THE BEGINNING

In 1915, Jaycee founder Henry Giessenbier and the other members of the St. Louis Dancing Federation met to form the Young Men's Progressive Civic Association. This was the first step in creating what has become known as the United States Jaycees. In 1916, the YMPCA changed its name to the Junior Citizens at the request of Clarence H. Howard, a St. Louis industrialist and early benefactor of the organization. The shortened version of Junior Citizens — JCs — became the prominent trademark of this organization for forward-looking young men. In 1918 the group became known as the Junior Chamber of Commerce.

THE MOVEMENT GROWS

Interest grew swiftly in this unique group that brashly insisted young men should play an important role in civic affairs. As a result, Giessenbier called a caucus of other young men's associations. It was at that meeting in 1920 in St. Louis that the United States Jaycees were established. The organization took on its formal name of "Jaycees" at its annual meeting in 1965.

Over the years, the United States Junior Chamber of Commerce has taken action to meet the changing needs of the times. In 1944, the movement expanded outside the borders of the United States; in 1984, the organization opened its doors to women; in 1987, the membership voted to revise the age limits from 18 through 35 to 21 through 39; and in 1998 the membership voted to change the "Jaycee Year" to a calendar-year system with a January 1st start date. These changes helped maintain the integrity of the organization's dynamic structure and were instrumental in making the Jaycees the largest volunteer association of young adults in the world.

Today, more than eighty nations are a part of the organization known as the Junior Chamber International (JCI). In fact, in the U.S. alone there are over 4,000 chapters that help members overcome the leadership challenges facing today's young citizens.

CONNECTICUT AND MILFORD

- Our Story -

The Connecticut Jaycees was founded in 1946, with the Stamford and Bridgeport chapters constituting the nucleus. Today the state organization located in Meriden assists over 2000 members in dozens of chapters across the state. The Connecticut Jaycees' main function is to further the Jaycee movement here within Connecticut by offering guidance and assistance to the local chapters.

The Milford Jaycees is the fifth oldest chapter in the State of Connecticut.The chapter was born on November 18, 1949 with the aid of the Bridgeport Jaycees, becoming the thirteenth chapter in Connecticut. As the nature of the United States Jaycees changed, so did that of the Milford chapter. The Milford Jaycees Wives formed to complement the activities of the Milford Jaycees. After 6 years, in 1955, this group became the Milford Jaycee Women. For many years both groups spread the benefits of the Jaycee concept in Milford. Then, with the change in United States Jaycees by-laws, in 1985 the two organizations merged to form today's Milford Jaycees.

Since 1949, the Milford Jaycees has repeatedly distinguished itself in our local community. At the time when the Chamber of Commerce was ready to disband, the Jaycees stepped in and led the rebuilding process. After an eight-year effort for approvals, the Jaycees in 1975 took on the project that refurbished the westbound railroad station as a community room and then returned the station for community use as the Milford Transportation Center. This has since become the Milford Fine Arts Center. The chapter also helped create one of Milford's most-celebrated annual events — the Annual Milford Oyster Festival.

Since then, the Milford Jaycees has been instrumental in initiating and supporting numerous local programs such as Baskets for the Needy, "Meet and Treat" Halloween Parade, Buckle Up Babes, Haunted House, and Political Debates. The group also instituted many popular programs such as Softball Tournaments and a Father & Son/Daughter Camp Out. In recent years, the group has also provided manpower for Special Olympics, participated in the Milford Oyster Festival Town Committee, and raised funds for Big Brothers/Big Sisters of Southwestern Connecticut.

In 1997, the chapter completed a three-year effort to raise funds for the construction of a children's playground at Eisenhower Park. In addition, for the past three years, the chapter has been a major player in organizing the Region I "Bowl To Benefit" the Junior Chamber Mission Inn Foundation, an annual event that has raised more than $23,000 to help children with HIV/AIDS and their families.

Our chapter has consistently contributed to the Connecticut Jaycees, the Connecticut Jaycee Women, and the United States Junior Chamber of Commerce. To date we have seen scores of our members take on state and national offices, including Connecticut Jaycee President and National Vice-President. No other chapter in the state has been recognized for outstanding performance as many times as the Milford Jaycees. Some of this recognition includes achievement of all facets of the Blue Chip program culminating in the Diamond Chip level attained in 1992. We continue to be ranked as one of the top chapters in the state, earning the distinction of being named the #1 Chapter in Connecticut several times in our history — including a back-to-back #1 ranking in 1997 and 1998. Other honors include the Giessenbier and the Kulp awards, both achieved in 1998 and 1999.