The Business Club of London (BCoL) was founded in 1954, when a handful of businessmen got together over lunch. Their meetings at the Campbells Restaurant and Bar, located on the north side of Dundas Street between Talbot Street and Ridout Street, soon became a regular weekly event. Over the years, the size of the group continued to grow and a formal club charter was drawn up in 1965. Some of the founding members present, when the original charter was adopted included:
The Business Club of London has moved their meeting place from Campbells, to various locations before settling in at the Masonic Mocha Temple in London. As of February 2022, the Club meets at The Factory, 100 Kellogg Lane, London, every Thursday, for lunch.
From Past to Present
The Business Club of London has grown and evolved over time. Once considered a “men’s club”, The Business Club of London now welcomes all business-minded professionals, both male and female. The first female member to join was Dell Wright, Kings Hotel, in the late 70’s and Barbara Hunter, Disc Jockey Services, became the first female President in 1987.
As the Business Club of London grew, so did the need for a club Secretary. In the1980’s Orton Logan took on the responsibility of Secretary. Notes and files, reports and minutes were assembled and often mailed to the membership. The longest serving Secretary to date is Rick Bothwell. He joined the BCoL in 1982 as a Graphic Designer and served as the Club's President in 1993 and 2002. In 2004, Rick surrendered his category and took on the position of Secretary. Rick kept notes, minutes, reports, etc. and started the transition from paper to less paper, by using email communication. In 2021, Rick retired from the Business Club of London.
The year 2022 will prove to be a new era for the BCoL. We have moved past the days of paper and are focusing on leaving a greener footprint. Paper rosters, paper lead sheets and reports are all going electronic. E-transfers are available to pay invoices and dues are being well received by the members. Our Secretary, Susan Elliott, along with the 2022 Board of Directors, has worked to bring our website and day to day business transactions and reports into the modern world of technology.
Still Going Strong Today!
After all these years and what started out as just a few friends getting together for lunch, we still maintain the same philosophy of “You help me and I’ll help you”!
List of Past Presidents
1954 Ray Corell
1955 Ray Corell
1956 Pat O'Brien
1957 Jim Potts
1958 Irwin Atlin
1959 Hugh McCallum
1960 Gord Warden
1961 Harold Mills
1962 Art Rushmer
1963 Jim Doyle
1964 Larry Wilson
1965 Doug Smith
1966 Richard May
1967 Ray Corell
1968 Murry Leff
1969 Ross Edwards
1970 Steve Borg
1971 Alan Johnston
1972 David Howell-Harries
1973 Ralph Cummins
1974 Dave Seaton
1975 R.G. Watson
1976 E.A. McNevin
1977 Donald K. Lovell
1978 Spencer H. Clark
1979 Ralph Middleton
1980 Donald Noble
1981 Tom Freel
1982 Lorne Salter
1983 Richard Awad
1984 Chris Clever
1985 Keith Greasey
1986 James A, McCabe
1987 Barbara Hunter
1988 Al Graystone
1989 Don Rawlings
1990 Angie Wilson
1991 Robert Lauckner
1992 Brian Hollis
1993 Rick Bothwell
1994 David Schulthies
1995 Bill Legg
1996 David Rowe
1997 Terry McDonald
1998 Angus McLarty
1999 Wilf Myers
2000 Pete Bowley
2001 Pete Bowley
2002 Rick Bothwell
2003 Jim Wilson
2004 George Payne
2005 Dr. Ben Bebee
2006 Karen Lamanski
2007 Yvonne Fairweather
2008 Brad Chambers
2009 Terry Meyer
2010 Kevin Cavender
2011 Alice Ho
2012 Barry Dodd
2013 Dave Schulthies
2014 Gord Banting
2015 Toni Doody
2016 Kyle Hollis
2017 Chris Guimond
2018 Artem Serikov
2019 Geraldine Peters
2020 Sarah Watkins
2021 Rachael Storey
2022 Peter DeGelder
2023 Kevin Cavender
2024 Jeff Wong
