It’s been a while since we returned to one of my favorite series, “You Asked, We Answered.” In this occasional feature, I answer questions submitted by you all, our members. So, when an attendee asked how Sertoma originally chose hearing health as its national mission back in 1963 during the 2026 International Conference earlier this fall, West Pasco Sertoman Harvey Rhinehart had an answer he was happy to share with us. Thanks, Harvey!

In the mid-1950s, the now-disbanded Sertoma Club of St. Petersburg helped establish the Sertoma Speech Correction Clinic to treat disadvantaged children with cleft palate deformities. Several medical professionals in the club had previously been using their own offices and other borrowed medical facilities to meet with parents and treat pediatric patients.

The club officially added hearing to its mission work in 1964 and changed the facility’s name to the Speech and Hearing Center of Greater St. Petersburg to incorporate other community resources. The club directly managed the clinic until 1973, when it was turned over to All Children’s Hospital, with the understanding that ACH would continue to expand its services and serve local children. The result was the Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital Speech and Hearing Clinic, which today has branches in several neighboring communities.

The initial work that began in the 1950s helped inspire Sertoma International to adopt its speech and hearing mission, in part, after Dr. Fred McFall became an international director on the board and shared what was happening in Florida. Dr. McFall, a member of the St. Petersburg club, would later serve as the 1971–1972 International President.

It is important to note that St. Petersburg was not the only reason Sertoma chose and maintained hearing health as its primary health focus. The organization was also motivated by the recognition that an estimated 24 million Americans were living with hearing loss at the time. Hearing health became even more important as advances in newborn and infant hearing screening emerged during that era, thanks in part to the important work of innovators like Marion Downs, the namesake of Sertoma Affiliate Marion Downs Center in Colorado.

We love to hear the history of how club activities were shaped by Sertoma International and vice versa. If your club has some interesting history to share, please email us at jcamis@sertoma.org or bmcgrathkong@sertoma.org.