The Altrusa Club of Dallas held their organizational meeting on October 1st, 1928. The club was organized by Elizbeth Gardner from Austin.

Grace Fitzgerald was elected as the first President. She was a lawyer, representing several corporations on an annual retainer basis. She passed her state bar exam with honors at the age of 22 and was the first woman to argue a case before the Supreme Court of Texas.

It is written that Eva Pinkston, the new Club’s vice-president, was not content with just being a principal of a grade school with twenty-three nationalities. She also turned her attention to health education as well, looking after the undernourished school children of Dallas. She was later elected National President of the Elementary Principals of the National Education Association.

Leila Shuey, elected as the National Committeewoman for the club, was a member of the editorial department of News and Journal for twelve years. She achieved state-wide recognition for her job as the organization’s librarian. The Dean of the editorial staff of the Dallas News said “She is one of the most highly prized members of the editorial staff of the News and Journal and is recognized as a woman of superior education.”