About Us / FAQ
About Us - Mission Statement - Join - Moving? - Get Involved - Events - Springboard/Degrees - Leadership
About Us
The West Virginia Junior Chamber, or Jaycees, has been an active part of our state for more than 70 years. The West Virginia Jaycees gives young people ages 18 to 40 years of age, the tools they need to build the bridges to success for themselves in the areas of business management development, personal and professional development, community involvement, and international connections. We have local chapters in Ohio County (Ohio Valley Jaycees, serving Hancock, Brooke, Ohio and Marshall Counties), Tyler County (Sistersville Jaycees, serving Wetzel and Tyler Counties), Boone County (Madison-Danville Jaycees, serving Boone County), Mercer County (Bluefield Jaycees, serving the Greater Bluefield Area in WV and VA), and Greenbrier County (Eastern Greenbrier Jaycees, serving Greenbrier County).
The West Virginia Jaycees were organized in 1939, by John Hoblitzell, Jr. of Parkersburg. We are extremely proud that one of our members went on to become the 35th President of the United States Junior Chamber, Samuel D. Winer, of New Martinsville. We are also proud to share that 10 WV Jaycees have gone on to serve as National Vice Presidents in our more than 70 years of service.
The state organization conducts three meetings per year at which relevant personal and professional training is offered to individual members. We also use these meetings to recognize individual, chapter and state accomplishments; participate in individual development competitions; network with members from other chapters; and visit points of interest across our state.
All of our chapters are committed to having a positive impact in their local communities. Our projects enable us to reach out, serve others, and improve the quality of life in our communities, while at the same time provide valuable leadership and organizational training for our members who run those projects. Some of our chapters’ major projects include WVU Children’s Hospital fundraising, supporting children and families in need during the holidays and through the winter, supporting the American Lung Association Bike Race, Support Our Troops, Autism Speaks, March of Dimes, American Cancer Society Relay for Life, MDA, and a host of local community service projects.
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To provide young people the opportunity to develop personal and leadership skills through local community service and organizational involvement while expanding the Jaycee movement. For more information, please listen to the JCI Recruitment Video to your right. The Jaycees are driven to help build communities, strengthen lives, build friendships and create leaders. |
How do I join a chapter, and what happens when I do?
Joining a chapter is easy! Simply look on the menu to the left and select the chapter nearest you and call or email their listed contact person. They'll be happy to walk you through the steps of joining. But what happens if you don't have a local chapter, or you can't get a hold of the chapter you want to join? That's also not a problem. You can either click on the "Make your Own" link or contact the West Virginia State Office at 1-877-599-9852 for information on how to proceed.
Once you join a chapter, not only do you become a member of that chapter, you also:
- Become a member of your State Chapter
- Become a member of the United States Junior Chamber
- And you become a member of the Junior Chamber International
But what if I move? Will I be able to find a chapter in another state?
Yes! The Jaycees are an International Organization with hundreds of chapters and thousands upon thousands of members across the globe. We cannot guarantee that you will find a chapter local to you once you leave the fine state of West Virginia, but don't despair - if you let us know of your intentions, we can work with you to find one in another state.
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How can I get involved?
Every active chapter of the Jaycees coordinates activities with their local communities. These activities can be as simple as a food drive or as complex as a sports tournament, and anything in between. These projects allow for members like you and me to interact with our local community leaders - such as the mayor, the city council, the local safety departments, and business leaders in our area. They also allow for us to get "on the job training, off the job," which can be very useful in developing leadership skills, communication skills, networking skills, and many many more.
So, how exactly can you get involved?
- Sign up to volunteer at projects
- Ask your chairman what you can help with on their projects
- Participate in the Springboard & Degrees Programs
What kind of events are run by the West Virginia Jaycees and its chapters?
That's a great question! The WV Jaycees and its chapters run a host events, a very few of which I'll list below. Not every chapter runs every event, but not every community needs every event we can offer. But you never know, you can always join and ask!
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Food Drives Haunted Houses Easter Egg Hunts Sports Tournaments |
Thanksgiving for the Homeless Christmas Tree Lightings Race-track events Bingo Nights |
What are the Springboard and Degrees programs?
SPRINGBOARD, designed for first-year members, is a tool for the chapter to activate new members,
ensure that they have every opportunity to gain the benefits of membership, and are able to make a fully
informed decision when it comes time to renew their membership.
DEGREES OF JAYCEES continues where Springboard leaves off. Degrees of Jaycees is a career
path for members, providing a logical sequence of events to be followed. By working through the various
requirements spread across 10 degree levels, members will learn and grow in the Junior Chamber experience.
For the member, Degrees is a guide for personal growth. In addition, each member completing the
Degrees of Jaycees program achieves the benefits of leadership training while directly affecting the experience of other members.
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What is the leadership structure like?
Every chapter across the world can have the following offices available. Offices are served for a one-year term, and anyone can be elected into them. These offices are:
- President
- Chairman of the Board
- Legal Counsel
- Business VP
- Individual VP
- Community VP
- International VP
- State Director
- Director
- Secretary
- Treasurer
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