A Message from the President

On behalf of the Southern Federation of Syrian Lebanese American Clubs, welcome to our website. The Southern Federation is a heritage organization that was formed in 1931 to promote pure Americanism, to maintain traditional fellowship, heritage, and culture, and to encourage educational, civic, and charitable projects. Most of our forefathers emigrated from the Levant prior to either Lebanon or Syria becoming nations independent of the Ottoman Empire.

As Lebanon is mentioned more than 70 times in the Bible and Syria has an ancient name and identity much older than the nation, most of our members identify their heritage as Lebanese or Syrian. Although nearly all Syrian and Lebanese immigrants at the time of our founding were, and the vast majority of Americans of Lebanese and Syrian heritage remain, Catholic or Orthodox, and devotion to God, along with love of family, are tenets of our culture, our clubs are social clubs that celebrate our heritage and its contributions to the United States without religious affiliation or political stance, and are open to all regardless of creed or politics.

Please explore our website. You will see that the highlight of our Federation is its Conventions and Conferences. These gatherings not only draw members of our clubs within the twenty states of our Federation, but also from outside the Federation, that gather to network, share values, eat local and traditional foods, and dance to cultural music, as well as conduct Federation business. Whether you share our culture, are married into it, or are just a fan, we welcome you all.

Warmest Regards,

Dr. Salah Diab, PhD, P.E.

San Antonio, Texas

President, Southern Federation of Syrian Lebanese American Clubs