Junior Chamber International - History

History

From the YMPCA
The Young Men's Progressive Civic Association (YMPCA) was formed on October 13, 1915. The YMPCA grew to membership of 750 in less than five months.

1916 saw a name change, with the YMPCA becoming the 'Junior Citizens', colloquially 'JCs' or 'Jaycees'. The St. Louis Junior Chamber of Commerce asked them to adopt the name 'Junior Chamber of Commerce', which was done.

After World War I the organization contacted similar groups in the United States. A pamphlet describing the 'St. Louis Plan' was sent in response to questions regarding the group and invitations were issued for a caucus. When the proceedings opened in St. Louis on January 21, 1920 with 30 cities represented. A provisional constitution was adopted until a convention could be held in June. With the adoption of a provisional constitution until a convention could be held in June, and the election of officers, the national Junior Chamber movement was born. Henry Giessenbier won election as provisional president of the U.S. Junior Chamber of Commerce (USJCC) by acclamation, and was joined by other officers from St. Louis; El Paso and Dallas Texas; Terre Haute, Indiana; and Springfield, Massachusetts. The 'United States Junior Chamber of Commerce' was established with 29 clubs from around the nation.

In 1923 the Winnipeg Junior Chamber was formed and has operated continuously since. The unofficial motto of the Winnipeg Junior Chamber, the first in Canada, has long been "We put the I, in JCI". Other Canadian chapters soon followed.

On May 14, 1925 Lincoln Junior Chamber JCI UK was formed, thought to be the first Junior Chamber outside the United States. A Birmingham branch was formed in 1927, followed the same year by a Sheffield branch and by a Nottingham branch in early 1928.

By the time officials from the U.S. Junior Chamber visited England in 1928, there were already eleven functioning chambers. In 1929, Douglas Jelley, President of 'Northampton Jaycees' visited the United States for the first time, which was followed by a visit by a delegation of three Sheffield Members led by W.G. Ibberson to the annual convention of the U.S. Junior Chamber in Brooklyn in 1930.

The first formal attempts to form an international organization came at the Los Angeles Olympic Games in 1932 when an International Executive Committee was formed. However the U.S Junior Chamber was not sure whether this was a separate organization or one of their own committees. The U.S. Junior Chamber official history does not record that the group evolved into anything more than a loose grouping of member nations with the U.S., Canada, England, Mexico, New Zealand, Australia and Colombia. In 1936, at the national conference in Liverpool representatives from several countries determined to form an International Junior Chamber, but this appears to have been overlooked when JCI was eventually formed.

In 1940, a resolution was passed by JCI USA approving a program to further mutual interests among countries in Central and South America. This led to the establishment of JCI organizations in Mexico City, Guatemala City, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Panama City in 1943.

A meeting took place in Mexico City in December 1944 which was billed as an Inter-America Meeting at which representatives of the U.S.A. and seven Latin American countries attended and it was at this meeting that the decision to form Junior Chamber International (JCI) was taken. It was resolved to hold a further meeting in Panama City in 1946.

In 1944, the first international conference was held in Mexico City. Raul Garcia Vidal of Mexico was elected JCI's first President. The countries that originally formed JCI were Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama and the United States of America.

First JCI World Congress
Junior Chamber International would come into formal being at the First World Congress in Panama at the end of February in 1946. It was attended by 44 delegates from 16 different countries. Presided over by Erasmo Chambonnet of Panama, since JCI President Raul Garcia Vidal was ill and unable to attend, the delegates approved a temporary Constitution and set for themselves a list of purposeful resolutions which all in attendance agreed to follow.

Erasmo Chambonnet of Panama was elected the second JCI President at that JCI Congress, and Australia and Canada were officially affiliated.

In 1948, the JCI Creed was officially adopted at the IV JCI World Congress in Rio de Janeiro, and in 1952 a permanent JCI Headquarters was established. In 2002, after more than 30 years in Coral Gables, Florida, the JCI Headquarters moved to Chesterfield, Missouri.

Over the years, the organization developed and became known as "Junior Chamber," "Junior Chamber of Commerce," "Jaycees International," and their multiple translations in various languages. Since 2004, however, JCI organizations worldwide are incorporating "JCI" in their names.