Former President Gerald R. Ford: JCI Member

Gerald R. Ford was an outstanding example of effective leadership and service. -- Scott Greenlee, 2007 JCI President

A JCI, or Junior Chamber International, alumnus, Gerald R. Ford, the 38th president of the United States, passed away December 26, 2006, at the age of 93. JCI members throughout the world - and particularly those in the United States and in Grand Rapids (Michigan), where Gerald Ford was a JCI member - are deeply affected by his death.

"Gerald R. Ford was an outstanding example of effective leadership and service," said Scott Greenlee, our recently elected JCI President and a current member of JCI Grand Rapids, the same local organization as Gerald Ford's. "I had the pleasure of meeting him several times, and he was as genuine as he appeared. He was very down to earth and really cared about people."

Former first lady Betty Ford announced his death in a brief statement. "His life was filled with love of God, his family and his country," she said.

"President Ford was a great man who devoted the best years of his life in serving the United States," President Bush said Wednesday morning. "He was a true gentleman who reflected the best in America's character."

When Gerald R. Ford took the oath of office as President of the United States of America on August 9, 1974, he declared, "I assume the Presidency under extraordinary circumstances.... This is an hour of history that troubles our minds and hurts our hearts."

It was indeed an unprecedented time. He had been the first Vice President chosen under the terms of the Twenty-fifth Amendment and, in the aftermath of the Watergate scandal, was succeeding the first President ever to resign.

"My fellow Americans," President Ford said, "our long national nightmare is over. Our Constitution works. Our great republic is a government of laws and not of men. Here the people rule."

And, true to his unassuming reputation, he added: "I am acutely aware that you have not elected me as your president by your ballots. So I ask you to confirm me with your prayers."

He was confronted with almost insuperable tasks. There were the challenges of mastering inflation, reviving a depressed economy, solving chronic energy shortages, and trying to ensure world peace.

President Ford acted to curb the trend toward Government intervention and spending as a means of solving the problems. In the long run, he believed, this shift would bring a better life for all the people in the country.

Ford's Involvement in the U.S. Junior Chamber of Commerce (JCI USA)

Gerald Ford firmly believed in the power of the organization to develop leaders who could serve mankind. "By bringing together outstanding young members of communities throughout America, the Jaycees (JCI members) provide a reservoir and a forum for potential national leaders," he said, "by directing their energy and skills to a wide variety of humanitarian projects, the Jaycees serve our country and mankind."

In 1948, Gerald Ford was presented with the Distinguished Service Award by JCI Grand Rapids. In 1948, he was recognized as one of the Ten Outstanding Young Men in the country by the U.S. Junior Chamber of Commerce (JCI USA).

In 1962, then-Representative Gerald Ford welcomed JCI USA members to the first Governmental Affairs Leadership Seminar (GALS). Since then, the leaders of JCI USA have met annually in the nation's capital to hear from White House officials, Cabinet secretaries, and Members of Congress about issues of importance to young people in the United States.

In 1975, as President of the United States, Gerald Ford issued Proclamation 4340. "I, GERALD R. FORD, President of the United States of America, do hereby designate the week beginning January 19, 1975, as National Jaycee Week a time for the expression of America's gratitude for the many significant contributions of the United States Jaycees," reads part of the proclamation.

While we mourn the passing of Gerald R. Ford, an outstanding and exemplary leader, we also take pride in his great accomplishments. His life is an inspiration to us all.

Source: JCI Website

Proclamation 4340 - National Jaycee Week, 1975

Proclamation 4340 - National Jaycee Week, 1975

January 22nd, 1975

By the President of the United States of America: A Proclamation

To lead and to serve are the twin ideals of the United States Jaycees. By bringing together outstanding young members of communities throughout America, the Jaycees provide a reservoir and a forum for potential national leaders; by directing their energy and skills to a wide variety of humanitarian projects, the Jaycees serve our country and mankind.

For more than half a century, the United States Jaycees have strengthened our life as a democratic society. They belong to a cherished tradition going back to our country's very beginnings when community leaders from throughout the 13 colonies-many of them young men like the Jaycees-banded together with vision and talent to forge a free nation.

Today, in more than 7,000 chapters in each of the 50 states and the Nation's capital, some 300,000 Jaycees serve this time-honored ideal in a modern setting, dedicating their free time to faith, brotherhood, freedom and the service of their fellow man.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, GERALD R. FORD, President of the United States of America, do hereby designate the week beginning January 19, 1975, as National Jaycee Week a time for the expression of America's gratitude for the many significant contributions of the United States Jaycees.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-second day of January, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred seventy-five, and of the Independence of the United States of America the one hundred ninety-ninth.

GERALD R. FORD

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Citation: John Woolley and Gerhard Peters,The American Presidency Project [online]. Santa Barbara, CA: University of California (hosted), Gerhard Peters (database). Available from World Wide Web: http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=23798.