Jaycee Experience
"Back in 2004 I got a strange call saying they were starting a new young professional organization in my community and my neighbor mentioned that I may be a good fit. I wasted no time in letting them know I was already over committed with activities and wouldn't be able to get involved. They then informed me they would still like to come meet with me and get my input as an active person in the community to help give them suggestions as they build the new organization. About a week later, Jim Steiner and Kate McNally were on my back porch telling me all about the Jaycees and how it will not only improve my community but help me as well. They must have brought magic that evening because about an hour later I was handing them my membership dues, names of others I felt would be strong assets to ensure my community was in good hands.
I found myself making time to be involved and was reducing my time in other organizational activities because of the network of friends I was making, experience gaining and difference we were making in so many communities. I couldn't get enough. I realized that rather than attend just my chapter meeting a month and gain 20 minutes of a skill seminar, I could attend multiple chapter meetings a month and gain an hour of skill training. This was not only fun for me but helped give me an edge over most of my other peers and those I worked with since they were not taking extra time to improve.
I never found myself ending a year feeling burnt out or tired because I found the experience so rewarding. This continual journey gave me the opportunity to not only serve locally but helped me advance on a regional, state and national level; allowing me to be privileged in 2010 as the first National President from the State of Delaware.
"Back in 2004 I got a strange call saying they were starting a new young professional organization in my community and my neighbor mentioned that I may be a good fit. I wasted no time in letting them know I was already over committed with activities and wouldn't be able to get involved. They then informed me they would still like to come meet with me and get my input as an active person in the community to help give them suggestions as they build the new organization. About a week later, Jim Steiner and Kate McNally were on my back porch telling me all about the Jaycees and how it will not only improve my community but help me as well. They must have brought magic that evening because about an hour later I was handing them my membership dues, names of others I felt would be strong assets to ensure my community was in good hands.
I found myself making time to be involved and was reducing my time in other organizational activities because of the network of friends I was making, experience gaining and difference we were making in so many communities. I couldn't get enough. I realized that rather than attend just my chapter meeting a month and gain 20 minutes of a skill seminar, I could attend multiple chapter meetings a month and gain an hour of skill training. This was not only fun for me but helped give me an edge over most of my other peers and those I worked with since they were not taking extra time to improve.
I never found myself ending a year feeling burnt out or tired because I found the experience so rewarding. This continual journey gave me the opportunity to not only serve locally but helped me advance on a regional, state and national level; allowing me to be privileged in 2010 as the first National President from the State of Delaware.
This experience truly changed my life. The skills, lessons on handling conflict and learning to work with elected and corporate officials helped me to serve on multiple community boards and have the skill set and knowledge to launch a company. I have now had my own company, Seahorse Coaching L.L.C., incorporated for over five years. It is a certainty that without a call from people willing to invest into a new community, I would not be as mature, professional, well-traveled and definitely wouldn't have had the courage and experience to launch a successful business. I ask each of you to enjoy every experience you can from what the Junior Chamber offers you and use that to continually help more and more individuals solve our communities' biggest issues."
Jeff Lank
90th National President
Owner - Seahorse Coaching
100 Days of Impact/Project Impact 1002015 marks the 100th Anniversary of when Henry Giessenbier began the organization that would become the Jaycees. Over the last 100 years, Members of the Jaycees have created positive change in their communities, building world-renowned Burn Centers, Hospitals, Community Parks, implementing programs to encourage voting, and fundraised millions of dollars to help combat diseases and improve people's lives. Through all of these efforts, the real impact has been on the lives of the member - helping develop the members of this organization into the leaders of the next generation, individuals who learned leadership skills through meeting the needs in their community.
THIS YEAR WE CELEBRATE 100 YEARS OF IMPACT!
And what better way to celebrate 100 years of impact than by continuing the tradition that members have been doing for the last 100 years - to continue to build leaders within our organization by building stronger communities. Imagine if the 5,000 chapters worldwide each completed a project that impacted 100 people - as an international organization we would have an impact on 500,000 people in our world!!
Kicking off on July 5, 2015 and culminating with the screening of the 100th Anniversary Documentary on October 13, 2015; every chapter is encouraged to participate in the 100 Days of Impact by running a Project Impact 100.
Project Impact 100 is a project that will impact 100 (or more) people's lives in the community. Many chapters around the country are already running these types of projects, and now we just need to track them too. It can be anything from working to build a new community playground to encouraging your members to complete 100 random acts of kindness in a day (contact Wyoming State President Rhonda at WY@usjaycees.org for some great ways to run this project). Perhaps your chapter wants to plant 100 trees, or pack 100 lunches for the local shelter during the summer months when food pantries are running low. All of these can be completed as part of the 100 Days of Impact and be YOUR chapter's Project Impact 100!
Don't forget to include your Project Impact 100 in the JCI Project Gallery for the anniversary celebration so we can see how many people are impacted because of our members this year!
http://www.jci.cc/100years/impact100/commit
Register now for Jaycee Shark TankThe JCI USA Annual Meeting will be held in September in Houston, Texas. This is an opportunity to elect officers for 2016, re-connect with friends from across the nation and make new friends, attend fantastic trainings, and even participate in a little competition called..."JAYCEE SHARK TANK"! Through this training, members will be watching and learning how venture capitalists analyze and break down a business plan under consideration for funding. Members will watch this unfold in a live setting as area venture capitalists discuss real proposals from up to two members. Members with an entrepreneurial spirit and an idea worth considering are invited to participate. Entry forms and more information can be found here. All entry forms must be submitted by June 30, 2015 5PM CST.
All information regarding the JCI USA Annual Meeting can be found here.
Meet the new Secretary General of JCI
JCI World Headquarters is pleased to announce Arrey Obenson as the new JCI Secretary General.
Obenson joined the JCI movement in 1995 as founder of his JCI Local Organization,
JCI Limbe Atlantic of Cameroon. He held several positions within JCI Cameroon before joining the JCI World Headquarters team in 2002. His main responsibilities as JCI Secretary General include managing the World Headquarters team, directing the short and long-term growth strategies of the organization, maintaining international partnerships, coordinating events and providing assistance to JCI Organizations.
"The world awaits our action. It yearns for a new kind of citizen -- one that is active, empowered and takes ownership of the future... I commit to supporting our members in ways that are forward thinking and long lasting. Our mission is to support the development of these citizens."
Learn more about Secretary General Arrey Obenson and his contributions to the JCI Movement.
Jeff Lank
90th National President
Owner - Seahorse Coaching
100 Days of Impact/Project Impact 1002015 marks the 100th Anniversary of when Henry Giessenbier began the organization that would become the Jaycees. Over the last 100 years, Members of the Jaycees have created positive change in their communities, building world-renowned Burn Centers, Hospitals, Community Parks, implementing programs to encourage voting, and fundraised millions of dollars to help combat diseases and improve people's lives. Through all of these efforts, the real impact has been on the lives of the member - helping develop the members of this organization into the leaders of the next generation, individuals who learned leadership skills through meeting the needs in their community.
THIS YEAR WE CELEBRATE 100 YEARS OF IMPACT!
And what better way to celebrate 100 years of impact than by continuing the tradition that members have been doing for the last 100 years - to continue to build leaders within our organization by building stronger communities. Imagine if the 5,000 chapters worldwide each completed a project that impacted 100 people - as an international organization we would have an impact on 500,000 people in our world!!
Kicking off on July 5, 2015 and culminating with the screening of the 100th Anniversary Documentary on October 13, 2015; every chapter is encouraged to participate in the 100 Days of Impact by running a Project Impact 100.
Project Impact 100 is a project that will impact 100 (or more) people's lives in the community. Many chapters around the country are already running these types of projects, and now we just need to track them too. It can be anything from working to build a new community playground to encouraging your members to complete 100 random acts of kindness in a day (contact Wyoming State President Rhonda at WY@usjaycees.org for some great ways to run this project). Perhaps your chapter wants to plant 100 trees, or pack 100 lunches for the local shelter during the summer months when food pantries are running low. All of these can be completed as part of the 100 Days of Impact and be YOUR chapter's Project Impact 100!
Don't forget to include your Project Impact 100 in the JCI Project Gallery for the anniversary celebration so we can see how many people are impacted because of our members this year!
http://www.jci.cc/100years/impact100/commit
Register now for Jaycee Shark TankThe JCI USA Annual Meeting will be held in September in Houston, Texas. This is an opportunity to elect officers for 2016, re-connect with friends from across the nation and make new friends, attend fantastic trainings, and even participate in a little competition called..."JAYCEE SHARK TANK"! Through this training, members will be watching and learning how venture capitalists analyze and break down a business plan under consideration for funding. Members will watch this unfold in a live setting as area venture capitalists discuss real proposals from up to two members. Members with an entrepreneurial spirit and an idea worth considering are invited to participate. Entry forms and more information can be found here. All entry forms must be submitted by June 30, 2015 5PM CST.
All information regarding the JCI USA Annual Meeting can be found here.
Meet the new Secretary General of JCI
JCI World Headquarters is pleased to announce Arrey Obenson as the new JCI Secretary General.
Obenson joined the JCI movement in 1995 as founder of his JCI Local Organization,
JCI Limbe Atlantic of Cameroon. He held several positions within JCI Cameroon before joining the JCI World Headquarters team in 2002. His main responsibilities as JCI Secretary General include managing the World Headquarters team, directing the short and long-term growth strategies of the organization, maintaining international partnerships, coordinating events and providing assistance to JCI Organizations.
"The world awaits our action. It yearns for a new kind of citizen -- one that is active, empowered and takes ownership of the future... I commit to supporting our members in ways that are forward thinking and long lasting. Our mission is to support the development of these citizens."
Learn more about Secretary General Arrey Obenson and his contributions to the JCI Movement.