History of the MWRC

In April 1985 an idea was born. International Headquarters had loosely formed the North Central Conference which consisted of the states of MN, ND, SD, NE and IA .

At the time the only chapters in existence were MN I, IA I, IA III, & SD I. Members began to think of actually functioning as a conference and all existing chapters were invited to explore possibilities and met at the "unofficial" conference meeting in Chamberlain, SD over the Labor Day weekend. The states of Kansas and Missouri were added. The title was then changed to more reflect the area and the name Mid-West Regional conference was conceived.

The first official organizational meeting was held on November 10, 1985. It was in South Sioux City, NE and 18 Blue Knights and some spouses from 5 chapters came together. The request went forward to International to recognize the conference as official and be known as the Mid-West Regional Conference.

Gary Clark IA III, Joe Bohanan MO II, and Gary Johnson MN I were elected Chairman, Vice Chairman and Secretary Treasurer respectively. Bob Bain was elected to the post of International Rep.

IA III volunteered to host the "first" Mid-West Regional conference in April 1986. Conference registration was $36.50. This included 5 meals, free drinks and skill competition, live band and conference pin.

A little set back was dealt by the International Board in January 1986 when they decreed they would only be 8 sanctioned conferences at this time. They anticipated needing 12 to 15 chapters to start a new conference. Meanwhile chapters formed in NE and ND, which brought the total to 8 possible chapters. It was decided if the International did not recognize the Mid-West as an official conference, the group would continue to meet and socialize. Clarification was sought from headquarters as to just exactly how many chapters they wanted to form a conference.

Permission was granted to continue as a non-sanctioned conference and work on recruitment. The International Board expanded the area to include Manitoba, Canada, however there were no current chapters there. There were still only 8 chapters, and they needed 4 more. MN II and MN III were formed and now the magic number needed was 2.

Oklahoma had two chapters and they were both in different conferences, OK I was assigned to the Southern Regional Conference and OK II was assigned to the Southwestern Regional Conference. With the addition of Oklahoma to the conference the required number of 12 was reached and the Mid-West Regional Conference was born!

And as they say -- The Rest is History!!!!!!!!!!!