on the initials, GOP.

Over the next few years, Pachyderm Clubs spread throughout Missouri, and in 1974 the National Federation of the Grand Order of Pachyderm Clubs was born. Expansion continued slowly into additional states as members of the Missouri clubs took up residence in other areas of the nation. After expansion had occurred into California, Colorado, Indiana, Kansas, Montana, Oregon, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia, the Republican National Committee granted National Pachyderm official auxiliary status in 1992.