United States Junior Chamber

Not to be confused with Junior Chamber International.

"Jaycee" redirects here. For other uses, see Jaycee (disambiguation).

United States Junior Chamber

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Motto	Leadership Training Through Community Service
Founded	January 21, 1920
Founder	Henry Giessenbier
Type	NGO
Location	St. Louis, Missouri
Fields	Individual, Community, International, Business
Members	12,500
Key people	President: Margo Dirkson Executive Director: Newlyn Wing
Website	www.jciusa.org

The United States Junior Chamber, also known as the Jaycees, JCs or JCI USA, is a leadership training and civic organization for people between the ages of 18 and 40. It is a branch of Junior Chamber International (JCI). Areas of emphasis are business development, management skills, individual training, community service, and international connections. The U.S. Junior Chamber is a not-for-profit corporation/organization as described under Internal Revenue Code 501(c)(4).

Established as the United States Junior Chamber of Commerce on January 21, 1920, it provided opportunities for young men to develop personal and leadership skills through service to others. The Jaycees later expanded to include women after the United States Supreme Court ruled in the 1984 case Roberts v. United States Jaycees that Minnesota could prohibit sex discrimination in private organizations. 1985 marked the final year of the U.S. Jaycee Women (also known as Jayceettes or Jayceens), an organization that lasted 10 years and at its convention in 1984 in Atlanta boasted 59,000 members.

At its membership peak in 1976, the U.S. Jaycees boasted a membership total of 356,000 men between the ages of 18 and 35. Rules were later changed to allow members to stay active until age 40.

Jaycee Creed

The Jaycee Creed was adopted in 1946 at the United States Junior Chamber of Commerce National Convention.

The code reads as follows:

• We believe:
  • That faith in God gives meaning and purpose to human life.
  • That the brotherhood of man transcends the sovereignty of nations.
  • That economic justice can best be won by free men through free enterprise.
  • That government should be of laws rather than of men.
  • That earth's great treasure lies in human personality.
  • And that service to humanity is the best work of life.

Notable U.S. Jaycees

• Larry Bird – Boston Celtics
• Warren E. Burger – Chief Justice of the United States
• Bill Clinton – President of the United States
• Ken Coon – Little Rock psychologist, former Arkansas Republican state chairman, served as Arkansas state Jaycee president
• Cal Cunningham – North Carolina State Senator, US Senate Candidate
• Gerald Ford – President of the United States
• Wendell Ford – U.S. Senator, Governor of Kentucky, also served as US Jaycees President
• John Wayne Gacy – Serial killer, clown and businessman, served Jaycees for many years before going to jail
• Bill Gates – Chairman of Microsoft
• Al Gore – Vice President of the United States
• Mike Gravel - U.S. Senator from Alaska, conducted national Jaycee tour advocating tax reform and free enterprise in 1958
• Larry Holmes – Former Heavyweight Boxing Champion
• Rogers Hornsby – Hall of Fame Major League Baseball player
• Howard Hughes – Industrialist
• Hubert Humphrey – Vice President of the United States
• Bradley Joseph – Composer/recording artist
• Edmund Kemper – American serial killer known as the "coed killer". Became a member of the Jaycees while incarcerated
• Charles Lindbergh – Aviator
• Tom Monaghan – Founder of Domino's Pizza
• Walter Mondale – Vice President of the United States
• Richard Nixon – President of the United States
• Elvis Presley – Musician, Presidential Medal of Freedom posthumous recipient, 2018.
• Lani Rae Rafko-Wilson – Miss America 1988
• Ronald Reagan – President of the United States, Actor
• John Jacob Rhodes – U.S. Representative from Arizona
• Charles Thone – Governor of Nebraska, served as Nebraska state Jaycee president
• Robert Van Pelt - United States District Judge, drafter of the Federal Rules of Evidence

External links

• United States Junior Chamber