[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 131 (Tuesday, November 16, 2004)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2008]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


 IN RECOGNITION OF THE 75TH (AND 95TH) ANNIVERSARY OF THE GRAND RAPIDS 
                                JAYCEES

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. VERNON J. EHLERS

                              of michigan

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, November 16, 2004

  Mr. EHLERS. Mr. Speaker, I would like to take this opportunity to 
honor and recognize an organization in my hometown, the Grand Rapids 
Junior Chamber of Commerce. The Jaycees, as they are known, will 
celebrate both their 75th and 95th anniversaries this Saturday, 
November 20, 2004.
  First, allow me to explain this apparent contradiction. The Jaycees 
were born as the Grand Rapids Junior Board of Trade Club at Grand 
Rapids Central High School 95 years ago in 1909 as a training program 
sponsored by the Grand Rapids Board of Trade and the Grand Rapids 
Public Schools. The Junior Board of Trade became the Jaycees in 1929 
when the program affiliated with the U.S. Junior Chamber of Commerce.
  Since its creation, the club has been an engine of training and 
community service. In its earliest years, its members raised funds for 
local orphan newsboys, flu victims and soldiers, and provided chauffeur 
services at the annual Furniture Market when Grand Rapids was known as 
the Furniture Capital of the World. In the 1930s, the Jaycees helped 
lead the campaign to build the Grand Rapids Civic Auditorium and a 
``bigger, better'' county airport.
  The 1940s saw the Jaycees move Grand Rapids onto the professional 
sports scene by raising funds to purchase a franchise in the All-
American Girls Baseball League (popularized in the movie ``A League of 
Their Own'') named the Grand Rapids Chicks. In the 1950s, the club 
operated what has become an enduring symbol of holiday spirit, the 
city's Santa Claus Parade, while also starting the area's Junior 
Achievement program, which today continues to foster the 
entrepreneurial spirit among local youngsters.
  The City of Grand Rapids sought assistance in 1966 to fund city 
governmental programs and the Jaycees were there to lead a non-partisan 
campaign to implement a city income tax. In the 1970s and 1980s, the 
Jaycees showed leadership by helping to form the West Michigan 
Environmental Action Council and the West Michigan Burn Unit. It also 
brought professional golf to the area by starting the Charity Golf 
Classic, an event that later grew into an official PGA Seniors Tour 
event. Most recently known as the Farmers Charity Classic, the 
tournament has raised more than $3.5 million for local charities since 
its inception.
  The Jaycees' civic involvement continues today. In the last decade, 
the group built one of the city's finest parks, the Mackay/Grand Rapids 
Jaycees Family Park and raised funds for the VanAndel Arena, one of the 
area's premier sports and entertainment venues. Even more recently, 
Jaycees raised funds for the new DeVos Place convention center and 
provides school supplies for area children.
  Mr. Speaker, it is clear that the Grand Rapids Jaycees is a 
remarkable organization that has provided invaluable leadership in 
making the Grand Rapids community a better place to live. I hope you 
will join me in celebrating its 75th and 95th anniversaries and wishing 
its members many, many more in the future.

                          ____________________