History

The Tippers History

The History of Tippers

The Tippers Club was founded in August of 1980 by entrepreneur and community leader Ernie Davis, owner of PIPS Personnel Services. Co-founders were Mike Elmore, Stan Morgan and Valerie Kelly.


The first meeting was held at the Holiday Inn Coffee Shop on Lakewood Blvd. The club grew to approximately 15 members in the first year. Over the years, the club has moved the meetings to various locations (Denny’s, Skylinks Golf Course, Mr. Robert’s, Kimber’s, Acapulco, and settled in at The Grand in 1998 where we still meet. The club reached a high of 100 members in the early '90's and currently boasts 80+.


Sometime in the early years of the club, Tippers recognized a need for a choir. After an exhaustive search, long time member John Morrison was appointed as Tippers Choir Director. The choir provides monthly performances, often stunning guests.
During the mid-80’s, Tippers competed in the “Mr. Special Olympics Comedy Pageant”.  In 1984, Kent Harris won “Mr. SOB”; in 1985, Mike Elmore should have won but narrowly lost when politics took over; and in 1986, Rocky Suares --- well, he put in a good effort.

The Tippers Club competed in the Sand Sculpture Contest sponsored by the Long Beach Area Chamber of Commerce, taking 3rd place in 1982, 1st place in 1983 and 2nd place in 1989.

Through the years Tippers, an independent organization, has been and still is Long Beach's most vibrant, and fun, networking club.  Check out the "Photo Albums" page for a glimpse of Tippers, past and present.  There is only one Tippers!

On June 9, 2007, the club was saddened by the passing of its founder, Ernie Davis.  Even though he had left the club and moved out of the area, he continued to drop in on meetings, show up for picnics to win all the prizes and dazzled Tippers at the holiday parties in his tuxedo and top hat.  Thus, he continued to be an enthusiastic father figure to the club.  Based on Ernie's early guidance and lasting example, the Club continues to thrive, having celebrated its 35th Anniversary in August of 2015.

The club now presents an “Ernie” award at the annual holiday party to the Tipper who most embodies the spirit of Tippers as Ernie envisioned it…and as it has continued to grow. And since no ordinary trophy would do, Ernie’s infamous top hat became the award and is presented to that year's honoree to wear for the evening and at the following year's Holiday Party.

Ernie’s wife, Phyllis Davis, is a Lifetime Member and continues to be a valued part of our club.

"Gimme me a T!!"
Ernie Award Honorees
Tippers' Past Presidents

1980-81  Ernie Davis ***
1982  Mike Elmore
1983  Jeff Baraud
1984  Andy Romero
1985  Patty Coleman
1986  Eric Knaus
1987  Les Johnson
1988  Rocky Suares
1989  Bob Freelander
1990  Ted Lyman
1991  Patty Dill
1992  Ernie Davis ***
1993  John Morrison *
1994  Stu Hubbard
1995  Bruce Wallerstein, Ph.D.
1996  John Zahn
1997  Deana O’Connell **
1998  Richard E. Fagan, CPA *

1999  William Wade *
2000  Roger Kroll

2001  Bill Miller
2002  Tim Lashlee
2003  Bill Cheney
2004  Albert Parks *
2005  Hilda Sanchez
2006  Kathryn Wade
2007  Kay Cofield
2008  Jim Bockholt
2009  Tom Seche
2010  Claire Miller
2011  Karen Widerynski
2012  David Reed *
2013  Alyson Emery-Zahn
2014  Nate Trimmer
2015  Ken Brown
2016  Richard Gibson *
2017  Overton Wilkins

2018 Sue Denno

2019 Bianca Sovich *

2020 Peter Sovich *

2021  Rich Gibson*

2022 Donna Gurr*

2023 Jack Stidham*

***  Founder and Member Emertius
**   Lifetime Memeber
*    Active Member
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