The Apopka Progressive Seniors Club recognized 52 years since its launch and decades of community service and friendships with a Founders’ Day Celebration event Tuesday at the John H. Bridges Community Center in Apopka.  

The event included prayer and scripture reading, a historical recollection of the club, prize giveaways, lunch, and a live music performance by the Apopka High School Jazz Ensemble.  

Johnnie Ruth Dowdell, a home economist and active community volunteer and leader, founded the Apopka Progressive Seniors Club in 1973 and served as its first president.  

“This is a day that holds great significance in our history and tradition,” Yvonne Williams, Founders Day chairwoman, said. “This is why we set aside time for this momentous occasion, not just to think about our past, but also to celebrate our current successes while contemplating an even more promising future as we look ahead with hope and pride. We gather to celebrate not just the history, but the legacy of love, leadership and community built by a group of determined women who believe that retirement was just a new chapter, not the end of the book.” 

Dowdell was succeeded as president by Mildred A. Board, Stroma Pollard, Sarah Pollard, Mary Dericho, Daisy Williams and Rose Morris, who is the seventh and current president.  

Eventually the club climbed to over 150 members, with those not only from across Central Florida but also Georgia and even the Caribbean. Some existing members are descendants of the club’s founding members.  

The club engages in several activities including weekly meetings, quilt making and traveling to several locations, cities and states. The quilts are then donated to churches and nursing homes.  

“The heartbeat of the Apopka Progressive Seniors Club is its vibrant calendar of activities, rich, diverse and deeply meaningful,” Williams said.  

The Apopka Progressive Seniors Club also supports local schools, charities and community events, contributing thousands of dollars over the years. The club gave gift cards to individual members of the Apopka High School Jazz Band Ensemble and donated a $250 check to the whole group.  

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Barbara Shackelford, Founders Day committee member, recognized all the club presidents, naming the contributions and the characteristics that made each woman stand out.  

“In many regards, they were warriors, warriors that believed in a brighter tomorrow,” she said. “One by one, they showed up at the right place and at the right time, always passing the baton because they believed.”