Brief History (click here for a detailed history)

Meninak, which comes from the combination of two Greek words meaning "true" and "honorable" has come to be known as meaning 'men in action.'

The Club was founded in 1919 as one of America's first Kiwanis Clubs, when 29 business and civic leaders joined together to form an organization dedicated to the overall betterment of the spiritual, cultural and social attributes of Jacksonville.

The Club thrived and in the early 1920s made service to the community's youth a prime mission. To raise funds for these efforts, the Club organized an Annual Charity Football Game in 1932. Top high school teams from other areas of the eastern U.S. and throughout Florida were invited to play a local team in this bowl game that became a local tradition for the next 56 years.

By 1951, the Club elected to reinvent itself as Meninak and thrived locally. For a time the club's success was duplicated in Atlanta, Tampa, Orlando and Miami.

Meninak remained strong locally and continued to grow, attracting outstanding local leaders for the next four decades and contributed millions of dollars and countless hours of service to our community. During the 1990s, the Club started more exciting programs to aid area youth. The Meninak Leadership Grants were established in 1997 to recognize the leadership potential of college-bound local high school students.

Today, the men and women of Meninak consider their history a legacy of service and constantly seek new expressions of commitment to Northeast Florida.