History
Sembradores de Amistad was founded in 1936, during the government of Gen. Lazaro Cardenas. The Rotary Club of Monterrey sought to have the American Ambassador, Mr. Morrow, reprimanded for his open support for the Cardenas regime and his interference in Mexican affairs. The club asked Rotary headquarters in the United States for their help. When the Rotary refused to help, the Monterrey chapter, together with other chapters throughout the Republic, voted to dissolve themselves. Shortly afterward, several of the former Rotarians began to consider the formation of a new organization.
On July 9th, 1936, Club Sembradores de Amistad "Sowers of Friendship" was formally inaugurated. Among the people instrumental in the founding were Dr. Augustin Basave Fernandez del Valle, Lic. Virgilio Garza, Luis Sada, and Ing. Bernardo Elosua.
From the beginning, Sembradores has sought to foster the ideals of individual rights, service to society, and love of country. Most importantly, Sembradores, as its name suggests, has encouraged the development of friendship between individuals, peoples, and nations, a tradition which continues today in 50 chapters throughout the United States and Mexico.
In September of 1974 a group of community leaders started the arduous task of forming the Corpus Christi Chapter of the Sembradores de Amistad. On September 10, 1975 the club was recognized as part of the International Association of Clubs Sembradores de Amistad (IACSA). The founding members consisted of thirteen couples, namely; Tony & Olga Bonilla, Dr. Roberto & Ninfa Bosquez, Alonzo & Margot Byington, Joe & Lala De Leon, Robert & Alicia Galvan, Clemente & Grace Garcia, Reynaldo & Mary Garcia, Rufino & Alicia Garcia, Dr. Xico & Yolanda Garcia, Richard & Rosie Garza, Dr. Antonio & Alicia Perez, Alvaro & Grace Saenz, and Arturo & Mary Vasquez. Education was deemed a top funding priority and scholarship endowments were set up with Del Mar College and Texas A&M University Corpus Christi in 1988 and 1997 respectively.
The Club went on to hold several fashion shows and galas as fundraisers and in 2021, the TAMUCC $100,000 endowment was fulfilled. The Del Mar College endowment is at $82,000. In 2024 an additional endowment was established at the Corpus Christi Campus of the University of Incarnate Word. Several scholarships have also been awarded to the Corpus Christi Police Academy as well as the Corpus Christi Fire Department.
In 2011 the First Annual Holiday Gala was held on the second Saturday of November and has become a thriving fundraising event, marking the start of the Holiday Season. The stylish black-tie event is held at an elegant venue with a delicious dinner, silent auction and dancing music. The Club has also held golf tournaments in the spring to raise money for scholarships.