Alexandria Jaycees :: Jaycees in the News

Headlines & News

Here is a just small sampling of news items featuring Jaycees making news around the world. To receive your own news alerts about Jaycees, visit Google News or another provider and use "Jaycees" as your keyword.

Note: The links below may become inactive as the various news organizations archive them on their websites.

September 2007

State Rep. Jimmy Martin was appointed to chair the Constitution and Elections Committee for the Alabama House of Representatives. The House Constitutions and Elections Committee is regarded as one of the most powerful committees in the House of Representatives. They are responsible for reviewing all bills pertaining to constitutional reform. The committee is also responsible for all election bills pertaining to issues such as campaign finance, election procedures and dates, and voting machines. Representative Martin has served as a past President and Board Member of the Clanton Country Club and is a former member of the Jaycees.

Former Jaycees Rick and Jane Smith of Linville, Va., raised more than $65,000 to build a treehouse accessible to the disabled. Complete with ramps and rails, the treehouse that opened May 19 is the first of its kind in Virginia. Smith said he first began volunteering with children and adults with mental health issues in the 1970s when he worked at a Jaycees camp in Bedford County.

January 2007

Cold weather puts smiles on anglers, by Doug Smith. Minneapolis - St. Paul Star Tribune (1/13/07)

The cold snap gripping Minnesota has been good news for ice anglers -- and for sponsors of upcoming ice-fishing contests. Ice conditions have improved dramatically on many lakes, and should continue to improve, based on forecasts for more frigid fare.

At Gull Lake north of Brainerd, where the 17th annual Brainerd Jaycees $150,000 Ice Fishing Extravaganza will be held Saturday, ice thickness increased from 11.5 inches on Tuesday to 13 inches Friday morning. Organizers want 16 inches, and expect to get it.

"I have no doubts," said Slaybaugh, contest spokesman. More than 10,000 anglers are expected. (For information, see www.icefishing.org.)

There is a certain greyness settling over the traditional service club. The average age of those involved is ever increasing. That's not necessarily a comment on today's youth as much as it is a comment on the times. But if traditional service clubs disappear -- and that's an eventual possibility -- what will replace them?

As University of Western Ontario professor Robert Fisher said in this week's special report in The London Free Press: "They provide a valuable bridge between the private and the public sides. They fill gaps between what's covered by taxes and by charity. They do things that can't be done by individuals and they reflect the values of their members." To be sure, they are partly networking groups, but service to the community is their raison d'etre.

Without groups such as Rotary, Lions, Optimists, Kiwanis, Shriners, Jaycees and others, Southwestern Ontario would be without numerous playgrounds, community centres, gathering places for youth and seniors, services for all sectors of society and, frankly, a sense of community that binds us together. Without them, our communities would have less heart -- and less soul.

Some local chapters of traditional clubs are building younger membership. And other, more modern organizations and pursuits are also attracting today's young people. Some of the work done by traditional service clubs is being picked up by others, but if current trends continue, the void will be considerable indeed. To survive, these clubs must ensure they are progressive in their thinking and aggressive in their recruiting.

And it wouldn't hurt if the rest of us considered the future, gave them a second look, and saw what so many of our parents saw -- an ideal opportunity to meet people and do some good.

Fight to fame, by Terri Schlichenmeyer. Times Community Papers - Fauquier (1/4/07)

What's a fan to do between now and the start of baseball? You can prolong pigskin season with a copy of "Taylor," by former New York Giants linebacker Lawrence Taylor. You'll read about football games you might remember and games you'd just as soon forget, and the life of a man who played with plenty of attitude.

Taylor says that while his father loved to watch football, being in on the action was more to LT's liking. He remembers playing no-pads, no-tackle football before he got into organized sports by way of Jaycees league, then high school football (where he was named All-State) and eventually college ball, a sport he played as a Tar Heel.

December 2006

North Star opened the boys high school basketball season with a victory over Somerset on the Eagles' home floor in the championship game of the Kiwanis Vance Coleman Memorial Tournament. That didn't sit well with members of the Somerset squad and Thursday night, the Eagles got their revenge.

Led by the stellar play of 5-foot-8 senior guard Drew Shaulis, Somerset returned the favor with a 68-58 victory over the host Cougars in the championship game of the 40th Annual Boswell Area Jaycees Holiday Basketball Tournament.

“I'm sure in the back of some of the kids minds, they wanted to get a win from what happened earlier in the season,” said Somerset coach Scott Close. “But every night we step on the floor we want to try to beat whoever our oppenent is. ... North Star is a well-coached team. It's always nice to play a cross-over game between the Laurel Highlands and the WestPAC. It's a good win for us.”

Shaulis earned the tournament's MVP award and finished as the high scorer with a two-day total of 39 points. He nailed several key shots against the Cougars to help his team to victory.

8 AHS, Bates graduates honored, by Mary P. Felter. The Capital (12/24/06)

Eight graduates of Annapolis High School and the former Wiley H. Bates High School were honored Tuesday at the Wall of Fame induction ceremony at AHS. George Trotter and Leslie Stanton, both members of the Wall of Fame, were keynote speakers.

One of those graduates is Air Force Capt. Eric Ernest Schultz, AHS Class of 1991. Named one of the Ten Outstanding Young Americans by the U.S. Jaycees, he is a combat ready pilot responsible for leading two-ship formations. A Penn State graduate with a doctorate in aerospace engineering from California Institute of Technology, he worked as a business development director for an aerospace company and underwent laser surgery so that he could become a pilot. He has received numerous awards.