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History- &ConceptThe current adage "you've come a long way baby"

certainly applies to The United States Jaycees. Wehave evolved from the dream of a small group of men inthe early part of this century into a vital effective organi­zation of over 270,000 young adults.

When the scope of the Jaycee movement of todayis considered, it is difficult to conceive its beginning asthe Herculaneum Dance Club of St. Louis, Missouri, agroup led by the founder of Jaycees, Henry Giessenbier,Jr.

The Herculaneum Dance Club was started byGiessenbier in 1910 and had as its purpose the socialelevation of its members, a goal it rapidly attained. By1914, it was the outstanding dance club in St. Louis andprepared to merge with six other similar groups to formthe Federation of Dancing Clubs.

Following a series of meetings with Colonel H.N.Morgan, the organization's first honorary member, andothers, Giessenbier gained encouragement and tookthe first step toward the Jaycees movement of today.On October 13, 1915, at the Mission Inn, 32 young menformed the Young Men's Progressive Civic Association(YMPCA).

During the early years of the YMPCA they gainedsupport from many individuals, but none was morevaluable than the support gained from the President ofthe St. Louis Chamber of Commerce, Clarence H.Howard.

In his inaugural address, Howard visualized that agroup capable of drawing young men into public affairswas needed in St. Louis. Howard's address had animmediate effect on Giessenbier and Andrew Munge­nast; they contacted Howard and told him of the goalsof the YMPCA.

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••••••In 1916, at the request of Clarence H. Howard, the

YMPCA changed its name to Junior Citizens.During World War I, the JCs (as their name was

abbreviated) formed Company L of the 138th InfantryRegiment. The commander was Dwight Davis who later

•. became Assistant Secretary of War and donated theDavis Cup Tennis Trophy .

•. In 1918, the JC s affiliated with the St.Louis Cham-ber of Commerce and officially became the JuniorChamber of Commerce.

After returning from service during the war inFrance with Company L, Giessenbier began contactingother cities with young businessmen's groups to informthem of the so-called "St. Louis Plan" of organization ."The St. Louis Plan" was sent to all those interested informing a Junior Chamber. The plan described theexisting organization and proved to be the chief modelfor most groups which sprang into existence.

As a result of Giessenbier's efforts a caucus of 29clubs from around the nation was held in St. Louis,Missouri, January 21 and 22, and this meeting officiallygave birth to The United States Junior Chamber ofCommerce. The St. Louis group, which then numberedmore than 3,000, became the hub of the national body.Henry (Hy) Giessenbier was elected the first presidentof the national organization during a convention whichincluded 27 cities the following June, 1920. Twelve ofthose cities became charter members of the JuniorChamber of Commerce.

During the 1920's and 30's, The United StatesJunior Chamber of Commerce not only grew in size, butthe scope of activities became even broader. Then, asnow, chapters were concerned with almost every con­ceivable type of project which would serve the needs ofa community.

In 1935, after years of moving the national officefrom one city to the next with each new president, it wasdecided that the Junior Chamber should settle in the

city in which it originated. By choosing St. Louis thatyear the organization turned down an offer of space inthe national headquarters of The United StatesChamber of Commerce in Washington, D.C. This deci­sion was made after much discussion by the leadershipthat the Junior Chamber should remain completelyindependent of the senior body. By 1939, the nationalheadquarters of the Junior Chamber was on the moveagain, this time to Chicago.

The number one Jaycee venture in public affairscame during the 1940 convention in Washington, D.C.when the Junior Chamber of Commerce, after heateddiscussion, backed a national defense resolution whichendorsed compulsory military training or selective ser­vice. The United States Junior Chamber of Commerce

thus became the first young men's group to back theprinciple of the draft. During World War II,85 percent ofthe organization's membership entered the military.

During the years of World War II,Jaycee chaptersacross the country were busy conducting scrap drives,selling war bonds, assisting USO centers and othersuch programs that were concerned with some phaseof the war effort. The number of members and chap­ters decreased during the war and as the war started tocome to an end the number of chapters and membersstarted to rise.

It was in June. 1944. at a war conference of the

organization in Omaha. Nebraska, that the membershipcontributed funds to establish a War Memorial Fund.The funds were to be used for a "living memorial" to theJaycee war dead and not a mere statue or monument.Also, in that same year a meeting was held in MexicoCity and the Junior Chamber International was formed.Attempts to form such a world group date back to the1930's.

The first full-scale convention of The United StatesJunior Chamber of Commerce after the war was held in

Milwaukee, Wisconsin, during June, 1946. It was duringthis convention that a young Jaycee. Bill Brownfieldfrom Columbus, Ohio, found the inspiration thatprompted his authorship of what was to become theofficial Jaycee Creed.

In 1947, the offices of the national organizationwere moved to Tulsa, Oklahoma, where citizens of theOil Capital pledged $100,000 to help finance a building,now known as the War Memorial Headquarters. Thecornerstone of the Jaycees' Headquarters was laid inDecember, 1950, and final dedication ceremonies wereconducted in August of the following year. The Head­quarters is now staffed by over 80 full-time. paidemployees who administer the services and programsfor the entire membership of our organization.

It was during 1947-48 that the use of the word"Jaycee" became officially sanctioned. Actually, theterm "Jaycee" as such was seldom used until the late1930's. Almost from the time of Henry Giessenbier,abbreviations had been employed, but these wereusually written as J.C., JayCees, or in some other way.

Changes have been made throughout theJaycees as at the 1965 national convention of theorganization in Buffalo, New York, when the member­ship voted to officially change the name of the organi­zation from The United States Junior Chamber of Com­merce to The United States Jaycees. In 1972, the mem­bership voted to admit 18-year olds as full voting mem­bers in The U.S. Jaycees. In 1984, the membershipagain voted to expand even further to admit both menand women as full voting members of The United StatesJaycees.

Changes in the Jaycees will continue. It is throughthese changes that the organization has grown to theheight of what it is today. Changes come through thenew ideas proposed by the membership. Each youngadult who is a member of this organization is given thatchance to grow and develop. For more insight on howthe Jaycees has affected the lives of some of its

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members, a book on "being a Jaycee" has now beenpublished. It is a collection of statements by pastJaycees on what the organization means to them.

This history culminates today into what we nowterm the ''total Jaycee concept." This concept issomething that you must also understand and com­municate to your chapters. The concept is representedby the following logo:

You will note that the logo is an equilateral trianglewith the arrows indicating a distinct overlapping. Thesides of the triangle represent Community Develop­ment, Management Development and Individual Devel­opment. The triangle completely surrounds a circlewhich represents the member. The logo does, in fact.represent a process. It is equilateral. so that equalemphasis is placed upon all three areas of activities,and overlapping because each activity is dependentupon the other and is an integral part of the other. It is aprocess by which the "whole chapter" can offer itsmembers a "total experience" - personal growth,development of their managerial skills and effectiveservice to the community.

Three functions are absolutely essential for the"total Jaycee concept" to be a reality: ManagementDevelopment, Individual Development and Community

Development programs. If a chapter is badly managed,it may suffer from lack of organization, morale, pride,fiscal stability or recognition as a credible group. Whena Jaycee chapter does not offer self-improvement pro­grams like Personal Dynamics, Leadership Dynamics,Communication Dynamics, Speak-Up or Family LifeDevelopment, it fails to provide an individual memberwith the most unique tools available within the Jayceesfor pursuit of personal goals. When a chapter restssolely on its record of community development pro­grams, it may lack the cohesive stability of a well­managed organization. exhaust the leadership currentlyavailable or fail to provide for the development ofemerging Jaycees. The beneficiaries. when such acohesive combination of chapter functions comple­ment each other, are the individual member and thecommunity. Only then is it possible to "develop thewhole member through the whole chapter" andrealize the worth of this total chapter concept.

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