Alliance of Pan American Round Tables

Alliance of Pan American Round Tables (also known as the Alizanza de Mesas Redondas Panamericanas, 1916-) is a women's organization founded on October 16, 1916 in

On October 16, 1916, Griswold the inaugural meeting at the Menger Hotel, the charter members, besides Griswold were Mary Burleson Bee (Mrs. Carlos); Ella Dancy Dibrell (Mrs. Joseph Burton Dibrell); Anna Hertzberg (Mrs. Eli Hertzberg); Olivia Nolte (Mrs. Walter Nolte); Mary Pancoast (Mrs. Aaron C. "A. C." Pancoast); among others.^[5][6]

PART had many sources of inspiration. For one, there was Pan Americanism, the economic and cultural cooperation of the nations of the Americas. It was modeled after the Pan American Union where each of the 21 American countries is represented by at least one member, and members elect a General Director every few years.^[7] There was also King Arthur’s roundtable, a table in which there is no head, representing the equality of all members.^[8] And the motto “One for all and all for one” is sourced from The Three Musketeers representing mutual dedication and support from the individual to the social scale.^[8]

Expansion

Griswold served as the first director and in 1921, the second chapter opened in

They hosted, and were hosted by many officials.[12] In 1921, they were invited to the Conference of Federate Chambers which was being held in Mexico. Snr. María Tapia organized an escort for the party of women.^[11] This marks the first time in Mexican history that a woman was invited to participate in such a high-class meeting. It also goes to show how they tried to use positive relationships between women to encourage friendly relations between nations. In 1925, PART invited Aaron Saez, who was the Mexican Secretary of Foreign Relations to San Antonio.^[11] The San Antonio mayor raised the Mexican flag over the town hall in honor of Saez’ visit. It was the first time such a courtesy was extended to a Mexican official.

Educational Efforts

One of their early major projects was the sponsorship of a Mexican Art Exhibition at the Witte Museum.^[13] It was financed by the Carnegie Corporation and was attended by thousands. This was one of their many efforts to increase awareness of Latin American cultures. They would also hold internal projects to this end. At the San Benito Round Table, they would have regular meetings to educate members about a different Pan American country each month.^[11] Other programs include essay competitions where contestants would have to write an essay about a Pan American country for a chance to win a cash prize.^[12]

One of their most well established efforts have been scholarships. They have awarded over a million dollars to students.^[14] In 1941, the Dallas roundtable started a memorial scholarship that was used to sponsor nurses trainings. It was created with the hopes that recipients would return to their home countries, and use their education to better the lives of those living in Latin America.^[11]

Modern organization

The present day organization has around 1,400 chapters with each operating as an autonomous entity with their own governing documents. The Alliance still prides itself on its scholarship funding. They put a lot of time and effort into raising money to give to students through internal fundraising.^[15] One of the most notable is the Griswold Memorial Scholarship, started in 1959. It is awarded to a woman from a Pan American country studying at a Texas University. The first went to a woman named Sylvia Mirea Valencia Gutierrez from Santiago, Chile who was Educational & Vocational Guidance at University of Texas at Austin.^[16] In 1991, the Florence Terry Griswold Endowment Fund was created to maintain its scholarship program in perpetuity.^[17] Individual tables also award their own scholarships.

Members also try to educate each other on Pan American life. Sometimes that's through presenting the clothing, custom, and food of a country.^[18] Some tables have distributed newsletters to keep members up to date with current events. They have also continued to hold their conventions. They are an opportunity for members to travel together and experience Latin American cultures first hand. The 100th Anniversary of the organization was held with their biennial convention in San Antonio, Texas from October 26 to 29, 2016.^[19]

The Alliance's "Director Generals"

Alliance of Pan American Round Tables Director Generals

Years of Service	Image	Name	Countries	Notes/ Details
1944–1947[20]		Katherine S. Robinson	United States	elected in Mexico City[21]
1947–1951		Mrs. Maurice V. Hugo (Mary Lois)[22]	Mexico	elected at the Havana, Cuba Convention of 1947[20]
1951–1953		Olimpia Varela y Varela	Panama	elected at the Dallas, Texas Convention of 1951[21]
1953–1955		Dixie E. Waltrip	United States	elected at the Monterrey, Mexico Convention[21]
1955–1958		Ola C. Hendrix	United States	elected at the Porto Alegre, Brazil Convention[21]
1958–1962		Ottilia de Oliveira Cháves	Brazil	elected at the El Paso, Texas Convention of 1958 and reelected at the 1960 Guatemala Convention[21]
1962–1966		Emma Gutiérrez Suárez	Mexico	elected at the Mexico City Convention of 1962 and reelected at the 1964 Lima, Peru Convention[23][21]
1966–1968		Madeline Clark Nelson	United States	elected at the San Antonio, Texas Convention of 1966[21]
1968–1972		Carmen de Recalde	Nicaragua	elected at the Managua, Nicaragua Convention of 1968 and reelected at the 1970 Mexico City Convention[21]
1972–1976		Carmen Luz Calero de Barrionuevo	Peru	elected at the Panama City, Panama Convention of 1972 and reelected at the 1974 Albuquerque, New Mexico Convention[21]
1976–1978		Maxine C. Guerra	United States	elected at the Lima, Peru Convention of 1976[21]
1978–1982		Ruth García Barna de del Puerto	Mexico	elected at the Fort Worth, Texas Convention of 1978 and reelected at the 1980 Acapulco Convention[21]
1982–1984		Esperanza Bermudes de Morales	Nicaragua	elected at the El Paso, Texas Convention of 1982[21]
1984–1986		Sara R. de García Jaramillo	Peru	elected at the McAllen, Texas Convention of 1984[21]
1986–1988		Helena Torres Muga Richards	United States	elected at the Cancun Convention of 1986[21]
1988–1990		Rebeca Osuna Westrup	Mexico	elected at the Guadalajara Convention of 1988[21]
1990–1992		Mila de Coquis	Peru	elected at the Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia Convention of 1990[21]
1992–1994		Gladys N. Simpson	United States	elected at the Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic Convention of 1992[21]
1994–1996		Delia Pérez de Plata	Mexico	elected at the Miami, Florida Convention of 1994[21]
1996–1998		Ursula Wille	Bolivia	elected at the Puebla, Mexico Convention of 1996[21]
1998–2000		Carmen Robinson Guerra	United States	elected at the Lima, Peru Convention of 1998[21]
2000–2002		Luchy de Elias	Dominican Republic	elected at the Puerto Rico Convention of 2000[21]
2002–2004		Fabiola García de Steffanoni	Mexico	elected at the Monterrey, Mexico Convention of 2002[21]
2004–2006		Norma Ríos de Flores	Peru	elected at the Cordoba, Argentina Convention of 2004[21]
2006–2008		Peggy Lasater Clark	United States	elected at the Corpus Christi, Texas Convention of 2006[21]
2008–2010		Martha Ofelia Martínez de Calderón	Mexico	elected at the San Jose, Costa Rica Convention of 2008[21]
2010–2012		Ana Maria Acuña de Macedo	Argentina	elected at the Mérida, Mexico Convention of 2010[21]
2012–2014		Elsie Perez	United States	elected at the Buenos Aires, Argentina Convention of 2012[21]
2014–2016		Maria Eva Muñoz de Manzarraga	Mexico	elected at the Lima, Peru Convention of 2014[21]
2016–		Nhury Gutiérrez Vilches	Chile	elected at the San Antonio, Texas Convention of 2016[24]

Archival records

The archival records of the organization were housed in Mexico City until the 1970s. In 1977, the member of the Mexico City PART chapter who was housing them at her home, brought a discussion for a permanent archive. Because the Bylaws of the Alliance required that Mexico City was required to maintain the archive, formal amendment of the governing documents had to occur. In 1978, the proposal to found a permanent archive was suggested at the convention held in Fort Worth, Texas and approved. In 1979, the records were transferred to the University of Texas at Austin library.^[21]

References

Citations