Everly Commercial Club looks to disband

A lack of members and community interest has a local club staring down its final days.

The Everly Commercial Club will hold a meeting on March 9 to vote on disbanding. President Chris Dodd broached the topic with members last month, and most signaled a desire to dissolve the group.

Dodd estimated only 20 people are currently members of the Commercial Club, which has existed in Everly since 1914.

"It was predominantly business-oriented and focused on promoting our businesses here," he explained. "As more and more businesses closed, more community members started coming on board, and that's how we got to what we are today."

Dissolution was briefly discussed last year but never gained momentum. Dodd reintroduced the topic last month in a series of emails to members, noting the club still pays insurance costs as well as other concerns about future oversight of the bank account.

The Commercial Club isn't a true 501c3 non-profit organization, so members won't have to follow strict legal protocol when dissolving the group. Dodd said the club's remaining assets would be tabulated and donated to other local betterment groups.

"I think the consensus so far is to turn over that money to other non-profits within Everly. We'll figure out how to divvy that up somehow," he said.

According to information in Everly's centennial book, the Commercial Club got its start in January of 1914. Back then it was called the Booster Club, but changed its name two months later.

The group held its first community picnic in August of 1921. After more than a decade of limited activity, a meeting was called in 1938 with 22 businessmen present. The Commercial Club has remained active on the local scene since.

The group was best known for its free community meal in the summer, but it also helped with a variety of other events in town like Everly Community Days, holiday activities and free giveaways. Additionally, the group helped local 4-H children in the past by purchasing livestock at the Clay County Fair each fall, according to the centennial book excerpt.

The meeting to discuss and vote on dissolution is set for Tuesday, March 9 at 6 p.m., at The Ranch.

"It's been around a long, long time," Dodd said of the Everly Commercial Club. "With declining members and the pandemic, it just isn't the same."