What Is Junior Chamber?
 

The Origin of Junior Chamber

 

The origin of Jaycees can be traced as far back as 1910 to the city of St. Louis, Missouri, in the United States of America.

A young man named Henry "Hy" Giessenbier and his friends formed the Herculaneum Dance Club with the main objective of preserving conservative dance styles.

Five years later in 1915, Colonel H.N. Morgan, a prominent St. Louis citizen, inspired the members of the dance club to become more involved in civic issues.

Giessenbier and 32 other young men formed the Young Men’s Progressive Civic Association (YMPCA) on October 13, 1915. This organization grew to a membership of 750 in less than five months.

The Birth of Jaycees

The very next year, 1916, saw another change of name as the YMPCA became Junior Citizens, commonly called JCs, which later became Jaycees. During World War I the JCs formed Company "L" of the 138th infantry regiment. The commander was Dwight Davis who later became assistant secretary of war and donated the Davis Cup Tennis Trophy.

The year 1918 marked another change as the JCs was affiliated to the St. Louis Chamber of Commerce and officially became the St. Louis Junior Chamber of Commerce.

After World War I, Giessenbier contacted other cities in the United States with similar young businessmen’s groups and subsequently 29 clubs from around the nation formed The United States Junior Chamber of Commerce. Henry "Hy" Giessenbier was elected the first President of the national organization.

Crossing the Atlantic

The international chapter of the organization began in 1932 with the Winnipeg Board of Trade’s becoming the first Junior Chamber outside the United States. By 1928 the idea of an international body crossed the Atlantic Ocean to England.

During the 1932 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, The United States Junior Chamber contacted 42 nations with the idea of forming an International Executive Council of Junior Chambers of Commerce. When 26 countries responded, the International Executive Council was formed.

This council had a very short life span and ceased to exist in 1935. However, the idea did not die.

Five years later a resolution was passed by The U.S. Junior Chamber, approving a program to further mutual interest among Central and South America. This led to the establishment of Junior Chambers in Mexico City, Guatemala City, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, and the United States.