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Tradition KeepersChamber celebrates its ninetieth year of service
By Eric Doyle
For nearly a century, the Baylor University Chamber of Commerce has
supported, guided, and, at times, coaxed along the traditions of Baylor
University. With each generation, a fresh corps of dedicated men and
women has been willing to give of themselves so that Baylor students
can participate in the living legacy of their predecessors. Each year,
a new class of chambermen prepares to take the torch from their
forerunners and live the words that have echoed through the years:
"Anything for Baylor."
Most Baylor folks know that Chamber cares for the bear mascots, but few stop to consider what else the organization
has taken responsibility for through the years--slime caps, the old
card section at football games, the sale of football programs, Parents
Weekend and Premiere, Homecoming, pep rallies, Diadeloso. And the list
goes on and on.
In February of 1919, a group of Baylor students interested in business
careers founded an organization they called The Baylor Business Men's
Club, the purpose of which was to promote Baylor student activities and
athletics. Under the leadership of its first president, Henry Craig of
Olney, the group quickly became more than just a club. Its first
project was to help organize Waco's contribution to the national
post-World War I Victory Loan Drive. Quickly recognizing their
organization's similarity to a city's chamber of commerce, the club
changed its name to the Baylor University Chamber of Commerce the
following year.
Within a few years, Chamber had firmly established itself on campus and
began to take on more administrative responsibilities. In 1923, Chamber
was instrumental in the formation of the Baylor School of Business. The
following year, the club instituted intramural sports on campus to
increase student morale and help spot talent for Baylor athletics. The
organization put on the first annual football banquet, inviting
players, coaches, and special guests to attend. According to documents
in Baylor's Texas Collection, chambermen sponsored the first "Good Will
Week" prior to the Homecoming game of 1927.
From the late 1920s through the 1930s, Chamber performed an eclectic
variety of tasks. They provided outfits for Baylor Yell Leaders and the
famous uniforms that earned the Golden Wave Band its name. They founded
a Student's Employment Bureau and instituted an annual all-men's show
benefiting Baylor athletics. (Members of the 1938 show are pictured
above.) They began the annual publication of the Freshman Guide
and took over the planning of the Homecoming parade. They sold spirit
ribbons, organized pep rallies, and formed a national collegiate
chamber of commerce, with its headquarters located in Waco.
In 1940, Chamber sponsored the campaign for a new Baylor fight song
composed by Fred Waring, a popular bandleader and radio host, which was
broadcast on his national show. It seemed that Chamber was unstoppable.
But the advent of World War II nearly destroyed the organization,
leaving it with only a single returning member in 1944; all the other
chambermen had gone home or off to war.
Chamber, of course, survived and adapted to changing times. They gave
some of their duties to other organizations in order to focus on
specific traditions. But the biggest change happened in 1993, when
members voted to become "gender neutral," reporting in their fall 1994
newsletter that the change was made "to continue this service to Baylor
which the club was founded upon." Mike Harper '95, the group's
president at the time, told the Lariat
". . . in the future, the Chamber will be faced with a female rushee,
and I strongly believe that the Chamber will review her application as
equal to any other applications and maintain the Chamber's high
standards of excellence."
That rushee was Roxanne Wilson '00, who in 1997 became Chamber's first
female member. She would eventually serve as their first female
president. A look at the group's current officer list shows that nearly
half of those on the roster are women.
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