About the Club

The Cleveland Club of Washington, D. C., founded in 1957, is an association of Washington men and women who share a keen interest in Cleveland and Northeast Ohio. Most of the more than three hundred members are former Clevelanders or graduates of its universities. Participants include United States Representatives, judges, prominent federal officials, journalists and others of diverse background and occupation.

The Club has hosted over one hundred gatherings, mainly luncheons featuring such honored speakers as George Szell, Anthony J. Celebrezze, Frank J. Lausche, George V. Voinovich and Harold H. Burton. The Club has welcomed the Cleveland Indians and Cleveland Browns to Washington. It has held receptions for outstanding Clevelanders in the United States Capitol, the State Department, the Kennedy Center and distinguished Washington hotels. Recent speakers have been Former Ambassador to the Slovak Republic Tod Sedgwick and members of the senior staff of Vice President Joe Biden. Since the onset of the pandemic in 2020, the Club has hosted virtual meetings with Amanda Kain, the Legislative Director of Cong. David Joyce, and with Justin Bibb in Cleveland.

In 1964, the Club inaugurated the Harold Hitz Burton Award, given to a Clevelander who has made an outstanding contribution to the nation while working in Washington. The first recipient was Harold Hitz Burton, Mayor of Cleveland, Senator from Ohio and Justice of the United States Supreme Court. In succeeding years the award has been given to such distinguished men and women as George Voinovich, Nicholas Calio, Donna Shalala, Howard Metzenbaum, Chappy Rose, James Lynn, Kay Halle, Charles Vanik, Frank Lausche, Frances Bolton, and Anthony Celebrezze.

In 1996, coincident with the Bicentennial of the City of Cleveland, the Club inaugurated the Bob Hope Award, presented to a Clevelander for distinguished national service. The first Award was given to Bob Hope, who began his career in Cleveland theaters.

The Cleveland Club continues to learn of and promote progress in Cleveland and to invite speakers who offer insights to its members on current affairs both in Cleveland and the nation's capital.