Saginaw Jaycees History
The Saginaw Jaycees were chartered in May of 1939. The Saginaw chapter was the 13th chartered in Michigan, and over the years has helped to start many other chapters throughout the state.
JCI - Michigan History
In September of 1924, representatives from Flint, Pontiac, Jackson and Saginaw met at the Old City Club in Jackson for the puro purpose of establishing a Michigan Junior Chamber of Commerce. Guest from Toledo, Detroit and Chicago attended at the invitation of the Jackson Junior Chamber. Kalamazoo and Bay City did not send delegates. Martin P. Luthy, Executive Secretary of the Jackson Chamber and President of the Jackson Junior Chamber, was named chairman of the Bylaws Committee. Serving with him were Clarence Smith of Pontiac, Elton Viets of Flint and Robert Frantz of Saginaw.
The 50 delegates voted to operate under the direction of a three man committee; Martin Luthy, Clarence Smith and Elton Viets, until the first convention scheduled in the fall of 1925. Project reports on Reforestation, Civic betterment, Get Out the Vote, and Social activities were presented to the delegation.
A tour of the Michigan State Prison was conducted in the afternoon, with entertainment by the prison orchestra and a short motion picture. In 1925, Martin P. Luthy was elected the first State President of the Michigan Junior Chamber. That year, he also served as the Secretary of the United States Junior Chamber.
Since then, 92 Jaycees total have held the title of State President of the Michigan Junior Chamber. Of those 92 individuals five have hailed from the Saginaw Jaycees, as early as 1926 (number 2), and as recent as 2004 (number 80).
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To learn more about JCI - Michigan, please visit their website here.
JCI History
The Junior Chamber movement is now over 100 years old. Originally, a group of young men led by Henry Gessenbier formed a dance club in St. Louis. They believed that if young people were to improve their prospects for social and career advancement they would first have to join forces socially. With the help and guidance of established civic and business leaders they built the organization. Membership swelled from 352 to 750 members in just five months.
In 1914, the group merged with six other dance clubs and in 1915 they formed the Young Men’s Progressive Civic Organization (YMPCA). Later, they changed their name to Junior Citizens and became affiliated with the St. Louis Chamber of Commerce.
Lectures, speakers and training sessions provided the group with needed knowledge, but some method was needed for members to apply what they had learned. Service to the community provided the answer. Community service allowed members practical application of the insights they had learned. It was then the Junior Chamber movement achieved its goal—to build better leaders.
Over the years, Jaycees have been involved in many local and national issues. In the 1920’s, the Junior Chamber began the first national program, “Get Out the Vote”, designed to encourage citizens to participate in government. Today, many Jaycee states run Model Legislatures to involve young people in the lawmaking process.
In the 40s, the Junior Chamber went on record in favor of compulsory military training. While more than 85 percent of our membership was fighting in World War II, local groups were conducting scrap drives, selling war bonds, and assisting USO chapters to help the war effort.
More recently, Jaycees have promoted other constructive activities. These include the formation of the National Wildlife Federation, backing the “Big Brother” program, support of the adoption of the Uniform Vehicle Code, and the creation of the National Center for Voluntary Action.
To learn more about Junior Chamber International, please visit their website here.